An investor in the Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund has filed a proposed securities class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado on behalf of investors of the Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund (MUTF: OPIGX) (MUTF: OIGBX) (MUTF: OPBCX) against Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund, OppenheimerFunds, and others over alleged violations of Federal Securities Laws. The Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund was promoted as appropriate for, and was offered by, several 529 college savings plans, such as the Illinois 529 Bright Start plan, the Oregon College Savings Plan, the Texas Lonestar 529 Plan, Maine’s NextGen College Investing Plan, the New Mexico Scholar’s Edge and College Sense 529 plans and Nebraska’s State Farm College Savings Plan. The Fund was also offered by several retirement plans and annuities.
According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges that the defendants violated the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 for issuing false and misleading statements as to the Fund’s overall strategy and investment objectives in the Fund’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Specifically the plaintiff accuses that Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund, while representing itself as conservative and appropriate as “a long-term investment” and as “part of a retirement plan portfolio” was exceeding its own risk controls by investing in high-risk, highly leveraged bets that directly conflicted with its stated conservative strategy. The Core Bond Fund lost more than 35 percent of its value in 2008 and another 10 percent in the first three months of 2009 alone. The class action names as defendants Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund, Oppenheimer Funds and certain of its officers and directors. Oppenheimer Funds is a subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.