Four Brokerages Sued Over Low-Paying Deposit Sweep Accounts.
Investment News reports that
Merrill Lynch,
Morgan Stanley,
Smith Barney, and
Charles Schwab are being "
sued for allegedly forcing clients into lower paying deposit accounts". (
Wachovia was also just added to the suit Monday.) The class action suit, filed in U.
S. District Court for Southern New York, was launched by
Joel Laitmain of
Schoengold Sporn Laitman & Lometti PC. "
The crux of the lawsuit is that at the same time the firms have positioned their brokers as objective financial advisers, they are forcing customers into bank deposits that pay less than market rates, while failing to disclose their large profits from deposit programs, and the attendant conflicts," says the article.