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Aidikoff, Uhl & Bakhtiari Investigates Customer Losses in Municipal Fixed Income Investments Containing Puerto Rican Bonds

Aidikoff, Uhl & Bakhtiari continues to investigate and discuss with investors and brokers sales practices that Wall Street firms have employed in recommending certain municipal fixed income funds to its clients.

“Investors from around the country have been stunned to learn that many bond mutual funds contained significant percentages of Puerto Rican municipal bonds,” said attorney Ryan K. Bakhtiari.

The presence of these bonds in many mutual funds appears to have led the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to launch an investigation. According to the Wall Street Journal, Fidelity, UBS and Oppenheimer Funds received letters of inquiry from Massachusetts. It has also been reported that some Puerto Rican bonds have traded as low as 60 cents on the dollar and that funds such as the Oppenheimer Rochester Massachusetts fund may have concentrated fund assets as much as 26% in Puerto Rican bonds.

In May 2012 the SEC issued a Cease-and-Desist Order against UBS Puerto Rico. Pursuant to the order, UBS Puerto Rico agreed to pay $26 million in disgorgement and settle charges that it sold allegedly mispriced closed end funds to investors. The UBS funds that are currently under review by Aidikoff, Uhl & Bakhtiari include:

“Investors who purchased these municipal income funds may have been led to believe that they were suitable, conservative and stable investments,” stated attorney Philip M. Aidikoff. “Investors should consider all of their options if they have suffered losses in bond funds containing Puerto Rican municipal bonds.”

The individual brokers and advisors who sold the municipal funds are not targets of investor claims.

Aidikoff, Uhl & Bakhtiari represents retail and institutional investors around the world in securities arbitration and litigation matters. Attorneys for the firm have appeared before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and in numerous state and federal courts to resolve financial disputes between customers, banks, brokerage firms and other financial institutions.