Securities Litigation and Consulting Group, Inc. Releases Updated 'Regions Morgan Keegan: The Abuse of Structured Finance' Docum
January 23 2009 - 10:27AM
PR Newswire (US)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Securities Litigation and
Consulting Group, Inc. ("SLCG") has issued an updated report on six
Regions Morgan Keegan (RMK) bond funds: Advantage Income Fund
(RMA), High Income Fund (RMH), Strategic Income Fund (RSF),
Multi-Sector High Income Fund (RHY), Select High Income Fund
(MKHIX) and Select Intermediate Bond Fund (MKIBX). The SLCG report
explains how the RMK funds collectively lost $2 billion in 2007
because they held concentrated holdings of low-priority tranches in
structured finance deals backed by risky debt including subprime
mortgages and credit default swaps. The study concludes that losses
suffered by investors in these funds were not the result of a
"flight to quality" or a "mortgage meltdown". The study shows that
RMK misrepresented hundreds of millions of dollars of illiquid
asset-backed securities in its SEC filings as corporate bonds and
preferred stocks thereby making the funds seem more diversified and
less risky than they were. The study also illustrates how, contrary
to Securities and Exchange Commission guidance, RMK repeatedly
compared the performance of its funds to an index - the Lehman
Brothers Ba Index - that contained only corporate bonds and no
structured finance securities despite the fact that the funds
invested 60% to 70% of their portfolios in structured finance. In
addition, the study reports that Morgan Keegan -- the broker-dealer
-- misled investors by comparing the performance of the Select High
Income Fund to the CSFB High Yield Index which, like the Lehman
Brothers index contained none of the securities that dominated the
RMK fund's portfolio. This study and other working papers are
available at http://www.slcg.com/research.php. Securities
Litigation and Consulting Group, Inc. ("SLCG") is a financial
economics consulting firm based in the Virginia suburbs outside of
Washington, DC. SLCG provides consulting services and expert
witnesses to law firms, publicly-traded corporations, banks,
brokerage firms and individuals involved in complex litigation
throughout the United States. SLCG's staff includes PhD, MA and BA
level professionals with academic, industry and government
experience. Its experts have testified in state and federal court
and in various arbitration forums. For further information about
SLCG or its research, please contact Dr. Craig McCann at
703-246-9381, or visit us at http://www.slcg.com/. DATASOURCE:
Securities Litigation and Consulting Group, Inc. CONTACT: Craig
McCann of Securities Litigation and Consulting Group, Inc.,
+1-703-246-9381, Web Site: http://www.slcg.com/
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