Storm Financial Group

[shibby]

I feel sorry for any one caught up in this mess but was just wondering if anyone originally had a different financial planner that was subsequently bought and then were convinced to switch their original plan to storms?

Yes I did.

 

[shibby]

Obviously there is something I am missing in this particular situation...?

In my case, even though you asked to get out it just didn't happen, this is a bit of a common thread and if you start reading backwards you will see what I mean.
I remembered last evening that a pretty standard reply after my request was that it will be impossible/difficult to get back into the market. Blah blah blah gobbly gook gobbly gook. Not blaming them, blaming me. I am not a victim.

 

[vincent191]

Rastan.....generally speaking and I say again generally speaking.....when a Company goes broke, the liquidator sells all the assets of the Company. The proceeds from the sale is distribute according to legal priorities. The secured lenders i.e. the banks will get the first bite of the cherry.

Employees entitlements and the ATO gets the next bite of the cherry, the comes the creditors and anything left goes to repay shareholders or unit holders.

As reported in the news Storm may have paid out a $2m didvidend and other payments to a related party after learning that it is insolvent. There is a strong possibility that the liquidator will "claw back" such payments.

It is also illegal to continue trading whilst insolvent, I hope ASIC will be investigating this. And I also hope the ATO is owed a lot of money by the Directors of Storm because the ATO has deep pockets and if they think any of the Directors have committed illegal acts then the ATO will pursue the full course of action and may even win judgement to sell off their personal assets.

 

[sqwark7600]

I have done a lot of online searches for the action group and no luck but am hoping there will be a public notice in the T'ville Bully about next week's mtg soon; and after the meeting I will post any contact details I have. Anyone else out there with info on it, yes please let me know too, if you have any contacts now.

Sara Elks wrote in the Townsville Bulletin yesterday:

Meeting organiser John McLennan said the situation was a "human tragedy" and he expected several hundred people to attend the meeting.
"The stories are the same," Mr McLennan told The Australian before the meeting.
"They're self-funded retirees who wanted to provide for their retirements ... and now they've lost everything."
Mr McLennan is the former senior Westpac employee turned whistleblower who exposed major banks over the Swiss franc loans scandal in the 1990s.
I like that bit.
Mr McLennan said he was not a Storm Financial creditor but had met a couple who had lost their life savings and that he had agreed to help them.
He said there needed to be a Senate inquiry into the matter to examine -- among other issues -- what role the regulators should have played.

Smiley I think you will find that the Action Group is in the very early formative stages and will take a while to get rolling.
I started with the Bulletin and they said that details of the Townsville meeting will be in their paper tomorrow.
They provided an internet address and I have sent an info request.
It is

sicag-tsv@live.com.au

Damian Scatinni is the lead lawyer for Slater and Gordon and had no detail on the meeting.
Senator John Williams office whilst very helpful also had no detail.
I was upfront and admitted that I was not a Storm victim so maybe they were suspicious of my motives.
Anyway good luck.
:sheep:

 

[sqwark7600]

A word of warning. The enemy also trolls these threads. Be careful.
:badsmile:

 

[sqwark7600]

Townsville Bulletin today:

"Storm Investors Consumer Action Group (SICAG) spokesman Mark Weir said there had been a huge response from crushed investors in Townsville and the Burdekin.
"We have the best intentions to be up there next Wednesday night," Mr Weir said.
"We haven't yet secured a venue, but we're hoping word of mouth and the network of Storm clients will swing into action."
Mr Weir said there was `any number' of devastated clients from Townsville and the Burdekin who wanted to be represented by the consumer action group.
The group was endorsed at a meeting of about 400 angry investors who packed into the Golden Ox reception centre in Redcliffe on Tuesday night.

Full story:

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/01/22/34271_news.html

:sheep:

 

[Rastan]

Ahhh stupid me - people invested in the _company_ I thought it was a financial advisor (whilst risky, but considering the past 5 years it looked good) who organised individuals to setup margin loans and buy shares etc. Was it publicly listed? Is that what the kerfuffle is about then - investing in this company and then it going kapput (a'la ABC)?

 

[Smiley]

A word of warning. The enemy also trolls these threads. Be careful.
:badsmile:

What do you mean?

 

[daisy]

At the risk of sounding paranoid, sqwark does have a point. A fact that I did consider when I made an earlier remark with no intention of it being a threat just a very obvious statement of fact.

 

[sqwark7600]

What do you mean?

I mean that people who may have a different agenda to yours will troll a site in order to glean any information on a situation for their own benefit; or argue their own contrary case in a seemingly friendly format for the same reason. I have seen it on another professional chat site. My acid test is don't post anything you wouldn't want your enemies to know or you wouldn't want quoted in the media. Paranoia maybe, but something to consider.
:sheep:

 

[daisy]

Hi everyone,
I realised last night that I had been mighty pushy in expressing my opinion yesterday. I guess I got a bit carried away. I’m sorry if I came across as overbearing.
Of course people have the right to resolve this issue for themselves however they choose. Please don’t let my personal cynicism and negativity affect that decision. It was just my personal opinion and is worth no more than anybody else’s personal opinion.
Please everybody who has been caught up in this just do whatever you need to do and what is right for you in order to get through what must be a horrible time and move forward into a brighter future.
I'm new to forums. It never occurred to me that there could be plants among the forum members.

 

[Julia]

Ahhh stupid me - people invested in the _company_ I thought it was a financial advisor (whilst risky, but considering the past 5 years it looked good) who organised individuals to setup margin loans and buy shares etc. Was it publicly listed? Is that what the kerfuffle is about then - investing in this company and then it going kapput (a'la ABC)?

That was my impression also, i.e. that clients are in trouble because of excessive leverage plus failing to exit the market at appropriate time.

The float failed. Did individuals still invest in Storm as a private company?

 

[daisy]

I mean that people who may have a different agenda to yours will troll a site in order to glean any information on a situation for their own benefit; or argue their own contrary case in a seemingly friendly format for the same reason. I have seen it on another professional chat site. My acid test is don't post anything you wouldn't want your enemies to know or you wouldn't want quoted in the media. Paranoia maybe, but something to consider.
:sheep:

Sqwark,
you've made me paranoid now. I'll be scared to say anything at all.

 

[myusernam]

have any storm clets had any success with getting break fees of the margin loan back? I seem to remember this possibility being floated around. I was with maquarie and had to pay a break fee, also have a fixed home equity loan with CBA that will cost too much to break. Just wondering if anyone had any success and if it's worth having a go.


also those affected please dont let this take more than your money. I have made a promise to myself that it wont affect my marriage or my childeren's happiness.

 

[Judd]

....I'm new to forums. It never occurred to me that there could be plants among the forum members.

Let's put it this way:

"Infamy, infamy, everybody's got it in for me." Thanks Ken.

Just because others may be paranoid does not mean that you need to be.

 

[daisy]

Thanks Judd. It was making me crazy.

 

[awg]

A word of warning. The enemy also trolls these threads. Be careful.
:badsmile:

Hi all,

yes be prudent,

following my posts on Brisconnect thread re some suggestions I made, I received a PM, that made me a little suspicious, somewhat leading, could have been genuine?

As has been pointed out, dont put in print something not defensible in court.

You can be sued for lible/slander, or even encouraging improper conduct.

be especially careful if you are a Company Director.

If I was being attacked, I would certainly want to know what my attackers were saying, for several reasons.

most forums have trolls lurking

 

[cuttlefish]

That was my impression also, i.e. that clients are in trouble because of excessive leverage plus failing to exit the market at appropriate time.

The float failed. Did individuals still invest in Storm as a private company?

I think Storm may have run their own index funds (i.e. a Storm badged index fund) and the margin loans used to invest in that. I'm not sure - it would be interesting to hear this aspect clarified - what exactly did Storm invest peoples borrowings into - and how was the title to the assets (be they stocks, units in a trust etc.) registered/managed? Did investors get statements showing where their money was invested with its value updated on a regular basis or anything like that?


Daisy - re paranoia - be alert but not alarmed ... Its a public forum, anyone can read it, I've seen newspapers quote forum posts sometimes to support articles - not something to be paranoid about but something to keep in the back of your mind when posting on here.

 

[Rastan]

I think Storm may have run their own index funds (i.e. a Storm badged index fund) and the margin loans used to invest in that. I'm not sure - it would be interesting to hear this aspect clarified - what exactly did Storm invest peoples borrowings into - and how was the title to the assets (be they stocks, units in a trust etc.) registered/managed? Did investors get statements showing where their money was invested with its value updated on a regular basis or anything like that?

Something like that would explain it. As I said before I cant uderstand what the stink is if the shares were bought for the customers and put in the customers name (apart from the fact they are financial adivsers and you would obv expect better). This is essentailly what happened to me - take out a margin loan, bang financial crisis, margin calls + opimism = nothing left.

But yeh if they took the customers money and put it into their own fund (esp if they knew at the time it was sinking) and it dissapeared then there's cause for concern. Don't forget though a LOT of fin advisors didnt 'see this coming' and up to a very late point in the game I imagine their past performance looked pretty good (i dont know just guessing based on the past 7 year bull market).

 

[daisy]

Thanks everyone for your comments re paranoia. I must be a little paranoid at the best of times because I did realise last night that I'd been a bit vocal yesterday and then this morning I got the wrong end of the stick and thought I might be construed as a troll pushing an agenda for reasons other than personal concern. It was making me crazy.
And thanks for the warning also. I will be "alert but not alarmed."