Report: Easterly ROCMuni Described as “Junk Bond”

Investment firms Osaic Wealth and Stifel Nicolaus & Company may have improperly recommended investments in the Easterly ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund, according to an August 8, 2025 report by InvestmentNews. As the report describes, the firms “face questions” and may be subject to lawsuits over their recommendation of the investment.

Easterly ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund was a small municipal bond fund that used the ticker symbol RHMHIX, according to InvestmentNews. In June, the bond reportedly declined in value by more than 50% and has a net asset value of $2.95/share as of the article’s publication. A New York-based plaintiff’s attorney described one client who had invested in the fund while working with an Osaic advisor. The attorney described the fund as “a speculative high risk ‘junk bond,'” stating further: “Many of the bonds in the fund lacked a liquid market. And when the fund collapsed, investors were left holding the bag.”

As the attorney told InvestmentNews, his client was an 84-year-old widow who purchased the investment at Osaic’s recommendation “days  before it lost half its value,” reportedly suffering the loss of more than 35% of her savings. Another plaintiff’s firm published a press release explaining that it was interested in speaking with Stifel Nicolaus customers who invested in the fund at their advisors’ recommendation. This firm also described the investment as a “poorly rated” junk bond. “[T]he majority of the bonds in the Easterly Fund were not backed by any municipality, like a state or local government, but rather they were bonds issued by small companies for often speculative projects,” the firm said.

Carlson Law represents investors throughout the United States in claims against financial advisors and investment firms. If you or a loved one have suffered investment losses, please call us at 888-976-6111 or complete our contact form for a free and confidential consultation.