The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that UBS Financial Services Inc. has agreed to pay approximately $25 million to settle fraud charges relating to a complex investment strategy referred to as YES, or Yield Enhancement Strategy.
According to the SEC’s order, UBS marketed and sold YES to approximately 600 investors through its platform of domestic financial advisors from February 2016 through February 2017. The order finds that, during this time, UBS did not provide its financial advisors with adequate training and oversight in the strategy, and although UBS recognized and documented the possibility of significant risk in YES investments, it failed to share this data with advisors or clients. As a result, the order finds, some of UBS’s advisors did not understand the risks and were unable to form a reasonable belief that the advice they provided was in the best interest of their clients. When investors suffered losses, many of them, along with their financial advisors, expressed surprise and closed their YES accounts.
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After uncovering research misconduct within my organization that tied directly to investor harm, I needed an attorney who understood the legal and scientific sides of the issue. Attorneys at Veach Law PLLC handled everything with professionalism.
I discovered that critical information about my portfolio had not been accurately represented to me for years. Tucker Veach, Attorney, and his team investigated the fraud case thoroughly and secured a result I didn’t think was possible.
Veach Law PLLC took on my broker misconduct case when no one else would. Tucker Veach understood the financial loss I had suffered and fought hard through FINRA arbitration to recover what I was owed. I finally felt like someone was in my corner.
Dealing with a broker who falsified data or a situation involving the manipulation of research materials? You deserve clear answers. Reach out to Tucker Veach Attorney for a direct conversation about your rights and your options for recovery.
UBS YES was an options-overlay strategy designed to generate incremental income by trading SPX index options alongside an investor’s existing portfolio.
The strategy relied on low market volatility; when market volatility spiked in 2018 and 2020, complex options positions triggered severe, unforeseen losses.
Many claims allege UBS and its brokers pitched YES as a low-risk, conservative income generator while failing to disclose the true downside exposure.
Investors can file claims through FINRA arbitration against UBS or the brokerage firm for misrepresentation, unsuitability, and failure to supervise.
Yes. FINRA rules generally require claims to be submitted within six years of the event, so investors should evaluate eligibility promptly.
