Frank – I understand that all this Storm business has been emotionally exhausting for you, and that you wish to conserve your energy for the battle ahead rather than expend it on endless discussion on this forum.
In your situation I’d feel the same way.
I haven’t agreed with all your opinons but I respect your right to voice them. I hope you equally respect my right to disagree with some of them.
Below in bold print are three opinions that you expressed in some of your earlier posts. Under each one is my response in italics.
1. Some have called us ‘gullible’ for going to Storm for financial advice.
The reason we think you’re gullible is not because you sought advice from a Financial Planner, but rather, because you accepted that advice at face value without thoroughly checking into it to look for any pitfalls.
2. We are not ashamed of what has occurred because it was not our fault in any way.
You accepted Storm’s advice at face value, you failed to adequately research that advice, consequently you believed their claim that it was a safe and conservative strategy, when in fact it was aggressive and highly risky.
You should accept your share of the fault in getting duped by Storm.
3. We were sold a financial plan that we had no way of knowing was flawed.
Of course you had a way of knowing it was flawed - it’s called ‘research’.
When you bought or developed your shopping center you would have conducted meticulous research to uncover anything and everything that could affect the success of your enterprise.
You could have used those same research skills to thoroughly check out Storm’s plan. Had you done so, I believe you’d have uncovered serious flaws that would have warned you to steer clear.
Frank, I’m not looking for any response to this post, unless you want to give it. Save your energy for your coming battle with the banks. If you can prove any illegality on their part that contributed to your losses, then I hope they’re ordered to make an appropriate level of restitution.
I wish you all the best.
Hi Bunyip,
The reason we think you’re gullible is not because you sought advice from a Financial Planner, but rather, because you accepted that advice at face value without thoroughly checking into it to look for any pitfalls.
Storm didn't tell us at the time that their software systems could not monitor our portfolios and warn us if the "trigger-points" had been reached. Storm didn't tell us that they had secret agreements with the Banks that increased our margin loan ratios, Storm didn't tell us that they and the banks had an agreement that margin calls would not be made on us, Storm didn't tell us that our our money was invested in shares that took at least 10 days to sell-down. It didn't matter anyway because the Banks never made margin calls to us full-stop. Even with Storm's over-leveraging policy, we could still have saved some of our money if we had BEEN TOLD IN TIME!
How then could we find the pitfalls if they were hidden from us?
You accepted Storm’s advice at face value, you failed to adequately research that advice, consequently you believed their claim that it was a safe and conservative strategy, when in fact it was aggressive and highly risky.
You should accept your share of the fault in getting duped by Storm.
When people steal from you, should one blame the victim or the thief. If the victim is defenceless (75% elderly) does that mitigate the crime? If the victim walks down a certain unsavoury street in town totally unaware of the dangers of doing so, does that excuse the person that seizes on that opportunity to rob him or her? Yet, it seems that everyone want to blame the victims in this case rather than the thieves. Perhaps it's just a sad commentary on the world we live in today or has its perhaps always been this way?
Should we accept out share of the blame because Storm hit us over the head and took our money? No! We accept no blame whatsoever! The perpetrators are Storm and the Banks that dealt with that company. Our state of mind at the time has nothing to do with it!
Of course you had a way of knowing it was flawed - it’s called ‘research’.
When you bought or developed your shopping center you would have conducted meticulous research to uncover anything and everything that could affect the success of your enterprise.
You could have used those same research skills to thoroughly check out Storm’s plan. Had you done so, I believe you’d have uncovered serious flaws that would have warned you to steer clear.
Why should we have any reason to suspect that Storm's financial plan was anything but what it claimed to be? ASIC, the FPA, the Financial Sector, the Banks involved (some of the biggest in the country), Storm's insurers, and Uncle Tom Cobbly found nothing wrong with it! How do you expect unsophisticated investors to do so! Storm had 13,500 clients. It was also one of the biggest financial advisory companies in Australia. Therefore, we, the people that invested in Storm had no reason to suspect them of anything. No one else did at the time although they are all now crying,
"I told you so".
The Storm plan sold to us at the time was not the plan Storm adopted! That's the whole crux of our argument today! Before you condemn the people that invested in Storm as gulllible and greedy, examine the roles of ASIC, this Government, and the Banks involved. How greedy and gullible were they?
We, ordinary Australians, shouldn't have to live in a society where people can run off with one's money and get away with it. That's Nazi Germany before the Second World War. As I've said, we don't expect everyone to understand. We come from a different generation where people could be trusted a lot more. Today, it's dog eat dog! Well, we've had enough! We are going to do some biting now! If we lose, so be it but it's time people stood up against these rogues. That's exactly what we intend to do.