NEW YORK, June 29, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Securities Law Firm of Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP, www.sseklaw.com, is currently investigating claims on behalf of investors with accounts at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., a division of Bank of America. Recently, a U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York certified a plaintiff class action related to mortgage-backed securities involving Bank of America's Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. and other investment firms (Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi v. Merrill Lynch & Co., S.D.N.Y., 08-CV-10841, 6/16/11).
The certification of this class is the first involving mortgage-backed securities nationwide. Many of the investors, including pension funds and other financial institutions, have alleged that the banks that underwrote and sold MBS engaged in securities fraud by misleading them about the risks of the instruments.
According to the Order, the Judge certified the class of more than 1,800 investors who "purchased or otherwise acquired" billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities issued by Merrill Lynch between February 2006 and February 2007. The Order also named the Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System as the lead plaintiff in the action. Class certifications are generally advantageous for smaller investors, however, many experts agree that for larger claims it may be best to opt-out of the class and proceed with a separate action.
Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LLP has a team of attorneys, consultants and staff with more than 100 years of combined experience in the securities industry and in securities law. Since 1990, we have represented thousands of investors nationwide to recover losses. We have represented clients in Federal and State courts and in arbitration through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the New York Stock Exchange Inc. (NYSE), the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and in private arbitration actions. Collectively, we have represented over 1,000 investors over the last 18 years in negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation.