It is alleged that the broker, IC Markets, acted in an unethical manner and in a misleading and deceptive manner. The broker is currently handling two different class-action lawsuits in Australia.

Due to a class-action lawsuit that Piper Alderman filed, IC Markets, formally known as International Capital Markets, is currently the subject of legal investigation. The company's offering of contracts for differences (CFDs) to individual investors has prompted the complaint. This is the second case of this kind that the Sydney-based broker has dealt with.

Piper Alderman's complaint is on behalf of regular Australian investors who, according to reports, lost hundreds of millions of dollars when trading the controversial CFD financial instruments.

Leveraged derivatives, known as CFDs, are considered high-risk investments by individual investors. These are legal instruments in Australia, notwithstanding the risk involved. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission regulates brokers that sell these instruments, such as IC Markets.

The broker is accused of engaging in "unconscionable, misleading, and deceptive behaviour" between September 2017 and March 2021 in the class-action lawsuit. The statement highlights that "investors suffered losses as a result of IC Markets' inability to fairly assess their goals and financial circumstances, and the risks associated with investing were not fully disclosed." 

After a possible investigation began last October, Piper Alderman filed a class-action lawsuit against IC Markets. A UK-based company called Woodsford is providing financial backing for the litigation. Woodsford is also involved in another class-action lawsuit against IG Markets.

Charlie Morris, the chief investment officer at Woodsford, said, "Woodsford is dedicated to supporting this action against IC Markets on behalf of those who have experienced losses trading these excessively risky and complex products." 

Piper Alderman seeks to remedy the situation and recoup losses for the affected retail investors by filing a class action lawsuit.

"We're happy to take this step, initiating this class-action lawsuit on behalf of regular Australian retail investors," Piper Alderman partner Kate Sambrook stated. "Despite having little to no experience trading such complex financial products, many of these investors have experienced significant financial losses and distress as a result of being offered highly leveraged CFDs." 

The claims made in the complaint against IC Markets are wholly unfounded and will be fiercely refuted. We take pride in providing our clients with prompt, truthful, and equitable services, and our CFD products have always complied with all legal requirements. This case is only the most recent in a long line of related class actions that plaintiffs' attorneys and litigation financiers have started against what appear to be all CFD brokers in Australia. It is irrelevant to what we do now and won't have an impact on our clients or our larger business.

Echo Law filed the first class-action complaint against IC Markets in December. The allegations made against the broker in both claims were the same.

Piper Alderman filed a class-action lawsuit against IG Markets in May of the previous year, claiming that insufficient precautions were used while marketing CFDs to novice traders. The legal firm William Roberts filed a second class-action complaint against IG Markets; the two cases were later combined. Additionally, IG Markets is the subject of an inquiry by the Sydney-based Banton Group.