Tr?id=566623520170033&ev=PageView&noscript=1

FINRA Fines Financial Advisory Firm After Elderly Client Was Loaded Up on Margin

Posted on September 27th, 2022 at 1:04 PM
FINRA Fines Financial Advisory Firm After Elderly Client Was Loaded Up on Margin

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has agreed to an $86,000 settlement with SagePoint Financial over allegations that the firm failed to effectively supervise its advisors’ use of margin in client accounts.

The settlement includes nearly $52,000 in restitution to two clients who were permitted to leverage their portfolio even though they were ineligible for margin loans pursuant to firm policy, according to FINRA. FINRA alleged that SagePoint compliance officials failed to further investigate red flags indicating that the margin lending was unsuitable for the clients. The margin loans, which enables a client to use their portfolio as collateral to purchase more securities, normally exposes the client to increased costs and heightened volatility.

According to FINRA, in one case, a 79-year-old widow with $35,000 in annual income and a “moderate” risk tolerance was permitted to take out a margin loan even though company policy restricts granting margin loans to clients over 70 with income below their annual expenses. In another instance, a 56-year-old with a “moderate” risk tolerance was allowed to leverage 20-46% of the portfolio even though the client was ineligible pursuant to firm policy, according to FINRA. SagePoint consented to the fine without admitting or denying any of FINRA’s investigatory findings, according to FINRA.

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, advisors, finra

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next
Quotes Bigger

I am so blessed to have you and your dynamic team defending me. Your ethics, forward thinking and strategies are amazing.  You guys are the best group of attorneys in the country that I could hire to handle this complicated case.

Cindy C.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

1782836587 Law
June 30, 2026
FINRA Signals Stronger Enforcement Focus on Reg BI, Excessive Trading, and Best Execution

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) plans to intensify its enforcement efforts against Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) violations, excessive trading, options trading, churning, and best execution failures after bringing a record number of retail investor protection cases in 2025, according to ThinkAdvisor.

1782744905 Law
June 29, 2026
Former Arvest Wealth Representative Sanctioned by FINRA Over Improper Use of Mistaken Commission Payment

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended former Arvest Wealth representative Brandon Still for 18 months and fined him $5,000 after determining that he improperly used firm funds that were mistakenly deposited into his account.

1782497406 Law
June 26, 2026
FINRA Seeks to Make Remote Inspection Program Permanent

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is seeking approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to make its pandemic-era remote inspections program permanent before the current pilot is scheduled to expire in June 2027, according to AdvisorHub and FINRA's summary of its recent Board of Governors meeting.