Storm Financial Group

[Solly]

"Storm advisers locked in $28m equity deal
Authorised reps wait for millions"


Story by By Kate Kachor from Investor Daily

http://www.investordaily.com/cps/rde/xchg/id/style/5703.htm

 

[Solly]

"Regulators asleep at the wheel as Storm crashes"

"Many of the casualties in this tragic crash could have been saved these losses if regulators -- ASIC and past federal ministers responsible for administering the industry -- had not been asleep at the wheel"

Story by Peter Switzer in The Australian-Business

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24984855-5001942,00.html

 

[asproboy]

Peter's article is a good one. The most thorough objective assessment I've seen to date is from commentator Paul Resnik, featured here:
http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/Article/Are-you-an-agent-for-me-or-my-money/436296.aspx

In it, he looks at the gaps in the financial planning profession that appear to have been exploited in this scenario, and challenges the profession to move to close them to stifle such rogues for its own reputational integrity.

The advisers who 'sold out' to Storm are unbelievable, putting their faith/greed in offers of "top dollar" and "Does handing the responsibility of compliance/regulations to someone else appeal to you?"

Shame, shame - and the regulators and FPA need to move quickly if they are to restore public confidence.

 

[QuiteContrary]

For those interested, Paul Resnick has written an opinion piece entitled "Are you an agent for me or my money" which appeared in Money Management 29th January.

Here's the opening paragraph:

"Much of what is wrong in financial planning will be found in the very public unravelling of the Storm Financial Group. Time and the courts will tell if there has been any form of illegality. In the meantime, the nature of their business model will become more open to public view.
I have no doubt the community’s confidence in the integrity of the financial planning services available to them will continue to be severely undermined by a number of issues that have emerged to date:"

And here's the link to the full article:


http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/Article/Are-you-an-agent-for-me-or-my-money/436296.aspx

I hope you find it interesting.

 

[schumy]

To those who may still be confused by why it all went pear shaped for them, I can only add my support to what's already been said about and in the article by Paul Resnick in Money Management:

http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/Article/Are-you-an-agent-for-me-or-my-money/436296.aspx

Sums up with clarity, the whole mess perfectly.

 

[Solly]

For those interested, Paul Resnick has written an opinion piece entitled "Are you an agent for me or my money" which appeared in Money Management 29th January.

Here's the opening paragraph:

"Much of what is wrong in financial planning will be found in the very public unravelling of the Storm Financial Group. Time and the courts will tell if there has been any form of illegality. In the meantime, the nature of their business model will become more open to public view.
I have no doubt the community’s confidence in the integrity of the financial planning services available to them will continue to be severely undermined by a number of issues that have emerged to date:"

And here's the link to the full article:


http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/Article/Are-you-an-agent-for-me-or-my-money/436296.aspx

I hope you find it interesting.

Thanks for the link to the article. It really says it all..............

 

[Solly]

Emmanuel Cassimatis doesn't comment on speculation of the sale of his Belmont home.

Local Wynnum Herald article here:

http://wynnum-herald.whereilive.com.au/news/story/will-they-sell-up/



And

"The avenues for compensation for the clients of Storm Financial appear to be closing down, with one industry complaints service closing its doors to Storm clients"

Story by Lucinda Beaman from Money Management is here:

http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/article/Storm-Financial-clients-in-compensation-no-man-s-land/436772.aspx

And

ASIC has now been granted an order in the Supreme Court today in
freezing an account linked to Storm.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/04/2482387.htm

 

[Solly]

4 Corners - The Perfect Storm

Reporter: Paul Barry to be Broadcast: 09/02/2009

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2008/s2482023.htm

The link mentions....

Townsville rocked by layoffs of hundreds of workers, as resource companies cut costs and production or close down mines.

Carey Ramm tells Four Corners, "Productive enterprises that employ thousands of people are struggling to refinance......"

The collapse of Storm Financial threatens to wreck the lives of thousands of average Australians.....

 

[Pindibog]

4 Corners - The Perfect Storm

Reporter: Paul Barry to be Broadcast: 09/02/2009

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2008/s2482023.htm

The link mentions....

Townsville rocked by layoffs of hundreds of workers, as resource companies cut costs and production or close down mines.

Carey Ramm tells Four Corners, "Productive enterprises that employ thousands of people are struggling to refinance......"

The collapse of Storm Financial threatens to wreck the lives of thousands of average Australians.....

This site has been very informative/interesting & frustrating at times. Thankyou to those that are posting these articles etc. I am still trying to refine my searching techniques! This makes things easier.

 

[Glen48]

E C claims he needs to be cashed up to help the other victims get their money...what a noble OZ.

 

[Julia]

To those who may still be confused by why it all went pear shaped for them, I can only add my support to what's already been said about and in the article by Paul Resnick in Money Management:

http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/Article/Are-you-an-agent-for-me-or-my-money/436296.aspx

Sums up with clarity, the whole mess perfectly.

It is a good article. But it did rather leave me with the impression that the author was not allowing for any responsibility to have been taken by the Storm clients. I emailed him to ask his thoughts about this. Here is his reply:

I could not agree more. I have argued for almost 10 years that we needed to have a planning process that encouraged clients to take responsibility for their financial plan and the consequences when it failed. At its simplest it is a three step process:

how much risk does the client need to take to achieve their financial goals
how does this differ from the risk they would take on if financial goals were not an issue
a process to reconcile the difference between 1 and 2 so that the client can own the final decision.
Unfortunately I was unable to gain any traction.

 

[Julia]

Do you have a dollar figure where you know for sure what will keep you going for the rest of your life..... My crystal ball is obviously not as good as yours.

There are plenty of retirement income calculators available to help you work out what you will need. This should also be an essential question addressed by any financial planner when offering advice.

... I was prepared to use what I had acquired to add to my nest egg.... prepared to be in it for the long haul..... and thought with PROFESSIONAL advice I would be able to sell down when needed and sit it out until it was safe to get back into the market... that was what I signed up for..... not to be stalled and kept in the market until the margin loan was higher than the securing portfolio.

I'm really sorry that you feel anyone on this forum is being unreasonable in the questions asked. I don't believe a single person on ASF doesn't have some sympathy for your situation or doesn't understand how angry and upset you must be.

It's just that comments like yours in the paragraph above are hard to understand. You say the margin loan was higher than the securing portfolio and suggest you were 'stalled' when wanting to get out. This is what puzzles me. Are you saying you issued clear instructions to your Storm adviser to exit your holding and this was refused?

.. how else do we explain to you all...we were not greedy when we signed up with storm..... our expectations were hightened as we went along..

So you were started off with a fairly conservative plan but as your confidence increased and the profits also, then you were encouraged to borrow more, and more?

. and yes we expected good returns... but I have paid a heap of taxes over the years...having well and truly done my bit..

I don't quite get the relationship between having paid taxes and expecting high returns from investments.

. tall poppy syndrome is alive and well in Aus.

It may well be but I don't see who is the tall poppy here. Certainly not Storm and certainly not the Storm clients.

... I will recover...I still have some get up and go.... Cassimatis will not sink me... nor will all the nay sayers on this forum like those who seem to relish kicking those who have taken a king hit.... say what u will.... words are cheap.... I must say all of your bashing has made me realise the only people that really count are those I respect and hold dear... I'm glad I have those people in my life and take what the likes of this forum have to say with a grain of salt..... it's been well interesting....!!!!!!

I don't believe anyone has 'bashed' you. It's not for me to speak for anyone else but I'm just genuinely interested in how so many people seem to have been swept up in some sort of magic scheme where you could have leverage on leverage with no expectation of a day of reckoning when the market turned.

I hope the experience inspires wisdom rather than bitterness. This can be a pretty hard ask in such a situation. I wish you all the best.

 

[Solly]

ASIC has now been granted an order in the Supreme Court today in
freezing an account linked to Storm.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/04/2482387.htm

Here is the full text from the ASIC Media Centre website with reference to the above:

AD09-11 Storm Financial – court order freezing $2 million payment

Wednesday 4 February 2009

ASIC has obtained orders from the Supreme Court of Queensland freezing a payment of $2 million from Storm Financial Limited to a bank account held by Emmanuel Cassimatis & Associates Pty Ltd. Emmanuel and Julie Cassimatis are both directors and shareholders of Emmanuel Cassimatis & Associates Pty Ltd.

The amount of $2 million was transferred from a bank account of Storm Financial Limited on 15 December 2008, within one month of the appointment of voluntary administrators to the company. ASIC is concerned that, on the information available to it, there does not seem to be a proper basis for the payment. ASIC has moved the Court for an injunction, requiring the money to be returned to Storm Financial Limited.

The Court orders restrain Emmanuel Cassimatis, Julie Cassimatis and Emmanuel Cassimatis & Associates Pty Ltd from paying, transferring or otherwise dealing in any way with the money.

The Court made the orders on Friday 30 January 2009 and extended the orders on Tuesday 3 February 2009.

The matter has been adjourned until 18 February 2009, for a determination of whether ASIC is entitled to maintain the orders currently in place.

More information for investors is available at www.asic.gov.au/storm.
" © Australian Securities & Investments Commission. Reproduced with permission."

 

[Solly]

FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service) continues to field Storm complaints
Grievances may hit snag

Story by Kate Kachor from Investor Daily

http://www.investordaily.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/id/style/5705.htm

(There are monetary limits for claims and impacts if Storm is liquidated.)

 

[bunyip]

You must read a different forum to me, I have yet to see anyone putting the boot in, a few that are incredulous at the investment strategy followed, a few wanting to seek clarification on the process involved and some saying that Storm's clients have to bear some of the responsibility but not boot sticking in from what I can see.

Absolutely correct.

The emotional and in some respects abusive tirades from Shibby and Mash were completed unwarranted, and did neither of them any credit.
It's a bit hard to feel sympathetic towards anyone who displays that sort of reaction when presented with views that don't mirror their own.

Incidentally, Mash, we're still waiting for answers on whether you ever hunted for bargains or attempted to negotiate the price downwards in your favour when buying real estate.

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

Absolutely correct.

The emotional and in some respects abusive tirades from Shibby and Mash were completed unwarranted, and did neither of them any credit.
It's a bit hard to feel sympathetic towards anyone who displays that sort of reaction when presented with views that don't mirror their own.

Incidentally, Mash, we're still waiting for answers on whether you ever hunted for bargains or attempted to negotiate the price downwards in your favour when buying real estate.

Talking of real estate the agent took me through Manny and Julie's pile on Melton Tce. the other day. Its not a house I'd want to live in, Palazzo Pizza type place, smaller than I thought, the lift works and the views are ok, but only just ok. The chandelier doesn't look worth the money, Waterford crystal are in receivership so it may increase in value if they fold up shop. The bedrooms are ok, but not fantastic. I didn't like the kitchen. Garpaldog would not be happy in the yard. The fengshui is all wrong.

gg

 

[bunyip]

Talking of real estate the agent took me through Manny and Julie's pile on Melton Tce. the other day. Its not a house I'd want to live in, Palazzo Pizza type place, smaller than I thought, the lift works and the views are ok, but only just ok. The chandelier doesn't look worth the money, Waterford crystal are in receivership so it may increase in value if they fold up shop. The bedrooms are ok, but not fantastic. I didn't like the kitchen. Garpaldog would not be happy in the yard. The fengshui is all wrong.

gg

LOL....no point buying it then if Garpaldog wouldn't be happy!

Some of these upper crust houses are incredibly ugly on the outside too. Like the Cassamatis abode in Townsville......what a horrible looking pad!

 

[Solly]

"Ignite distances itself from Storm"

CEO of Ignite says the application for a AFSL has nothing to do with providing advice in the future.
See Mike Taylor's Money Management Story here;

http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/article/Ignite-distances-itself-from-Storm/437140.aspx

 

[Solly]

It has been reported that the Storm creditors meeting date has been extended to 16/3/09..
more details soon

 

[Smiley]

Here is your chance to contact the Cassimatis's website:
http://cassimatis.com.au/index
You can email them questions and read their claims.