If you have been following our blog, you know that Puerto Rican bonds have been so troubled that bond rating agencies, such as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, have been downgrading Puerto Rico bonds to junk status. Last week, Puerto Rico defaulted on one of its bonds, admitting that it cannot afford to repay a $72 billion bond debt.
Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein partner, Jeffrey Kaplan, was recently quoted in The New York Times regarding these risky bonds have negatively affected thousands of investors. DKR represents more than 150 investors who have invested all or a substantial amount of their savings in UBS Puerto Rico bond funds that were sold as safe investments.
Many UBS Puerto Rico proprietary bond funds were required to have at least two-thirds of their holdings in Puerto Rican municipal bonds. The UBS PR funds, which could be sold only to Puerto Rico investors, were an easy sell to Puerto Rico investors because the dividends from the funds were exempt from Puerto Rico income taxes. Further, these funds were not restricted by the same rules as investments in the U.S. Among other things, the UBS PR funds did not have the same limits as U.S. bond funds regarding the amount of leverage the funds could use to buy bonds. Now UBS is the subject of approximately 1,000 FINRA arbitration claims filed by Puerto Rico investors, many of whom have lost the bulk of their life savings in the UBS PR funds.
Many Puerto Rico investors have seen their retirement portfolios take a substantial hit, while the Puerto Rican debt crisis continues to worsen. If you have lost money in Puerto Rican bonds or UBS Puerto Rico bond funds, contact the attorneys at Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. We represent investors who relied on their broker and brokerage firm for prudent investment advice, and you may have certain rights that require your immediate attention if the broker or brokerage firm gave you bad investment advice. Contact us to schedule an appointment or consultation today.
