Morgan Keegan and Fund Manager James C. Kelsoe Named In $2 Million FINRA Arbitration...

Tue Jan 8, 2008 7:30am EST
 
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Morgan Keegan and Fund Manager James C. Kelsoe Named In $2 Million FINRA
Arbitration Claims, According to Stoltmann Law Offices

CHICAGO, Jan. 8, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Stoltmann Law Offices announces that
it has filed two FINRA arbitration complaints today against brokerage firm
Morgan Keegan and fund manager James C. Kelsoe for two high net worth clients.

The arbitration statements of claim allege fraud, misrepresentations and
omissions related to the failure of the firm and Mr. Kelsoe to fully disclose
risks associated with the Morgan Keegan mutual fund investments in subprime
related sectors, according to Andrew Stoltmann, of Stoltmann Law Offices, in
Chicago.

Believed to be the largest individual claims filed to date against Morgan Keegan
and the first filed against Mr. Kelsoe personally, the claims seek recovery of
losses of $285,000 for one client and losses of $1.8 million for another, along
with attorney's fees, interest and punitive damages. The claims are the first of
approximately 15 investor claims that Stoltmann Law Offices expects to file
against Morgan Keegan in upcoming weeks.

The funds owned by the complaining investors include Morgan Keegan Select
Intermediate Bond Fund ("Intermediate Fund"), Regions Morgan Keegan Select High
Income Fund ("High Income Fund") and closed-end funds RMK Multi Sector High
Income Fund (RHY), RMK Strategic Income Fund (RSF), RMK Advantage Income Fund
(RMA) and the RMK High Income Fund (RMH).

According to the FINRA statements of claim, the Morgan Keegan funds were heavily
invested in collateralized bond obligations ("CBOs"), collateralized loan
obligations ("CLOs"), and collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs"),
collectively referred to as "collateralized debt obligations" ("CDOs") or
"structured financial instruments." These securities are typically thinly traded
-- in other words, market quotations for these securities are not readily
available -- and are practically illiquid. As a consequence, the values of these
securities can only be estimated by Morgan Keegan.

The statements of claim filed by the Stoltmann Law Offices do not name Morgan
Keegan advisors who recommended the bond funds. According to Mr. Stoltmann, "We
believe that the advisors at Morgan Keegan were misled about these investments,
just as investors were."

The complaints also allege that the funds marketing material and prospectuses
were misleading. For example, the Morgan Keegan Intermediate Fund literature
stated one of the major advantages of the fund was it consisted of a
"diversified portfolio of mostly investment-grade debt instruments..." In fact,
the funds were concentrated in low-rated subprime related investments.

Mr. Stoltmann stated, "The undisclosed concentration in extraordinarily risky
subprime related investments devastated the portfolio of thousands of Morgan
Keegan clients. The funds were pitched to investors as substitutes for CDs and
government bond funds. In reality, the funds were extraordinarily risky
resulting in losses in excess of 70 percent for these clients, and thousands of
others across the country."

More information is available at www.MorganKeeganFraud.com or
www.InvestmentFraud.Pro.

-0-
CONTACT:  Stoltmann Law Offices
          Andrew Stoltmann
          312.332.4200
          312.545.5711
          10 S. LaSalle, 35th Floor, Chicago, IL 60603

 

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