The widow of a San Diego resident who lost trust fund money in a retirement fund advertised as being low-risk, but that invested in mortgage-backed securities, was awarded $157,498 today by an arbitration panel.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority awarded the Everett Ross family trust 100 percent of its losses plus expert witness costs.
“Although Charles Schwab recommended the purchase of the Schwab YieldPlus Fund Select Shares and the Schwab YieldPlus Investor Shares as safe, conservative cash alternatives to investors, the evidence established that the YieldPlus funds were over concentrated in toxic mortgage-backed securities,” said the Ross’ attorney, Ryan K. Bakhtiari.
The brokers who sold the Schwab YieldPlus Fund are not targets of investor claims, attorneys said. A representative from Charles Schwab did not return a call seeking comment.