April 2, 2008 Update
I just got e-mail:
To: russkyserge@hotmail.com
I also wanted to let you know that, for better or worse, you're becoming known!
I called Duff & Phelps for the fourth time, and the rep said, "There's someone out there with a website.
Someone here told me about it -- all about auction-rate certificates.
He seems to think we don't care, but we do -- really, we do!"
My response:
If you care - LET THE PEOPLE GO AND MAKE THEM WHOLE.
Talk is cheap, "money talk, bs walk".
You people DO NOT care, you making money off the folks who locked their life savings in this scam and laugh your butts off
how you were able to nail folks who were seeking the SAFEST investment there is.
Be proud of yourselves, you and your collegues killed the golden goose overnight,
fleecing the retail investor is your big mistake.
I DO care, and you people do not give a flying fungus.
March 29, 2008 Update
This story was picked my New York Times reporter
Gretchen Morgenson
Nancy Lampton, Director
55 East Monroe Street, Ste. 3600
Chicago, IL 60603
My husband and I are captive shareholders of the DNP Select Income Fund. I am writing to learn why Duff & Phelps refuses to assist its “preferred” shareholders and free our funds.
Like most ARP customers, we never intended to purchase a long-term instrument with your company. We sold our stocks in November 2007 to protect our retirement savings. We told our broker at UBS – a senior VP – to put the money into cash. He said that the DNP fund was “just like cash”; we never received a prospectus from him or from Duff & Phelps telling us anything else. The investment was listed as “cash and cash equivalents” on our statement.
Now the money is frozen, perhaps lost. Some funds are actively trying to refinance, in recognition of the disreputable way their funds were traded and their responsibility to their shareholders. Duff & Phelps, on the other hand, is telling its preferred shareholders that they will do nothing on our behalf. I just spoke with a Duff & Phelps agent who told me:
It is not Duff & Phelps’ concern if UBS sold its shares fraudulently. Sue UBS. Preferred shares are still earning money for common shareholders, so Duff & Phelps has no intention of changing anything. It will continue to favor its common shareholders and do nothing for its preferred “customers.” Duff & Phelps will never de-leverage, and it will not actively pursue refinancing. If other funds figure out a solution, it might follow suit, but it will take no independent action. Like other DNP victims, I am lodging a complaint against Duff & Phelps with the SEC. I am also exploring my legal options, as it is clear that Duff & Phelps knew exactly how UBS was marketing this fund and was complicit in illegal trading practices.
Abandoning your fiduciary responsibility to preferred shareholders is at best unethical, perhaps also illegal. It is also poor business strategy to treat us with arrogance and contempt. The fastest way for the company to reduce its PR and legal exposure is to provide us with a way out.
If you truly represent the preferred shareholders, you should be protesting this within the company. Please contact me immediately to tell me what you are doing to assist us and how you plan to present the situation at the upcoming shareholders meeting.
Sincerely,
Name omitted per writer's request.
I maintain this web page to gather as much information as possible and spread the word to help other victims of this financial misrepresentation and alleged crime by the major financial institutions.
I can be reached via e-mail at russkyserge@hotmail.com
Serge Birbrair and I am not just a web page publisher, but also a victim who trusted UBS and got burnt. Do YOU want to be next?
No? Don't believe everything you hear from your Financial Adviser, as they are played by the management too.