Category Archives: Investments
Investors in UBS Puerto Rico Municipal Closed-End Bond Funds Lost $1.66 Billion in 2013
According to InvestmentNews, investors in Puerto Rico closed-end municipal bond funds packaged and sold by UBS Financial Services, Inc. of Puerto Rico reportedly lost over $1.5 billion between January and September 2013. UBS Financial Services, Inc. of Puerto Rico marketed its UBS Puerto Rico Family of Funds to residents of Puerto Rico. According to… Read More »
Moody’s Places Puerto Rico Municipal Bonds on Review for Downgrade
An announcement by Moody’s Investors Service states that Puerto Rico’s general obligation rating has been placed on review for possible downgrade. A downgrade in Puerto Rico’s general obligation rating would result in a change of the rating of Puerto Rico’s municipal bonds to non-investment grade. According to Caribbean Business, the review also covers government… Read More »
UBS Puerto Rico Broker Named in 11 FINRA Arbitration Claims Involving Puerto Rico Municipal Closed-End Bond Funds
The headache for UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico’s executives keeps getting bigger. According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, one of the company’s Puerto Rico brokers, Jose Gabriel Ramirez, Jr., is currently named in 12 FINRA arbitration cases, 11 of which appear to involve Puerto Rico municipal closed-end bond funds. As of the end of 2012,… Read More »
Why Puerto Rico Municipal Bonds Have Lost Much of Their Value
Puerto Rico muni bonds have been favored by many municipal bond fund managers in recent years because of the tax exempt status of Puerto Rico municipal bonds and their higher-than-average yields. The willingness of U.S. municipal bond fund managers to buy Puerto Rico municipal bonds has allowed the island to rack up $70 billion… Read More »
UBS AG Offers to Repurchase Select UBS Puerto Rico Family of Funds Closed-End Bond Funds Holding Puerto Rico Municipal Debt
According to InvestmentNews, Switzerland-based UBS AG will be extending offers to select UBS clients to repurchase shares of certain funds in the UBS Puerto Rico Family of Funds, 14 proprietary closed-end bond funds containing Puerto Rico municipal bonds. Bloomberg reports that UBS’s limited buyback program will only apply to certain of the 14 closed-end… Read More »
Puerto Rico Municipal Bonds May Be Officially Rated as Junk Potentially Increasing Losses in Municipal Bond Funds That Hold Puerto Rico Debt
Fitch, a nationally recognized statistical credit ratings group, said it may downgrade Puerto Rico municipal bonds to junk bond status by mid-2014. Fitch, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s currently rate Puerto Rico municipal bonds at BBB-, the lowest investment grade bond rating. Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s all have placed a negative outlook… Read More »
Exchange Traded Fund Focused on Puerto Rico Municipal Bonds May Soon Debut Despite Huge Losses In Puerto Rico Municipal Bond Market
Van Eck Associates Corp. (“Van Eck”) has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that will seek to replicate an index that focuses on Puerto Rico municipal bonds. New York-based Van Eck registered the Market Vectors Puerto Rico Municipal Index ETF with the SEC and… Read More »
Wall Street Seeks to Capitalize on Puerto Rico Municipal Bond Debt
Investors in Puerto Rico municipal bonds have seen huge losses in their accounts over the past few months, but investors in distressed debt are seeing dollar signs. Distressed debt or distressed securities are stocks or bonds of companies or municipalities that are in default, under bankruptcy protection, or at a high risk of defaulting… Read More »
UBS Pegs its Puerto Rico Municipal Bond Losses at $41 Million
In its third-quarter earnings report, Switzerland-based UBS AG estimates that it has incurred $20 million in trading losses and $21 million in credit losses in connection with loans backed by Puerto Rico municipal bonds. A UBS presentation containing the key points of the report can be viewed here. UBS Financial Services of Puerto Rico,… Read More »
UBS in Hot Seat Over Puerto Rico Municipal Bond Funds
The recent meltdown of Puerto Rico municipal bonds has found financial services giant UBS AG in a familiar place, the hot seat. Switzerland-based UBS has been the target of the Department of Justice and the IRS for allegedly helping wealthy Americans hide assets since roughly 2008. In 2009, UBS paid a $780 million fine… Read More »