SEATTLE, April 5, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- A class-action lawsuit filed by stockholders against investment giant Charles Schwab (Nasdaq:SCHW) concerning its YieldPlus Funds Investor Shares (Nasdaq:SWYSX) and YieldPlus Funds Select Shares (Nasdaq:SWYPX) is sparking dramatic reactions from investors, according to the law firm which filed the suit.
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro has received requests to join the action from almost 200 investors who felt they were misled by Schwab, totaling millions of dollars in losses in addition to scores of other inquiries.
According to attorney Reed Kathrein, the range of investors inquiring about the class action runs the gamut from investment advisors to retirees. Money managers and registered investment advisors who followed Schwab's advice are also upset as their clients are inquiring whether they can join or have losses large enough to be the lead plaintiff.
"The common thread is Schwab's representation that the YieldPlus funds were an alternative to cash, CDs and money market funds, which we are finding to be far from the truth," said Kathrein.
The lawsuit, filed March 18, 2008 in U.S. District Court in Northern California, alleges Schwab omitted important information from the funds' SEC Registration Statement, Prospectus and selling representation, including how heavily the funds were exposed to sub-prime mortgage risks. The lawsuit claims more than 50 percent of the funds' assets are invested in the risky mortgage industry -- a percentage that grew as the company abandoned the original objectives of the funds in pursuit of higher yields.
Aside from claiming there was no sub-prime exposure in the YieldPlus funds, one former Charles Schwab client told Hagens Berman, "We were told to roll over our retirement fund CDs into these funds." Many have now lost over 20 percent of their principal.
Charles Schwab advertised the YieldPlus funds as ultra-short bond funds that serve as a higher-yielding alternative to money-market funds and offered low risk to investors. Charles Schwab also claimed to offer "investments in a large, well-diversified portfolio," the complaint states.
The lawsuit seeks to represent investors or their money managers who purchased shares after March 17, 2005. By mid-2007, the funds held more than $13.5 billion in assets. The share price for the funds began decreasing in July 2007, suffering a total loss of more than 21 percent throughout the year, compared to a drop in the S&P 500 index fund, SPY, of less than six percent. Today the funds stand at an all-time low of $7.88, down more than 12 percent from Jan. 1, 2008, the complaint states.
Hagens Berman has received multiple calls from former employees and invites anyone who has information concerning this suit to contact the firm. Documents relating to sales practices are particularly welcome.
Any investors in a Schwab YieldPlus fund during the outlined class period may be eligible to join this suit and move to be a lead plaintiff. The deadline for moving is May 16, 2008. Investors can contact plaintiff's counsel, Reed Kathrein, at 510-725-3000, or via e-mail at info@hbsslaw.com. More information on this lawsuit is available at www.hbsslaw.com/schw.
About Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro is based in Seattle with offices in Chicago, Cambridge, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. Since 1993, it has developed a nationally recognized practice in class-action and complex litigation. Among recent successes, HBSS has negotiated a $300 million settlement in the DRAM memory antitrust litigation, one of the largest anti-trust settlements in history; a $340 million recovery on behalf of Enron employees; a $150 million settlement involving charges of illegally inflated charges for the drug Lupron, and served as co-counsel on the Visa/Mastercard litigation which resulted in a $3 billion settlement, the largest anti-trust settlement to date. HBSS served as counsel in a $850 million Washington Public Power Supply settlement and represented Washington and 12 other states against the tobacco industry that resulted in the largest settlement in history. For a complete listing of HBSS cases, visit www.hbsslaw.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primenewswire.com/ca.