Meridian Wealth Management Group Losses in ACN?

Soreide Law Group has filed a FINRA arbitration on behalf of our clients (Claimants) against:

MORGAN STANLEY (Respondents).

The Claimants, residing in Massachusetts, were longtime employees of Accenture and had accumulated a large concentrated position in Accenture (“ACN”) worth approximately $1.5 million.

The Claimants, had no intention of ever selling ACN and were planning on passing all of their shares on to their children. The lawsuit alleges that the Claimants’ representative, who was managing their money at MORGAN STANLEY, on or about March of 2019, referred them to the Meridian Wealth Management Group to conservatively manage their large ACN position through a “conservative proactively managed covered call strategy” that would generate an extra 2-4% in additional income per year.

This managed covered call writing strategy for the Claimants allowed the Meridian Wealth Management Group to deliver on their alleged promises.  The Claimants thought there would be no reason to have look over their shoulder because they were the professional money managers and understood their objectives. The Claimants were allegedly promised they would never lose a share of ACN by having it called away.

According to the Meridian Wealth Management Group’s website, they claim to not only uphold Morgan Stanley’s mission to “provide clients with the finest financial thinking, products, and execution,” but also work together to help clients and their families achieve or maintain financial independence.  They claim their team of experienced financial professionals guides clients to an “effective management of spending, saving, debt and risk.”

On or about December 2021, the Claimants representative allegedly told the Claimants that they needed to discuss some tax planning because they had taken some losses. The Claimants were shocked and confused as to how a “conservatively managed” covered call strategy could result in losses. According to the lawsuit, the Claimants were allegedly told their options contracts were deep in the money and they either had to come up with $760K in cash to close out the position to keep the stock or have the stock called away from them (which represented about half of their position and would have resulted in a huge tax burden). The Claimants had to make a decision by January 11^th, 2021, or the stock would be called. Eventually the contracts were closed out with a $482,791 loss to the Claimants that required them to deposit those funds in cash to not lose any of their ACN shares. The lawsuit alleges that the Claimants paid an additional $80,968 in fees to MORGAN STANLEY during the time of this “income enhancer” covered call strategy.

The lawsuit is alleging: negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent supervision.  Allegedly, MORGAN STANLEY and their representatives' actions have caused the Claimants damages of approximately $500,000.00.

If you’ve also suffered losses in Accenture (“ACN”) through MORGAN STANLEY, and/or their use of the Meridian Wealth Management Group, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552.

Soreide Law Group works on a contingency fee basis and represents our clients nationwide before FINRA.