options account

Two More Wins for UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES) Customers, Fourth and Fifth Awards in 2021

Published on: September 20, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

First, on September 15, 2021, a FINRA Dispute Resolution Services arbitration panel in Houston, Texas, ordered UBS Financial Services, Inc. (“UBS”) to pay customers over $357,000 in compensatory damages. Then, on September 17, 2021, arbitrators in Boca Raton, Florida, awarded customers over $691,000 in compensatory damages, more than $115,000 in prejudgment interest, and nearly $41,000 in expert witness fees.

The cause of action in both arbitration cases arose out of investments in UBS’s Yield Enhancement Strategy (“YES”), a complex and highly risky options strategy.

Customers across the country have filed securities arbitration claims against UBS, alleging that the brokerage firm misrepresented the options strategy as a safe way to obtain marginally higher yield on a portfolio of securities. In actuality, the complexity and nature of YES exposed customers to a significant risk of loss. Customers have also alleged that UBS and its team of options traders conducted the YES program with virtually no supervision or compliance oversight and with inadequate risk controls.

Robinhood’s Amended Registration Statement Discloses That Robinhood Is Facing Numerous Lawsuits, Customer Arbitrations, and Regulatory Investigations

Published on: September 1, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

On September 1, 2021, Robinhood ($Hood) filed Amendment No 1 to its Form S-1 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Form S-1 is the registration statement that Robinhood filed in connection with its July 2021 initial public offering (IPO).

Robinhood’s latest public filing discloses that Robinhood continues to face regulatory, legal, and reputational backlash for its past business practices.

The filing also discloses that the SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) are investigating whether any Robinhood employees traded “meme stocks,” including GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., before the public announcement that Robinhood would impose trading restrictions on those securities on January 28, 2021.

Takeaways from Robinhood’s IPO Filing

Published on: July 1, 2021 | by Iorio Altamirano

On July 1, 2021, a day after incurring a record-breaking $70 million from its regulator, FINRA, Robinhood filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) indicating its intention to go public. The IPO filing reveals that the company plans to list its share on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol HOOD.

The public filing also revealed that the firm has experienced rapid growth and became profitable in 2020. In 2020, Robinhood generated net income of $7.45 million on net revenue of $959 million, compared with 2019, when the firm lost $107 million on $278 million in revenue.

Robinhood’s also disclosed the following information: