Naples, FL., — Vernon Litigation Group, representing investors nationwide that invested in the Sanford Bernstein Options Advantage Fund, filed formal claims with FINRA last week on behalf of a Family Partnership client.
According to the Claim, the Options Advantage Fund suffered catastrophic losses before closing in October of last year. According to the detailed claim, investors were led to believe that they were investing in a low-risk strategy designed to generate a little extra return on the family partnership’s existing portfolios. The projected returns were in the range of 2%. As part of this strategy, Sanford Bernstein inappropriately recommended that its clients utilize margin to invest in this Fund according to the Claim.
The Claim asserts that Sanford Bernstein also mismanaged the Fund by, among other things, ignoring rising interest rates and volatility in 2022. Rather than moving its clients to safer investments that would rival the 2% return goal of the Fund, Sanford Bernstein continued to prioritize its own interest ahead of its clients according to the latest FINRA claim filed by Vernon Litigation Group.
Tragically, the reality for Bernstein investors (with respect to this Fund) were fees incurred, interest obligations incurred, significant losses suffered, and significant debit balances.
Bernstein caters to high net worth clients with three Florida offices (West Palm Beach, Tampa, and Miami), multiple additional offices in the Southeast (Atlanta, Nashville), as well as offices in other high net worth areas throughout the United States and abroad (Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Stamford, Washington, DC, and Tel Aviv).
According to Chris Vernon of Vernon Litigation Group, these types of cases often involve the strategic and subtle use by the investment firm of words and phrases that downplay risks as part of the product pitch. In this case, Bernstein referred to this Fund as an overlay strategy with no up-front cash investment required. These types of cases also often involve an inappropriate back-end attempt by the investment firm to avoid being sued by offering free future services. According to Vernon, in this case, Bernstein is taking this approach one step further by attempting to have clients waive their rights to pursue claims against Bernstein in exchange for free investment management services. Vernon Litigation Group believes these types of activities by investment firms (both before and after a product failure like the Options Advantage Fund) are violations of investment firms’ fiduciary duties to clients.
If you or someone you know has experienced investment losses in the Sanford Bernstein Options Advantage Fund, Vernon Litigation Group recommends that you speak with one of the Firm’s securities attorneys, who will provide you with a free and confidential overview of the claims you may have as well as your legal options in this situation.
Vernon Litigation Group is based in Naples, Florida and has been successfully representing investors throughout the United States for decades, with lawyers licensed in Florida, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. Visit our website at http://www.vernonlitigation.com/ or contact Vernon Litigation Group by phone at 1-877-649-5394 or by e-mail at info@vernonlitigation.com to speak with a representative of Vernon Litigation Group.