WFG Investments Hit with $700,000 Fine for Due Diligence and Supervision Lapses

WFG Investments, Inc. of Dallas, Texas submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm consented to, but it did not admit to or deny, the described sanctions and the entry of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that it failed to conduct appropriate due diligence and supervision with respect to a private placement offering and that a registered representative sold an investment away from the firm as an approved private securities transaction. FINRA found that in various times between March 2007 and January 2014, “the Firm failed to commit the necessary time, attention and resources to an array of critical regulatory obligations related to its supervision of registered representatives.” Clients who invested in the private placement offering allegedly lost their entire investment. FINRA also found that WFG Investments failed to supervise its representatives, who allegedly recommended the sale of high risk equity and ETF purchases for a retired client with conservative risk tolerance. In addition, WFG Investments failed to supervise a representative’s private securities transactions. According to FINRA, the WFG representative allegedly structured and sold two funds that had substantial investments (exceeding the 50% limit) without investors’ knowledge. All private placement investors allegedly “lost 100% of their investments resulting from a related entity’s fraudulent business practices.” Consequently, WFG Investments was censured and fined $700,000 by FINRA.

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