Infinex Investments, Inc. (“Infinex Investments”) (CRD#35371) has many different complaints filed by FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and state regulatory organizations. At the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, we have investigated Infinex Investments and its regulatory, and have also represented investors with claims of fraud, negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty against organizations such as Infinex Investments.
If you believe you have a claim against Infinex Investments, you should strongly consider hiring an investment fraud lawyer. You should not wait until it’s too late to file a claim. The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., offers free consultations. Give us a call at 800-732-2889. Let’s discuss your case and see what we can do to help you get the compensation you need and deserve.
Can I Sue Infinex Investments?
If you’ve lost money caused by Infinex Investments and/or its employees’ misconduct then the answer is, YES, you can sue Infinex Investments, but the odds are you signed away your right to sue in court and agreed to resolve your dispute in a FINRA arbitration proceeding. Attorney Robert Wayne Pearce has over 40 years of personal experience in FINRA arbitration proceedings and knows very well how you can not only sue Infinex Investments in FINRA arbitration proceedings but WIN that arbitration. The easiest way to know if you have a viable case against Infinex Investments is to call Attorney Pearce at our office at 800-732-2889.
Investment Losses? We Can Help
Discuss your legal options with an attorney at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A.
or, give us a ring at (800) 732-2889.
What is Infinex Investments?
Infinex Investments (CRD#35371) is a registered broker-dealer. It operates as a full-service independent broker-dealer, providing a range of financial products and services to individual investors and financial advisors.
As a registered broker-dealer, Infinex Investments is subject to regulations and oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). It is required to comply with industry standards and regulations to ensure the protection of its clients’ interests.
A failure to comply with industry standards by either its brokers or the firm itself can result in disciplinary actions, fines, or other penalties imposed by regulatory authorities.
Infinex Investments Has Many Different Regulatory Problems
Infinex Investments’ rapid growth has not been without consequences. There have been approximately 8 state and self-regulatory body disclosure events; that is, final and formal proceedings initiated by a regulatory authority (e.g., a state or federal securities agency like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or self-regulatory body like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) for a violation(s) of investment-related rules or regulations. In addition, there have been customer complaints about Infinex Investments for misconduct by its securities sales and investment advisory representatives that are not reported by the firm on its Central Depository Record.
We have reported and written about these regulatory problems and customer complaints over many years. Infinex Investments is a repeat offender: there are 8 FINRA-reported proceedings citing the firm with one form of supervisory lapses or another.
A Brief Overview of Some of the Regulatory Problems Infinex Investments Has Faced Over the Years*
Infinex Investments has been repeatedly censured, warned, and fined for its own misconduct and failure to supervise its army of financial advisors. * A few of the notable FINRA Sanctions for its Supervisory Failures are below:
SEC Censures Infinex Investments for Mutual Fund Shares Sales Practice
Brief Overview: The Securities and Exchange Commission initiated an investigation into Infinex Investments that revealed breaches of fiduciary duty and inadequate disclosures by the firm in connection with its mutual fund share class selection practices and the fees it received. According to the SEC, the firm purchased, recommended, or held for advisory clients mutual fund share classes that charged 12b-1 fees instead of lower-cost share classes of the same funds for which the clients were eligible. The firm received 12b-1 fees in connection with these investments but failed to disclose in its Form ADV or otherwise the conflicts of interest related to its receipt of 12b-1 fees and/or its selection of mutual fund share classes that pay such fees, which the form received for advising clients to invest in or hold such mutual fund share classes. As a result, the firm was censured and paid disgorgement of over $800,000 plus interest.
FINRA Censures and Fines Infinex Investments for Excessive Sales Charges on UIT Purchases by Customers
Brief Overview: Without admitting or denying the findings, Infinex Investments consented to the sanctions and to the entry of FINRA findings that it failed to identify and apply sales charge discounts to certain customers’ eligible purchases of unit investment trusts resulting in customers paying excessive sales charges of approximately $109,628. FINRA also stated that the firm failed to establish, maintain and enforce a supervisory system and written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to ensure that customers received sales charge discounts on all eligible UIT purchases. Indeed, the firm relied primarily on its registered representatives to ensure that customers received appropriate UIT sales charge discounts, despite the fact that the firm did not effectively inform and train representatives and their supervisors to identify and apply such sales charge discounts. As a result, the firm was censured and fined $175,000.
FINRA Censures and Fines Infinex Investments for Failure to Perform Adequate Due Diligence on Non-Traditional ETFs Sold to Customers
Brief Overview: Without admitting or denying the findings, Infinex Investments consented to the sanctions and to the entry of FINRA findings that it failed to subject non-traditional exchange-traded funds to the same level of review as other new products offered for sale to retail brokerage customers. FINRA said instead, the firm allowed its registered representatives to recommend to customers non-traditional ETFs without performing reasonable diligence to understand the risks and features associated with it. According to FINRA, firm representatives who received minimal training on non-traditional ETFs failed to perform reasonable diligence to understand the risks and features of the product, to recommend to customers transactions in nontraditional ETFs. FINRA further said the firm’s supervisory system was inadequate to detect and monitor the holding periods of non-traditional ETFs in customer accounts. Specifically, the firm did not utilize exception reports or other surveillance reports to monitor ETF activity, including the classification of ETFs as leveraged or inverse. As a result, the firm was censured and fined $75,000.
FINRA Censures and Fines Infinex Investments for Violating Rules Regulating Order Tickets
Brief Overview: Without admitting or denying the findings, Infinex Investments consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of FINRA findings the firm failed to maintain adequate order tickets. Moreover, the firm failed to maintain its corporate and municipal bond order ticket information in an easily accessible place for a period of two years, as required by Exchange Act and MSRB Rules. In addition, the firm failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, and establish, maintain, and enforce written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance with corporate and municipal bond order ticket recordkeeping and retention requirements. As a result, the firm was censured and fined.
State of Illinois Fines Infinex Investments for Acting as a Dealer without Being Properly Registered in the State
Brief Overview: The State of Illinois initiated an investigation into Infinex Investments that revealed the firm acted as a dealer in the State of Illinois without being properly registered in violation of Illinois securities law. This made the firm’s application for registration as a dealer in the State of Illinois subject to denial. Infinex Investments entered into a consent order with the state and also paid a fine.
*Above are only some of the regulatory disciplinary actions filed against Infinex Investments by FINRA. NASAA and other state securities regulator investigations and enforcement actions account for another 3 BrokerCheck disclosures.
Infinex Investments Customer Complaints
There have been scores of customer complaints filed against Infinex Investments stockbrokers and investment advisors over the years. We have launched many investigations of current and former Infinex Investments advisors:
- John O’Keefe Formerly With Infinex Investments
- Robert Peckham Of Infinex Investments
- Roderick Rodriguez of Infinex Investments
- Derek Malone of Infinex Investments, Inc.
- Donald Nestler formerly with Infinex Investments, Inc.
- Emilio Vazquez of Infinex Investments, Inc.
- Roberto Leslie of Infinex Investments, Inc.
- Michael Risko Infinex Investments, Inc.
- Farhad Sediqi of Infinex Investments, Inc.
- John Kuehnle of Osaic Institutions, Inc.
- Joseph Barreca of First Horizon Advisors, Inc.
If you have lost money investing with any of these Infinex Investments advisors or others within this brokerage firm, it’s important that you reach out to an investment loss attorney quickly because the statutes of limitations can bar your claims. Call us at 800-732-2889.
Why Does Infinex Investments Have So Many Regulatory Problems And Customer Complaints?
Independent broker-dealers are notorious for their lax supervisory practices and procedures. The business model of many franchise type operations is to open many offices nationwide for steady growth of fixed monthly revenues without the costs attendant to a full-service branch office with on-site manager, compliance officer and operation personnel. The registered representatives of these independent broker-dealers generally operate as separately incorporated businesses. They are not employees of the broker-dealer and therefore not controlled in the same manner as full-service brokerage firm representatives. The registered representatives control their structure and costs to maximize profits and often leave the protection of investors’ rights and interests as their lowest priority.
The typical supervisory organization of independent broker-dealer operations is to have other independent contractors operate Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJs) to monitor the registered representatives from geographically remote offices and then report to the main franchisor’s compliance office at national headquarters. The supervisors at the OSJs are not employees of the franchisor and often run their own brokerage, insurance and other businesses. They are not devoted full-time supervisors of the smaller branch offices. Consequently, OSJ managers cannot and do not supervise the day-to-day operations of the registered representatives of these Independent broker-dealers.
Generally, there is no immediate review of new accounts opened, securities transactions, business records, cash or securities receipts and deliveries, correspondence and business activities unrelated to the securities brokerage operation at these independent brokerage firms. The lax supervision leaves investors who have transferred their accounts to the smaller independent broker-dealer vulnerable to sales of securities that have not been reviewed or authorized by anyone other than the sales representative earning a commission. There may be no one onsite to detect forgeries of clients’ signatures on documents, the placement of inaccurate information about a client’s investment objectives and financial condition to document the suitability of a particular investment recommendation. Oftentimes there is no daily review of sales literature and client correspondence to protect against misrepresentations and misleading statements being made to investors. In fact, it is not unusual for there to be only one compliance audit visit per year at many of these offices.
These Independent brokerage business operations are worrisome to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), which has documented more instances of sales abuse and consequently investor losses at these firms than the traditional brokerage firms with branch offices with on-site managers and compliance personnel.
Did Infinex Investments Advisor Misconduct Cause You Investment Losses?
When financial advisor misconduct has caused you to lose substantial value to your investment accounts, you have the right to seek reimbursement from the responsible parties. Infinex Investments is responsible like any employer for its financial advisors acts and omissions. In addition, it has an independent duty to supervise its stockbrokers and investment advisors. These cases can be extremely complex, and so having the support of a reputable attorney who is experienced in recovering investment losses for investors is key to your success. Many customers make the mistake of contacting Infinex Investments without representation with an attorney about their complaints and have their complaints denied.
Related Read: Can You Sue Your Brokerage Firm?
Investment Losses? We Can Help
Discuss your legal options with an attorney at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A.
or, give us a ring at (800) 732-2889.
Consult With An Attorney Who Recovers Investment Losses Caused By Infinex Investments Today!
The investment loss attorneys at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., have helped countless investors over the last 40 years recover the losses from their investment accounts that were caused by broker negligence or misconduct. The firm has extensive experience with Infinex Investments cases, and Attorney Pearce is committed to seeing that those responsible for the losses you have suffered are held fully accountable.
Give us a call at 800-732-2889. Let’s discuss your case and see what we can do to help you get the compensation you need and deserve.
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