According to FINRA, UBS Financial Services Inc. has been ordered to pay an arbitration award of close to $1 million to an investor who sued the firm over losses stemming from investments in UBS Puerto Rico closed-end bond funds.

Ana Elisa Ciordia-Robles, was awarded $751,000 in compensatory damages, plus interest, and $206,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs, according to the arbitration award announced on Friday. Ms. Ciordia-Robles claimed breach of fiduciary duty, negligent supervision and other allegations in the matter, according to the FINRA award.

Last year, UBS agreed to pay a combined $34 million to settle allegations from U.S. regulators tied to its supervision of sales of the funds and a former broker’s alleged fraud. The payment was tied to charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission and FINRA. In both cases, the firm did not admit or deny charges.

For more information on the investigation see Puerto Rico bonds defaulting, see UBS Puerto Rico $5.2 Million Settlement with Regulators.

In 2014, UBS said claims tied to UBS Wealth Management Americas’ Puerto Rico closed-end municipal bond funds have risen to nearly $1 billion.

Brokerage firms are required to perform adequate due diligence on any investment they recommend and to ensure that all investments recommended are suitable in light of the client’s age, investment experience, net worth, income, and investment objectives.  If a brokerage firm fails to perform adequate due diligence or recommends and investment that is unsuitable, the firm can be held responsible for losses in a FINRA arbitration claim.

The White Law Group is not only looking in to claims involving U.S. based municipal bond funds with Puerto Rico exposure, but also direct bets in Puerto Rico bonds.

If you suffered losses investing in a U.S. based municipal bond fund or a direct investment in a Puerto Rico municipal bond and would like to know your litigation options, please call The White Law Group’s Chicago office at 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 Franklin, Tennessee.  For more information on The White Law Group, visit http://whitesecuritieslaw.com.