First Trust Portfolios L.P., FHI Securities Fraud

September 12 2008 - by Lucy Campbell

Company:	First Trust Portfolios L.P.,
Ticker Symbol:	FHI
Class Period:	Jul-26-05 to Jul-7-08
Date Filed:	Sep-12-08
Lead Plaintiff Deadline:	Nov-11-08
Court:	Northern District of Illinois
Allegations:

A class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired the shares of certain mutual funds offered by First Trust Portfolios L.P., including shares of the First Trust Strategic High Income Fund (the "FHI Fund"), First Trust Strategic High Income Fund II (the "FHY Fund") and First Trust Strategic High Income Fund III (the "FHO Fund") (collectively referred to as the "Funds") between July 26, 2005 and July 7, 2008, inclusive (the "Class Period"), and on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired shares of the Funds issued in connection with the Funds' initial public offerings ("IPOs").

The complaint charges the Funds and the Funds' registrants, the Funds' adviser, First Trust Advisors L.P., the Funds' sub-advisers, and certain of the Funds' officers and/or directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Funds' portfolios and financial results. As a result of defendants' false statements, the Funds' shares traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period. Beginning in August 2007 and continuing through July 2008, the Funds began to acknowledge the serious deterioration in the Funds' portfolios. As a result of these disclosures, the price of the Funds' shares collapsed.

According to the complaint, the true facts which were omitted from the Registration Statements/Prospectuses or were known by the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period were as follows: (a) the Funds lacked effective controls and hedges to minimize the risk of loss from mortgage delinquencies which affected a large part of their portfolios; (b) the Funds lacked effective internal controls to ensure that the Funds would remain in compliance with restrictions and limitations related to their investment portfolios and strategies; (c) the extent of the Funds' liquidity risk due to the illiquid nature of a large portion of the Funds' portfolios was omitted; (d) the extent of the Funds' risk exposure to mortgage-backed assets was misstated; and (e) the extent to which the Funds' portfolios were subject to fair value procedures was misstated.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of shares of the Funds during the Class Period, including shares issued in the Funds' IPOs (the "Class"). If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today.

If you acquired the securities of the defendants during the Class Period you may, no later than the Lead Plaintiff Deadline shown above, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff through counsel of your choice. You may also choose to remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff must meet certain requirements.

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