Storm Financial Group

[Aussiejeff]

He came across terrible and I wondered if he was for real!! He must have a good support team around him. See how he laughed about loosing 1.5b. I am embarrassed about storm and he is telling the whole nation about his 1.5b mistake. Oh well I still have a billion he says???? I wish...

I just wish he would stop assaulting my eyes & ears with 1,000,000 *LOUD*, *ANNOYING*, *MINDLESS* TV ads every day.

Hey, now there's a thought. Maybe those endless [size=+2]"Hurry, Sale Ends THIS Weekend!!!!"[/size] ads are costing him BIGtime.

Poor chap.

I'll shed a tear when he folds...

:arsch:

 

[GumbyLearner]

I just wish he would stop assaulting my eyes & ears with 1,000,000 *LOUD*, *ANNOYING*, *MINDLESS* TV ads every day.

Hey, now there's a thought. Maybe those endless [size=+2]"Hurry, Sale Ends THIS Weekend!!!!"[/size] ads are costing him BIGtime.

Poor chap.

I'll shed a tear when he folds...

:arsch:

I heard there are some pretty good package travel deals to Majorca this time of year! MUHAHAHA! :

 

[Trevor_S]

I just wish he would stop assaulting my eyes & ears with 1,000,000 *LOUD*, *ANNOYING*, *MINDLESS* TV ads every day.

Well stop watching mindless TV I don't think I have watched TV for about 2 - 3 years, aside from a bit of stuff I download via channel BT of course

That aside, I thought Gerry was refreshingly forthright and open. I much appreciate that then a slick backed spin doctor or a snakeoil charmer (Eddy Groves, Cassamatis et al) I don't think his quoted $1.5Bil loss is 1. realised 2. restricted to HN shares alone and 3. if he is right, his $1.5Bil loss will turn into a superb profit in a decade or so.

A bit like a few snide comments about Warren Buffets paper loss, if WB is right, his paper loss will turn into an enormous profit in a decade or so.

 

[Aussiejeff]

Well stop watching mindless TV I don't think I have watched TV for about 2 - 3 years, aside from a bit of stuff I download via channel BT of course

Oh, you poor thing! How could you possibly know ANYTHING about ... ANYTHING? if you haven't kept up 24/7, 365/1 with the Idiot Box?

 

[Trevor_S]

Oh, you poor thing! How could you possibly know ANYTHING about ... ANYTHING?

I'll have you know,I know alot about nothing

 

[willemrt]

Cuttlefish i think u may be catching on to some of the "irregularities" that are poping up in the loan documentation of many clients.

I have seen documents for loans whose validity is clearly in question.

I would urge all storm clients to request copies of their loan applications from their home loan and margin loan providers and check for "irregularities" and if unsure what they are looking for contact a lawyer (i am aware that both slater and gordon and connolly suthers are asking all the people who have contacted them to do this).

Looks like Slater and Gordon also think some of those documents might not be up to scratch.

http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/a...BOQs-links-to-failed-group-emerge/437676.aspx

 

[pilots]

Look guys, it WON'T matter what you find they have done wrong, THE MONEY IS GONE. You can huff and puff all you want, you may get your day in court, no one will go to jail, and you will waste more money.

 

[bunyip]

Look guys, it WON'T matter what you find they have done wrong, THE MONEY IS GONE. You can huff and puff all you want, you may get your day in court, no one will go to jail, and you will waste more money.

I have a similar view - the loot is gone, no matter what the outcome of any court case.
Cassamatis may or may not end up in the slammer for a year or two, but my guess is that he won't.

When the dust finally settles down it's the law fims who will be wearing the biggest smiles. And maybe Cassamatis as well.....I'll be very surprised if he hasn't done an Alan Bond by squireling away several million dollars in untouchable assets.

 

[Pindibog]

I have a similar view - the loot is gone, no matter what the outcome of any court case.
Cassamatis may or may not end up in the slammer for a year or two, but my guess is that he won't.

When the dust finally settles down it's the law fims who will be wearing the biggest smiles. And maybe Cassamatis as well.....I'll be very surprised if he hasn't done an Alan Bond by squireling away several million dollars in untouchable assets.

If you don't make these people/organisations accountable corruption will grow. Better to have tried and maybe fail than to have not at all!!! My life still goes on regardless.

 

[willemrt]

Look guys, it WON'T matter what you find they have done wrong, THE MONEY IS GONE. You can huff and puff all you want, you may get your day in court, no one will go to jail, and you will waste more money.

Sure the money from Storm has gone, but there is the possibility the banks acted improperly in approving the loans. And the banks still have plenty of money.

 

[Judd]

Yeah, sure. Storm was the financial adviser, people took out the loans based on Storm's advice and now the lender of the funds is at fault. Show me where the banks (and why is it that only CBA is mentioned and not the other lenders?) forced people to take out the loans - fraud aside.

Next people in mortgage poo poo will blame the banks for offering them so much "money" to buy something they could never afford. Oh yeah, I forgot; that is already happening. Pfft.

Commit to a debt, then repay it or go bankrupt.

Having lost a considerable amount of money on a number of ventures I was sorry and sympathetic to the plight of Storm client's as no one likes to lose money but now my sympathy has dissipated. I am still sorry for them in their situation but nothing more.

 

[pilots]

Sure the money from Storm has gone, but there is the possibility the banks acted improperly in approving the loans. And the banks still have plenty of money.

Mate, to take on a bank you need more money than you have lost on storm, the ONLY people that are telling you that you have a case, are the people that will make more money from you, telling you, we will take them to the cleaners, trust me, you are the one that will be cleaned out of your last dollar.

 

[Julia]

Looks like Slater and Gordon also think some of those documents might not be up to scratch.

http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/a...BOQs-links-to-failed-group-emerge/437676.aspx

Interesting article. It's looking increasingly as though Storm fudged the documents.

Here is latest article by Michael West:
http://business.smh.com.au/business/storm-redux-20090211-83r4.html?sssdmh=dm16.360002

 

[awg]

Interesting article. It's looking increasingly as though Storm fudged the documents.

Here is latest article by Michael West:
http://business.smh.com.au/business/storm-redux-20090211-83r4.html?sssdmh=dm16.360002

Standard Legal agreements would certainly have been entered into by the Margin lenders with Storm, vetted by lawyers.

So each side will have to flop their documents on the table.

If unsigned documentation was accepted by the lead lender, I suspect they might have a problem with those cases.

If I was a Storm client, I would be more optimistic if CBA or MQG had loaned anything, and my documents were not signed, even if Storm were negligent, the fund provider would also be negligent to some extent....so they may opt to negotiate a settlement.

As to overstated income, I dont think the case would be near as good, if the client signed, I think the obligation of checking would rest with Storm ( but I could be wrong)...I've seen some weird things in the legal system

 

[asproboy]

Look guys, it WON'T matter what you find they have done wrong, THE MONEY IS GONE. You can huff and puff all you want, you may get your day in court, no one will go to jail, and you will waste more money.

Well, the money's not GONE until everything has been liquidated and the value has been passed from the corrupt and undeserving to those who should have been better served.

...but the real point is: what is the benefit of these things happening if not to analyse, assess and take steps to protect people from the next unscrupulous operator?

On a brighter note, I just had a quick lunch whilst enjoying the latest gags from www.cassimatis.com.au - highly recommended for light entertainment. I felt compelled to ask a question:

"Given your fee model was up-front and represented to clients as supporting the full term of the relationship, do you consider it reasonable business practice to 'withdraw' such a significant level of capital ($24M) from the "revenues" of a business, that is itself carrying so much debt, as a dividend? Was your accountant's advice NOT to treat this as a non-current liability? Would you say your accountants had a solid grasp of your business' operating model?"

I'm not holding my breath.

 

[awg]

On a brighter note, I just had a quick lunch whilst enjoying the latest gags from www.cassimatis.com.au - highly recommended for light entertainment. I felt compelled to ask a question:



I'm not holding my breath.

Pretty pissweak hey

Something he has NOT said, is WHAT strategy he was thinking of using to ensure clients accounts remained viable, as he seems to have rejected the "cashing out" option, the XAO is slightly lower now, than in late December, so presumably, unless he wanted to go short,:hide: everyone would be worse off than before, which is why the margin lenders closed him out!

I wish that he was FP to the Hells Angels OMG, those guys know a thing or two about liquidation

 

[bunyip]

Mate, to take on a bank you need more money than you have lost on storm, the ONLY people that are telling you that you have a case, are the people that will make more money from you, telling you, we will take them to the cleaners, trust me, you are the one that will be cleaned out of your last dollar.

I have disdain for banks and the way they're allowed to legally rip us all off.
I wouldn't be upset at all if Storm clients could give them a kick in the teeth.
But I'm afraid Pilots has hit the nail on the head - you take on the banks, it'll go on for a long long time.
In the unlikely event that the banks are found guilty of anything illegal, they'll simply appeal the verdict.
Appeals are long drawn out affairs.....they go on for years, and the lawyers will love it.
The law firms will drain one fighting fund after another - they'll keep telling you they're making progress but they need further injection of funds to continue the fight.
Stormers....play it any way you want, but think long and hard before you go throwing good money after bad.

 

[pilots]

Bunyip, If they could find a law firm that would do in on a deal that if they don't win, they don't pay, but you and I know that will never happen. Right now I will bet that you will have law firms telling them we can get your money back, IT AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN. Storm is just one of the companies that have gone to the wall, many more to come.
When every thing was going up, we was all happy, storm was AOK.
We all must lean that we have to take the good with the bad, the next few years we are going to get a lot of bad.

 

[joeljp]

Bunyip, If they could find a law firm that would do in on a deal that if they don't win, they don't pay, but you and I know that will never happen. Right now I will bet that you will have law firms telling them we can get your money back, IT AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN. Storm is just one of the companies that have gone to the wall, many more to come.
When every thing was going up, we was all happy, storm was AOK.
We all must lean that we have to take the good with the bad, the next few years we are going to get a lot of bad.

Let's say if this case is thrown out of court after years of legal battle, even though the lawyers advertised that that no win no cost, who will actually end up paying for the court costs and the defendant's expenses? I would imagine the costs will be awarded to the winning party, which would be the last nail in the coffin for many.

I realised that it's easy to say it's best to just move on but it really is good advice from many that have put forward here. One could end up with more heartache.

 

[nulla nulla]

Find a litigation funder, put the facts before them. If it has a snow balls chance in hell they will fund it for a split of the recovered balance under some very stringent conditions. If it doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell, they will tell you not to waste your money.