National investment loss lawyers KlaymanToskes is currently investigating Independent Financial Group, LLC (“IFG”) and financial advisors who may have engaged in “churning” or excessively trading customer accounts. If you suffered investment losses at Independent Financial Group due to excessive trading or churning, contact KlaymanToskes at 888-997-9956 or fill out a short contact form to discuss your potential recovery options.
Independent Financial Group (IFG) has been censured and fined $500,000 by the SEC in connection with findings that between July 2020 and December 2022, the firm exhibited significant lapses in its supervisory responsibilities, which reportedly led to substantial financial losses for investors.
During this period, the accounts of five IFG customers frequently appeared on the Excessive Trading Report—an internal tool meant to flag potentially harmful trading activities. Specifically, three of these accounts were flagged every month from July 2020 to June 2021, while another appeared eleven times and the fifth six times within the same timeframe. Additionally, multiple alerts for excessive trading were triggered across all five accounts.
Despite these consistent warnings, IFG’s compliance staff systematically closed these alerts without taking necessary corrective measures, such as calculating the cost-to-equity ratios which during this period ranged from 13.7% to 27.1%. These ratios were alarmingly high and indicative of the excessive costs being passed on to clients relative to their investment equity, a clear red flag for churning and excessive trading.
Although IFG contacted two of the affected customers, there was no substantial discussion about the worrisome activity in their accounts nor were there any meaningful steps taken to limit the commission charges or curb the representative’s excessive trading practices. This lack of decisive action meant that the representative was able to continue trading aggressively, which was inconsistent with the customers’ investment profiles and contrary to their best interests.
The consequence of IFG’s supervisory failures was severe for the affected investors. Collectively, these five customers incurred over $2.2 million in total trading costs and faced realized losses of approximately the same amount, underscoring the substantial financial impact of IFG’s negligence.
If you believe your account was excessively traded by Independent Financial Group, you may be eligible to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration.
Investors who suffered losses at Independent Financial Group are encouraged to contact attorney Steven D. Toskes at (888) 997-9956 or by email at investigations@klaymantoskes.com in furtherance of our investigation.
KlaymanToskes is a leading national securities law firm which practices exclusively in the field of securities arbitration and litigation on behalf of retail and institutional investors throughout the world in large and complex securities matters. The firm has recovered over $250 million in FINRA arbitrations and over $350 million in other securities litigation matters. KlaymanToskes has office locations in California, Florida, New York, and Puerto Rico.
Steven D. Toskes, Esq.
KlaymanToskes, P.A.
+1 888-997-9956
investigations@klaymantoskes.com