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UBS in $25m SEC settlement over complex options products

The multiple options trades on stock indexes produced positive returns when indexes such as the S&P 500 moved steadily, but spiralled into large losses when markets turned volatile

UBS agreed to pay $25m to settle fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission over a complex options-trading strategy that lost customers tens of millions of dollars.

The Swiss bank pitched the strategy, called Yield Enhancement Strategy, as relatively low risk, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. YES involved multiple options trades on stock indexes that produced positive returns when indexes such as the S&P 500 moved steadily, but spiralled into large losses when markets became more volatile. UBS customers lost at least $60m as of mid-2019.

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