Wachovia office searched for ARS docs

Securities regulators from more than five states raided the St. Louis headquarters of Wachovia Securities LLC, seeking documents and records related to the company’s sale of auction rate securities. The regulators, led by officials from the office of Missouri secretary of state Robin Carnahan, executed subpoenas seeking information concerning Wachovia Securities’ sales practices, internal evaluations of the auction rate securities market and marketing strategies, Ms. Carnahan said in a statement. Wachovia clients have filed more than 70 formal complaints, representing more than $40 million of frozen assets, with the state in the past four months. “Hundreds of Missouri investors have called my office because of inability to access their money,” Ms. Carnahan said in the statement. In May, Wachovia Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., the parent company of Wachovia Securities LLC and other affiliates, confirmed that it received inquiries from the Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators regarding auction rate securities, according to an SEC filing. On Tuesday, UBS AG of Zurich, Switzerland, announced plans to buy back as much as $3.5 billion of its auction rate securities from its customers after regulators in Massachusetts accused the firm of fraudulent practices related to the ARS market. Wachovia did not immediately return a call for comment.