Osaic Services Fined $250,000 for Supervisory Failures in Options Trading

Posted on November 19th, 2024 at 1:39 PM
Osaic Services Fined $250,000 for Supervisory Failures in Options Trading

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law

Osaic Services, formerly SagePoint Financial, recently agreed to pay a $250,000 fine and accept censure for failures in supervising excessive and unsuitable options trading from June 2018 to August 2019.

According to a FINRA settlement letter, known as an Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”), SagePoint permitted advisors without adequate training in options trading to override automated alerts, allowing unsuitable trades that led to significant customer losses.

AdvisorHub reports that one advisor’s inadequate supervision resulted in two clients incurring over $1.2 million in losses and paying $60,000 in commissions. In one instance, the advisor opened a high-risk options position for a client who lacked a margin account, exposing her to potential losses exceeding $4.5 million, far beyond her $200,000 liquid net worth.

FINRA found additional red flags tied to unauthorized trades in the account of a 91-year-old client who had passed away. Despite notification of her death, SagePoint allowed the advisor to execute 21 trades in the deceased’s account, generating $10,000 in commissions and leaving her heirs with losses.

AdvisorHub reports that this recent fine follows a similar AWC agreed in 2022 when Osaic paid $35,000 for failing to establish adequate supervisory systems to address suitability concerns related to margin use and investment recommendations.

 

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

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

If you are being bothered by the Regulators, call Eccleston Law, you won't regret it.

Rick R.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

February 27, 2026
Eighth Circuit Rejects Emergency Injunction in Advisor Departure Dispute

A federal appeals court ruled against an advisory firm seeking immediate, injunctive relief after a team of advisors left with hundreds of millions in client assets.

February 26, 2026
FINRA Bars Former Cambridge Advisor After Refusal to Cooperate With Communications Probe

A former advisor affiliated with Cambridge Investment Research has been barred from the securities industry after declining to comply with a regulatory investigation, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

February 25, 2026
Advisors Increase Crypto Allocations as Merrill Lynch Warns of Significant Risks

Financial advisors are placing more client assets into digital currencies, even as major firms caution investors about the asset class's volatility and speculative nature.