UBS YES Strategy Investors Recovering Their Losses Through FINRA

New York City NY

29 April, 2021

10:53 AM

Description

The UBS yield enhancement strategy (YES) was supposed to afford well-heeled investors an opportunity to profit from market stability—and it did for a while. By utilizing what is known as an “iron condor,” investors were able to essentially bet against the market swinging wildly in either direction; and, when the market remained relatively stable for a period of time, they were able to collect “premiums” that they could then reinvest in another iron condor. But, when the market became volatile in late 2018, the UBS YES strategy stopped working. As this volatility continued into 2019, and then into 2020 with the start of the COVID-19 crisis, investors’ losses started piling up. Yet, UBS advisors continued to push the yield enhancement strategy, and in doing so they withheld information about the risks involved. Why would investment advisors want their clients to take on unreasonable risk in the face of an impending (or ongoing) market downturn? Because the UBS YES strategy allows the firm’s advisors to generate commissions no matter what. Each iron condor involves the purchase of four “naked options,” and each of these purchases generates a commission regardless of the eventual success or failure of the investment strategy. Due to the fact that many investors were misled into purchasing high-risk UBS YES investments, many of these investors are now seeking to recover their losses through FINRA arbitration. Many FINRA arbitration claims involving fraudulent yield enhancement strategy losses have already succeeded, and there are currently numerous fraud claims pending against UBS.