Auction Rate Securities
Are You Unable to Sell or Liquidate Your Auction Rate Securities?
Sonn & Erez PLC is representing investors alleging securities fraud in connection with the sale of auction rate securities against broker-dealers. Broker dealers who sold Auction Rate Securities include UBS, Suntrust, Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase, TD Ameritrade, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Oppenheimer, E*Trade, RBC Dain Rauscher among others. Some of the issuers of the auction rate securities include Blackrock, Eaton Vance, Nuveen and ING.
Regulators have alleged that the broker-dealers and issuers materially misrepresented the liquidity and risks of the auction rate securities to individual investors and corporations by labeling these securities as “cash equivalents,” in press releases, monthly account statements, individual communications with investors, and other investment guidance material. In fact, the promised liquidity of the auction rate securities was created through artificial intervention in the auctions by the broker-dealers.
In 2008, the market for Auction Rate Securities collapsed, with the announcement by major broker-dealers that they will no longer purchase auction rate securities for their own accounts to ensure that the auctions do not fail and that the securities remain liquid. As a result, numerous auctions run by the broker-dealers have failed in recent months and approximately $330 billion in Auction Rate Securities that were allegedly offered as "cash equivalents" were rendered illiquid, resulting in economic losses and severe hardships for investors.
If you have information or wish to discuss your rights as an investor, contact us at 1-866-372-8311 or contact Jeff Sonn, Esq. at jsonn@sonnerez.com or Jeff Erez at jerez@sonnerez.com, or Stefan Apotheker at sapotheker@sonnerez.com.
