SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 29, 2016) - On January 27, 2016, Sparer Law Group filed the first class action lawsuit in the nation on behalf of investors who purchased the Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund (
To serve as lead plaintiff, you must file a motion with the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you are an investor and wish to consider joining the lawsuit as lead plaintiff, or would like to discuss the lawsuit or add your name to a list of potential class members who receive regular email updates about the lawsuit, please call Plaintiffs' counsel Alan W. Sparer or Marc Haber of the Sparer Law Group at (415) 217-7300, or e-mail the firm at info@sparerlaw.com .
The complaint alleges that, in violation of the Securities Act of 1933, the prospectuses and registration statements of this fixed income mutual fund contained material false or misleading statements regarding the Fund's liquidity. A key feature of open-end funds is that they allow investors to redeem their shares daily. Funds therefore must maintain assets that are sufficiently liquid to meet shareholder redemptions.
According to the lawsuit, the Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund promised investors that it would place no more than 15% of its assets in illiquid securities, securities that could not be sold promptly at or near its carrying value. An analysis of the Fund's holdings in 2013, 2014, and 2015 has revealed that the Fund consistently held more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. The Fund's excessive illiquidity meant that it could not promptly sell assets to meet growing redemptions without unloading them at fire sale prices, leading it to suspend redemptions and shut down the Fund on December 10, 2015.
"Third Avenue promised investors that it wouldn't invest more than a small portion of its assets in illiquid securities and delivered a portfolio that was so illiquid that it could not even meet redemptions. They violated their fundamental obligation to investors," said Alan W. Sparer, lead counsel. "This was a hedge fund masquerading as a mutual fund."
About the firm: Founded in 2003 by Alan Sparer, after 20 years with a large San Francisco law firm, Sparer Law Group is a leading law firm in the field of mutual fund class action securities litigation. It is the lead counsel in a lawsuit against the Oppenheimer California Municipal Fund that raises similar disclosure issues, and that seeks approximately one billion dollars in damages stemming from that fund's losses in 2007 and 2008. Class certification in that action was recently upheld by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Alan W. Sparer or Marc Haber Sparer Law Group (415) 217-7300 Email Contact
