New Complaint Against SWAN Financial’s Paul Murphy

Ocala, Florida financial advisor Paul Murphy (CRD# 5132291) recently received an investor complaint alleging more than $400,000 in damages. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is a broker and an investment advisor with Calton & Associates, doing business as SWAN Financial Services.

Mr. Murphy’s BrokerCheck report discloses three investor complaints. The most recent, filed in 2021, alleged unsuitable investment recommendations and breach of fiduciary duty while he was a representative of Calton & Associates. In August 2022 the complaint reached a settlement of $42,500.

In a statement on the complaint’s disclosure, Mr. Murphy wrote: “I was not named as a responded, therefor I had no control over the response. The firm decided to settle the case and I had no control over the settlement decision.”

A second complaint, also filed in 2021, alleged that as a representative of Calton & Associates, he breached his fiduciary duty and made unsuitable investment recommendations between August 2014 and June 2016. The pending complaint alleges damages of $457,173.69.

A third investor complaint, filed in 2020, alleged that as a representative of Newport Coast Securities and Calton & Associates, he breached his fiduciary duty, made misrepresentations of material information, and recommended unsuitable investments in BDCs and real estate. In 2021 the complaint reached a settlement of $12,734.

In a statement on the complaint’s disclosure, Mr. Murphy defended himself against the allegations, writing that the firm chose to settle the claim rather than spend time and money litigating it. “I maintain that my actions were appropriate based on the investment objectives and sophistication of the client,” he concluded. 

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Paul Murphy holds 16 years of securities industry experience. Based in Ocala, Florida, he has been a broker and an investment advisor with Calton & Associates since 2015, doing business as SWAN Financial Services. His past registrations include Newport Coast Securities, JP Turner & Company, Calton & Associates, and Brookstreet Securities Corporation. His credentials include the passage of six securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Principal Examination, or Series 24; the Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative Examination, or Series 6; the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; and the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65. He holds 39 state licenses. (Information current as of September 1, 2022.)

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