Legal Investigations Follow SEC Risk Alert Regarding Oil & Gas Investments

Bank-issued structured notes under scrutiny after sustained losses over a 2 year period

A risk alert issued in August by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has prompted legal investigations into potential claims by investors. In its alert, the SEC announced it had analyzed 26,600 structured product transactions that equaled $1.25 billion, finding numerous instances where investments were made that were unsuitable for investors’ objectives and needs.

In addition, the SEC found that the brokerage firms involved followed weak and insufficient supervisory procedures, especially in their supervision of sales of structured products. Of interest in the legal investigation are structured notes linked to oil and gas prices issued by the following firms, among others:

• Barclays Plc
• Morgan Stanley
• Deutsche Bank
• UBS, A.G.
• Citigroup
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Credit Suisse
• BNP Paribas

The names of the particular structured notes under scrutiny include:

• Accelerated Return Notes
• Strategic Return Notes
• Capped Leverage Return Notes
• Target Term Securities
• Market Linked Notes
• E-Tracs
• Return Optimization Notes
• Auto-Callable Securities
• Performance Leveraged Upside Securities (PLUS)
• Equity Linked Securities (ELKs)

Since oil and gas prices have tanked over the last two years, structured notes linked to performance have lost significant value for investors in this sector. While brokerage firms issue and sell these to drive fees, commissions and profits for themselves and their hiring firms, such investments are not suitable for retirees or investors seeking conservative or moderate risk investments.

If you feel that your financial adviser or brokerage firm has made unsuitable investment recommendations when it comes to structured notes such as these, you may be able to recover your losses through securities arbitration.

To discuss your legal options and investigate your rights, contact Silver Law Group for a free case review. Each case is handled on a contingent-fee basis, meaning that you will only pay legal fees if Silver Law Group is successful.