ProShares Ultrashort Russell 2000 Fund (SKK) Case Filed by Bernstein Liebhard LLP

Bernstein Liebhard LLP filed a class action lawsuit on March 22, 2010 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired shares in the ProShares UltraShort Russell 2000 fund (the “SKK Fund”), an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) offered by ProShares Trust (“ProShares”), pursuant or traceable to ProShares’ false and misleading Registration Statement, Prospectuses, and Statements of Additional Information (collectively, the “Registration Statement”) issued in connection with shares of the SKK Fund (the “Class”). The Class is seeking to pursue remedies under Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”).

The complaint names ProShares, ProShare Advisors LLC, SEI Investments Distribution Co., Michael L. Sapir, Louis M. Mayberg, Russell S. Reynolds, III, Michael Wachs, and Simon D. Collier, as defendants (collectively, “Defendants”). ProShares sells its Ultra and UltraShort ETFs as “simple” directional plays. As marketed by ProShares, Ultra ETFs are designed to go up when markets go up; UltraShort ETFs are designed to go up when markets go down. The SKK Fund is one of ProShares’ UltraShort ETFs. The SKK Fund seeks investment results that correspond to twice (-200%) the inverse of the daily performance of the Russell 2000 Growth Index (“RGI”). In 2008, for example, the RGI fell approximately 38.96 percent. Rather than increase approximately 78 percent (double the inverse), the SKK Fund increased approximately 54.26 percent. 

The complaint alleges the Defendants violated the Securities Act by failing to disclose the following risks, inter alia, in the Registration Statement: (1) if SKK Fund shares were held for a time period longer than one day, the likelihood of catastrophic losses was huge; and (2) the extent to which performance of the SKK Fund would inevitably diverge from the performance of the RGI — i.e., the overwhelming probability, if not certainty, of spectacular divergence.

Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all Class members who purchased or otherwise acquired shares of ProShares SKK. If you purchased or otherwise acquired ProShares SKK shares, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the shares, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. In order to do so, you must meet certain requirements set forth in the applicable law and file appropriate papers no later than April 14, 2010.

There is also a lead plaintiff deadline of April 12, 2010 for the UltraShort Russell MidCap Value fund (NYSE: SJL).

A “lead plaintiff” is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Bernstein Liebhard LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

If you purchased or otherwise acquired shares in the SKK or SJL funds, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the shares, please contact Joseph R. Seidman, Jr. at (877) 779-1414.

Bernstein Liebhard has pursued hundreds of securities and consumer cases and recovered approximately $2 billion for its clients. It has been named to The National Law Journal’s “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” in each of the last seven years.

Bernstein Liebhard has also filed cases concerning the (SRS), (SKF), (DUG), (DXD), (UYG), and (SMN) funds. You can view a copy of these complaints, as well as the (SKK) complaint, online at http://www.bernlieb.com, or obtain them from the court.

Related posts:

1. ProShares UltraShort Dow 30 Fund (Symbol: DXD) Class Action Filed by Bernstein Liebhard LLP
2. Lawsuit Filed Against ProShares UltraShort Real Estate Fund (ETF-SRS)
3. Gilman and Pastor LLP Announces That 6 Days Remain for Investors to File Certifications to Serve as Lead Plaintiff in the ProShares UltraShort Real Estate Fund (SRS)

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