News by Wendi Lewis

Helios bond funds set for liquidation

Three former Regions Morgan Keegan bond funds that were renamed under the Helios brand when Hyperion Brookfield Asset Management acquired them are now set for liquidation, pending stockholder approval. The troubled funds were acquired after suffering significant and sudden losses during the subprime mortgage crisis.

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RMK investor awarded more than $250,000 to cover bad fund losses

Earlier this month, it was announced that Morgan Keegan & Co., the brokerage firm owned by Regions Financial Corp., would be required to repay an investor $267,711 for losses suffered by the collapse of Regions Morgan Keegan investment funds. According to CCNMoney, this is the largest bond fund arbitration award to date.

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McCarver gets $100,000 in RMK claim

tim mccarver 150x150Noted baseball announcer Tim McCarver, who entered an arbitration case against Morgan Keegan & Co. in November 2008 claiming $1.6 million in losses has received $100,000 in compensatory damages, The Memphis Daily News reports.

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Regions selling off RMK Select Funds

Today the Birmingham Business Journal reported that Regions Financial Corp., which is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., is selling off its 11 Regions Morgan Keegan (RMK) Select Funds. These funds are currently managed by ’ investment arm, Morgan Keegan & Co., based in Memphis. The funds will be sold to Pioneer Investment Managment, Inc., the Journal reports.

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RMK fund set for liquidation

The Memphis Daily News recently reported that Hyperion Brookfield Asset Management, which in July took over administration of seven Regions Morgan Keegan funds under fire for misrepresentation, will liquidate one of the funds, pending shareholder approval. The fund in question is the Morgan Keegan Select Short Term Bond Fund.

Hyperion took over management of the Morgan Keegan investment arm of after several funds suffered steep and sudden drops in value as a result of their connection to the subprime mortgage securities market.

On Dec. 30, the Daily News announced that Hyperion had changed the names of seven former RMK investment funds, now calling them Helios funds, reflecting the change in management, and of course removing the stigma of the RMK investment debacle.

Sales of the Select Short Term Bond Fund shares to new investors will stop effective Jan. 23.

RMK funds change names to reflect new Helios brand

According to a report in the Memphis Commercial Appeal today, seven former Regions Morgan Keegan investment funds have changed their names, and six have new trading symbols. The changes reflect the change in management from Financial to Hyperion Brookfield Asset Management, which took over the troubled investment arm in July. Each fund name now starts with Helio, which is Hyperion’s brand name.

The Commercial Appeal quotes Marion Hayes, a spokesperson for Hyperion, as saying, “It’s not right for these funds to be named Morgan Keegan funds when they’re managed by us.”

The change affects four closed-end funds and three open-end funds. Hyperion took over management of the Morgan Keegan investment arm from after several funds suffered steep and sudden drops in value as a result of their connection to the subprime mortgage securities market.

Following is a list of the changes:

Former RMK funds:
Helios Advantage Income Fund: From RMA to HAV
Helios High Income Fund: From RMH to HIH
Helios Multi-Sector High Income Fund: From RHY to HMH
Helios Strategic Income Fund: From RSF to HSA

Former - Select funds:
Helios Select High Income Fund: From MKHIX to HIFAX
Helios Select Intermediate Income Fund: From MKIBX to HSIBX
Helios Select Short Term Bond Fund: MSBIX, no change

Morgan Keegan buys investment bank

Today The Birmingham (Ala.) News reported that Morgan Keegan & Co., the investment arm of Regions Financial Corp., has purchased an investment bank, Burke Capital Group, based in Atlanta. The sale price was not released. Financial Corp. is based in Birmingham.

According to its company web site, Burke Capital Group is an independent investment banking firm that provides “superior corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions advisory services to financial institutions and middle market companies.” The company was founded in 1995. In 2006, the SNL Financial’s Bank M&A Scoreboard listed Burke at No. 1 among the Top Southeast regional financial advisers for the third quarter.

Regions Morgan Keegan has been staggering since late 2007 when it was revealed that a number of its investment funds that were presented as low-risk had actually been tied to the volatile subprime mortgage lending market. When the mortgage industry collapsed, investors found their portfolios devalued literally overnight, resulting in massive losses.

In August, Hyperion Brookfield, based in New York, NY, took over the management of three open-end funds and four closed-end funds that had been managed by Morgan Asset Managment, an arm of Morgan Keegan, which is based in Memphis. Morgan Asset Management is owned by Financial Corp.

Financial columnist fills RMK stocking with coal

Chuck Jaffe, a senior columnist for MarketWatch, put Regions Morgan Keegan on his 13th annual Lump of Coal Awards list, which points out those companies and individuals who he believes should be on Santa’s “naughty” list in the world of investment funds. The list was published today on SFGate, an online publication of the San Francisco Chronicle.

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Baseball hero, sportscaster McCarver lost funds to RMK investments

The New York Post reported an exclusive item on Sunday, saying former Major League Baseball catcher and current sports broadcaster Tim McCarver has entered an arbitration case against Morgan Keegan & Co. for losses totaling about $1 million.

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RMK lawsuits may be consolidated in Tennessee

The Daily News, which covers Memphis, reported yesterday that class action cases against Regions Morgan Keegan (RMK) pending in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee may be consolidated under U.S. District Judge Hardy Mays. The paper reports Judge Mays issued a ruling Tuesday that answers some questions about the request, and which group or groups could be selected as lead plaintiff in that event.

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