BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Sept. 9, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of all purchasers, redeemers and holders of shares of the Nations Institutional Reserves Convertible Securities Fund (Nasdaq:PACIX), Nations International Equity Primary Fund (Nasdaq:NIEQX), Nations Emerging Markets Fund (Nasdaq:NEMIX), Nations Fund Inc. Small Company Fund (Nasdaq:PSCPX) and other funds managed by wholly owned subsidiaries of Bank of America (collectively, the "Nations Funds") between April 16, 2001 and July 3, 2003 (the "Class Period").
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
The complaint charges the Nations Funds, Bank of America and certain of its wholly owned subsidiaries with violations of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and common law breach of fiduciary duties in return for substantial fees and other income for themselves and their affiliates. The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, the Nations Funds and the other defendants engaged in illegal and improper trading practices, in concert with certain institutional traders, which caused financial injury to the shareholders of the Nations Funds. According to the Complaint, the Defendants surreptitiously permitted certain favored investors, including Defendant Canary Capital Partners, LLC and Canary Investment Management, LLC (collectively, "Canary") to illegally receive the prior day's price for orders placed after 4 p.m. This allowed Canary and other mutual fund investors who engaged in the same wrongful course of conduct to capitalize on post-4:00 p.m. information, while those who bought their mutual fund shares lawfully could not.
The complaint further alleges that defendants permitted Canary and other favored investors to engage in "timing" of the Nations Funds whereby these favored investors were permitted to conduct short-term, "in and out" trading of mutual fund shares, despite explicit restrictions on such activity in the Nations Funds' prospectuses.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/cgi/signup.cgi.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca