What To Do if You Suffered UBS YES Strategy Investment Losses

The UBS YES strategy was like so many investment opportunities that appear too good to be true. While it promised stable returns and little risk—at least as portrayed by UBS—in the end, investors were left facing substantial losses and wondering where it all went wrong.

How and Why the UBS YES Strategy Failed

Beginning in 2015, UBS heavily promoted its “yield enhancement strategy” to high-net-worth investors. Its investment brokers and advisors touted the YES product as a way for investors to generate returns from market stability (and even during slight market downturns) while also continuing to pursue their more-traditional appreciation-based strategies. The strategy even worked for the first few years—just long enough for many investors to become hooked.

Then, it was 2018. The market crashed, and the UBS YES strategy was exposed for what it really was: an extremely complex, fragile and high-risk investment product that was concocted to generate fees for UBS regardless of whether or not investors saw any returns. Many investors lost millions of dollars, but as advising these investors to shift their strategy would have meant losing out on guaranteed fees, UBS instead advised them to stay the course.

The problem with this is that staying the course is not a viable long-term strategy for recouping losses from the YES investment product. Once an investor loses funds (i.e. when the naked options purchased as part of the strategy expire), those losses are permanent. It is not like buying a stock that loses value but retains the ability to bounce back. As a result, the longer investors stuck with the YES strategy, the more their losses added up, and the more UBS filled its coffers.

Had UBS disclosed the risks of the YES strategy to investors, then the firm would not be in the situation it is in today—facing numerous complaints for investment fraud. Some investors may have still chosen to take the risk, but they would have done so based on complete and reliable disclosures and not the cherry-picked information that UBS chose to provide to investors. The fact that UBS misled investors into purchasing YES strategy investments is what caused many of these investors to suffer substantial losses, and it is why UBS can, and should, be held accountable.

Recovering Fraudulent UBS YES Strategy Losses

If you have suffered losses with the UBS YES strategy, what are your options? Due to what is now known about how UBS misled investors, many investors have already filed claims against UBS in FINRA arbitration. You may be eligible to recover your losses through the arbitration process as well, and you should consult with an investment fraud attorney about your legal rights.

Discuss Your UBS YES Strategy Losses with an Investment Fraud Attorney

To find out if you are eligible to recover your UBS YES strategy losses through FINRA arbitration, schedule a free and confidential consultation at Zamansky LLC. Call 212-742-1414 or contact us online to speak with an investment fraud attorney today.