According to Investment News, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) awarded three investors more than $470,000 in an arbitration award against UBS Group AG’s wealth management for over-concentration in Puerto Rico bonds. The three investors, who were seeking $570,000 in damages, alleged fraud and negligent supervision in their claim.

Investment News reports that since August 2013 $1.5 billion in claims have been filed against UBS in association with the declining price of Puerto Rico municipal bonds. Approximately $284 million of those claims were resolved through settlements or arbitration.

U.S. open-ended municipal bond funds, like those offered by UBS, have approximately $11 billion of Puerto Rico bonds and nearly 53 percent of such funds have exposure to the commonwealth.

The White Law Group continues to investigate the liability that brokerage firms may have for recommending these risky high yield bond funds. When a broker makes unsuitable investment recommendations and/or fails to perform adequate due diligence on investment recommendations, the brokerage firm may be liable for negligent supervision and responsible for investment losses.

If you invested in a UBS Puerto Rico closed-end fund and would like to speak to a securities attorney about recovering your investment losses through a FINRA dispute resolution claim, please call The White Law Group at 1-888-637-5510 for a free consultation.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Vero Beach, Florida.

For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at WhiteSecuritiesLaw.com.