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Our law firm is investigating potential claims against Merrill Lynch, a part of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), on behalf of customers of Phil Scott a/k/a Walter Schlaepfer, and the Phil Scott Team. Over the past seven months, two separate Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Arbitration Panels rendered Awards on behalf of customers of Phil Scott and Merrill Lynch who sought total damages of about $2.7 million. Collectively, the Panels awarded the Claimants about $2 million in compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, interest, and forum fees. The Claimants in the first case, which was decided in June of 2011 (FINRA Case No. 09-06762), were awarded about $880,000, and the Claimants in the second case, which was decided in January of this year (FINRA Case No. 10-03400), were awarded approximately $1.2 million.
The Claimants in these cases alleged that Phil Scott made unsuitable recommendations to place their assets in the Merrill Lynch Phil Scott Team Income Portfolios which were invested in 100% equities. To make matters worse, one of the Claimants had 60% of the portfolio pledged to three different Merrill Lynch loans. This only increased the risk associated with their portfolio and led to the forced liquidation of securities when the market value of the account declined. It appears that Phil Scott employed the exact same or similar investment strategy in the accounts of most if not all of his customers’ accounts, resulting in significant losses.
Investors who held accounts with the Phil Scott Team and Merrill Lynch and sustained substantial losses can contact KlaymanToskes to explore their legal rights and options. You may be able to recover your losses by filing an individual arbitration claim against Merrill Lynch.
The attorneys at KlaymanToskes are dedicated to pursuing claims on behalf of investors who have suffered significant investment losses. KlaymanToskes, an experienced, qualified and nationally recognized securities litigation law firm, practices exclusively in the field of securities arbitration and litigation. It continues its representation of investors throughout the world in securities arbitration and litigation matters against major Wall Street brokerage firms.