April 2017- Simi Valley, CA
The FINRA records of Steven H. Murphy, a stockbroker who is currently employed by Summit Brokerage Services and was previously employed by VSR Financial Services, disclose a pending customer dispute and a prior customer dispute.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the agency that licenses and regulates stockbrokers and brokerage firms. FINRA requires brokers and brokerage firms to report customer complaints and disputes as well as regulatory sanctions. In addition brokers are required to disclose certain financial matters such as personal bankruptcies, judgments and liens.
In currently pending FINRA arbitration 16-01531 a customer of VSR Financial Services alleges damages in an unstated amount for unsuitable investments, breach of fiduciary duty, violation of California state elder abuse from 8/2008 to 11/2014 in connection with the purchase of Direct Investments – limited partnerships, private placements , Equipment Leasing investments and Real Estate Securities.
Murphy was employed by VSR Financial Services from 6/2005- 9/2016. He is currently employed by Summit Brokerage Services.
VSR Financial Services was fined $550,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in May 2013 in connection with the sale of alternative investments . In their findings, FINRA criticized VSR Financial for recommending high concentration levels of alternative investments in customer accounts and for its lack of supervision over the use of consolidated reports prepared by brokers and provided to customers.
Alternative investments include non publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITS) , hedge funds, real estate, commodities and derivatives contracts and, managed futures. These investments tend to be complex, illiquid, nontransparent, hard to value and expensive. Many of the alternative investments sold over recent years are not traded on any public market making them difficult to value and even more difficult to liquidate if cash is needed.
VSR wound down operations at the end of 2016 and transferred most of their brokers and customer accounts to Summit Brokerage Services. See this for more information regarding VSR Financial Services.
If you have questions about an account handled by Steven Murphy or if you have losses in an account at VSR Financial Services, call for a no charge consultation.
Rex Securities Law , with offices in Boca Raton, FL, and Austin, TX, provides representation to investors nationwide who are seeking recovery of investment losses due to the negligence or fraud of stockbrokers and broker dealers. If you have questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney.
Most cases handled on a contingent fee basis meaning that you do not pay legal fees unless we are successful.
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