OppenheimerFunds Settles Fund Case for $100 Million

OppenheimerFunds is paying $100 million to settle a class-action lawsuit against two of its funds, the Oppenheimer Champion and the Oppenheimer Core Bond funds.

The Denver U.S. District Court will hold a hearing on Sept. 30 with the fund shareholders to approve the settlement.

OppenheimerFunds’ attorneys said the firm decided to settle the case “to eliminate the burden, expense, uncertainty and risk of further litigation.” They also denied any wrongdoing.

Shareholders sued the funds in 2009, saying they believed they were holding low-risk, conservative investments. The Champion Income Fund lost 78.5% of its value in 2008, while the Core Bond Fund lost 35.8%.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, in court documents, said Oppenheimer portrayed the funds as “diversified, high-yielding [and] appropriate as part of a retirement plan portfolio,” when, in fact, they were “substantially more risky than represented” because they “took huge gambles on mortgage-backed securities and illiquid derivatives.”

 

 

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