OppenheimerFunds, Inc. and OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc. is being investigated by US law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro for alleged violations of federal securities laws among other things on behalf of investors in the Core Bond Fund.
The "low-risk, conservative bond fund" that invested mainly in high-quality corporate bonds, is alleged to have started acting "like a hedge fund" taking extreme risks including selling risky credit default swaps and other high-risk derivative investments to Wall Street firms.
The Core Bond Fund suffered losses of more than 35% of its value in 2008 and continued to fall another 10% in the first three months of 2009. The Oppenheimer Champion income fund lost more than 80% of the its value, dropping almost $2 billion over the course of 15 months as a result of similar risky investments and deviations from the stated fund investment policy.
Hagens Berman is investigating whether officers and directors of the Core Bond Fund misled investors about the safety of the fund and whether they failed to adequately warn investors when the fund took extreme risks in violation of the Fund’s stated investment policy.