Did anyone here get the notice of the class action lawsuit against American Express Financial/Ameriprise? I just got one and couldn't be happier that someone took action.
Here's a snippet:
· In their lawsuits, the investors complain that they were sold financial plans and/or advice that, instead of being tailored to their individual circumstances, contained standardized recommendations designed to steer them into investing in Defendants' proprietary mutual funds and other proprietary investment products and certain non-proprietary "Preferred" or "Select" mutual funds. · Plaintiffs allege that Defendants steered clients into the so-called Preferred or Select Funds (collectively, the "Preferred Funds") to obtain the fees Defendants would receive (a) from directed brokerage, in which the investment managers of the Preferred Funds directed securities trading business to Defendants, and (b) from revenue sharing, whereby American Express received a portion of the fees that the investment managers of the Preferred Funds charged the Preferred Funds. Plaintiffs claim that the conflicts of interest inherent in Defendants' financial plans and/ or financial advisory services, and the compensation arrangements between Defendants and the Preferred Funds, were inadequately disclosed to investors. Defendants also steered investors into their own proprietary funds - called AXP Funds - to obtain revenue sharing fees paid by the AXP Funds' investment advisor.