Storm Financial Group

[Glen48]

Mash
Shows you need a PIN for GPS some one asking for Bank PIN rather than not ringing should ring bells ( pardon the pun) I would rather ring than try and sms.
Junk Mail:
Hawke No Australian Child etc.
Steven : there will be no recession.
Chopper Ben: The recession will over by 2009
Now back to the Storm.

 

[Solly]

.........................
Mash, your zeal is understandable and I genuinely hope it's rewarded.
I just wonder if you have considered the personal toll that years of protracted court battles will have on your stress levels, not to mention the funding of such legal activities.
I, too, would be interested in the question Bunyip has asked about how the legal action is being funded? Presumably no win, no pay? If that's the case and if that's how it remains, then indeed you have nothing to lose it would seem.

Julia, I too have concerns about how the funding is being provided, also I believe at this point no position about launching a class action has been decided. With my limited exposure in this area, I hold reservations about how a class action can proceed, which leaves the question about how individual client funding will be achieved.

I cannot see the Banks parting with ANY money easily, I believe that if it does go the trial, there will be the posibility of years of protracted action, appeals etc.

I know that many ex-clients are still hurting but I fail to see how the blame can completely attributed to the banks......

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

ASIC now say they are looking at Storm and may prosecute those who gave advice to Storm investors.

That leaves a lot of leeway.

Let us hope for the punters' sake they have more intestinal fortitude than in the past.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/26/2501586.htm?section=justin

gg

 

[numbercruncher]

awesome stuff - be great to see some advisors/fee grabbers heads roll ...

 

[Solly]

From the story that gg posted

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/26/2501586.htm


"Superannuation Minister Nick Sherry says he is meeting with banks to ask them not to foreclose on the people affected by the collapse."

What about those who have already been thrown out ???

 

[Julia]

The 'tone' of the report about ASIC does sound firmer than the usual procrastinating waffle from that organisation. And at least it seems they are finally looking into Storm.

But if the money is all gone, how would they be anticipating that they could get investments back for clients?

Clearly much that we don't know.

 

[Trevor_S]

Trouble is most of the players are in there to serve themselves.

Indeed, all the players, including the "investor". There is nothing inherently wrong with that per se IMO. No one was in the deal for any other reason then to make money.

It would take a very "socialist, nanny " government to have the balls to put your recommendations a into place. But then, when this whole sorry mess is over,perhaps the public will demand such action.

I disagree, people can demand legislative change and disclosure out the ying yang and it won't make an iota of difference except to have reams of paper less and less people will understand, and have politicians crow about protecting their constituents with more laws..sigh

To me, adding complexity is the wrong approach. At the end of the day snake oil con men will still con those who have too much trust and are unable to see the con in front of them. When asked, I told several local people not to have anything to do with Storm for years beforehand, it was entirely obvious to me, with my skeptical mind that the thing was a house of cards at worst and a fleecing operation (due to exorbitant fees) at best, yet even when told this, most people still don't want to believe it, happy to believe they were paying through the nose for quality For quite some time I was met with muffled laughter about my lack of insight, when they told me how well they were doing... legislation will NOT fix gullibility.

The crux of the entire matter is that their remuneration is the principal driver of the behavior of most FPs (both in a good and bad way). There are a few FPs out there that are fee for service but most people refuse to use them. I do think there are lots of decent FP's out there, like a truffle amongst fungi though, you need to spend time sniffing them out and understand completely what you are doing.

As has been stated before by me and others, it's a horrible situation you guys are in and you truly have my every empathy but to me the blame for it lies completely with the person in the mirror... that said, their does appear to be some suspicious behavior from STORM but unless they have done something illegal, then the fine print will protect them.

bunyip....yes if we were told our margin loans were in fact in buffer...

Where you required to be told, or was the contact person for the banks to be Storm ? I thought you guys had delegated responsibility for decision making to Storm ?

and the websites don't have up to date information (unit prices 2-3 days old) and the

I am personally not a big fan of unlisted funds, I would have gone ARG or STW etc in your situation. Storm had a few too many fingers in the pie to my liking and that should have raised a red flag prior to speculating with them. I use the word speculating as you guys were relying on hoped for capital gains to see you through , anything the revolves around the greater fool theory is speculating to my mind. (hell lots of others, including Mr Buffett disagree with me on that but I am quite the conservative )

We will try...if not for ourselves... then maybe for our kids... lay down and roll over or get up and fight... I have chosen to fight!!!!!!

and truly, best of luck to you, I just hope you don't suffer a double bought of pain and suffering. My disdain for professionals unfortunately starts with lawyers.

 

[willemrt]

ASIC has admitted that it had complaints about Storm Financial back in 2006.

They say they found no reason to pursue them...hmm..

http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/article/ASIC-admits-to-Storm-Financial-complaints/468948.aspx

 

[The Snake]

As recently as two years ago, a couple of banks, namely the CBA and
National were involved in questionable lending on used cars to people 'in the
gulf'. There were many loans set up for these people and after pressure
from different groups and I believe parliamentarians - BOTH banks wrote to 'these clients' and advised them that they were no longer required to pay their loan. The heat from their questionable lending practices was becoming
unbearable........

This INCLUDED the loans that were being paid ON TIME !! In fact
there were some of the people who were actually disappointed that the
bank no longer wanted them to pay !! Why ? Well, for many of these people, even in the best of times it is difficult for them to get a loan. Now that they had an opportunity to get a credit rating - something that is impossible to get if you can't get a loan - was whipped from under them. There was only one reason these people had credit made available to them - Greed by the banks.

 

[bunyip]

When asked, I told several local people not to have anything to do with Storm for years beforehand, it was entirely obvious to me, with my skeptical mind that the thing was a house of cards at worst and a fleecing operation (due to exorbitant fees) at best, yet even when told this, most people still don't want to believe it, happy to believe they were paying through the nose for quality For quite some time I was met with muffled laughter about my lack of insight, when they told me how well they were doing... legislation will NOT fix gullibility.

This is something that's always amazed me over the years. People ask for your views on a product or a service because they know you have experience in that area.
If you tell then what they don't want to hear, they ignore your advice and go ahead with it anyway.

Somebody once asked for my views on a black box share trading software program that gave buy and sell signals each day, claimed something ridiculous like 30% monthly return , and had a 10 grand price tag.
I told him not to touch it, explained in great detail the reasons for my advice. He bought it anyway.
Then a few years later, same story with another acquaintance of mine....another black box share trading con, similar price tag, the bloke bought it after I told him it was a con.

The promise of big dollars nullifies all sense of caution, prudence and common sense in some people. It always has, it always will. A new batch of people are waiting to get fleeced by the next sharks who are swimming towards them.

 

[Julia]

FIDO's newsletter contains this link for Storm investors re ASIC's investigation.
http://www.fido.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byheadline/Storm+financial?openDocument

 

[carey ramm]

Looks like EC will make an appearance on 60 minutes this weekend!!!

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=75764

Will be interesting to see what they cover as i am aware they were looking at some of the home loan issues.... only the tip of the iceberg has been in the media to date.

 

[Trevor_S]

A couple more articles

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/26/2502079.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/26/2501670.htm

 

[bunyip]

Looks like EC will make an appearance on 60 minutes this weekend!!!

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=75764

Will be interesting to see what they cover as i am aware they were looking at some of the home loan issues.... only the tip of the iceberg has been in the media to date.

Well I hope the reporter who interviews him has a bit of fire in his or her belly, and won't let him get away with his usual dumb statements like 'this was an unprecedented event' and 'nobody saw this coming'. If the reporter has done his homework he'll know how to hit him with facts that show it wasn't an unprecedented event, and plenty of people saw it coming.

I've been very disappointed with the reporters who've interviewed him so far.....he tells them things that are blatantly inaccurate, and they just don't nail him on it at all. It seems to me that they haven't done their homework and don't know the facts well enough to counter his misinformation.

 

[joeyr46]

Well I hope the reporter who interviews him has a bit of fire in his or her belly, and won't let him get away with his usual dumb statements like 'this was an unprecedented event' and 'nobody saw this coming'. If the reporter has done his homework he'll know how to hit him with facts that show it wasn't an unprecedented event, and plenty of people saw it coming.

I've been very disappointed with the reporters who've interviewed him so far.....he tells them things that are blatantly inaccurate, and they just don't nail him on it at all. It seems to me that they haven't done their homework and don't know the facts well enough to counter his misinformation.

He probably only agrees to go on when they agree to only ask certain questions (just like the politicians) so it's all fake really just for the semblance of news

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

Looks like EC will make an appearance on 60 minutes this weekend!!!

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=75764

Will be interesting to see what they cover as i am aware they were looking at some of the home loan issues.... only the tip of the iceberg has been in the media to date.

Well I hope the reporter who interviews him has a bit of fire in his or her belly, and won't let him get away with his usual dumb statements like 'this was an unprecedented event' and 'nobody saw this coming'. If the reporter has done his homework he'll know how to hit him with facts that show it wasn't an unprecedented event, and plenty of people saw it coming.

I've been very disappointed with the reporters who've interviewed him so far.....he tells them things that are blatantly inaccurate, and they just don't nail him on it at all. It seems to me that they haven't done their homework and don't know the facts well enough to counter his misinformation.

He probably only agrees to go on when they agree to only ask certain questions (just like the politicians) so it's all fake really just for the semblance of news

With the utmost respect to sixtyminutes, they are not the brightest ponies in the paddock, so an expectation of financial insight may be past them.

Then again they may surprise with a naked punter in the wings to "shame" Manny.

I always put myself in to the other blokes shoes to understand these events.

If I were Manny I would.

1. Negotiate a very large payment for my appearance to an entity that couldn't be touched by a secondary lawsuit... superfund, family trust or overseas entity.

2. Pick the biggest idjjit (to borrow a phrase from Julia) on 60minutes tick tock to interview me, I don't watch it so don't know who the resident "idjiit" is.

3. Choose the location with PR or advertising advice to provide subliminal assistance to my appearance.

4. Keep on repeating the message I need to get across, "Black Swan, CBA, Banks," etc etc etc

5. Ensure my Channel 9 limo was of a stature befitting my ego, and then back to mansion to chill out.

gg

 

[Julia]

With the utmost respect to sixtyminutes, they are not the brightest ponies in the paddock, so an expectation of financial insight may be past them.

Then again they may surprise with a naked punter in the wings to "shame" Manny.

I always put myself in to the other blokes shoes to understand these events.

If I were Manny I would.

1. Negotiate a very large payment for my appearance to an entity that couldn't be touched by a secondary lawsuit... superfund, family trust or overseas entity.

2. Pick the biggest idjjit (to borrow a phrase from Julia) on 60minutes tick tock to interview me, I don't watch it so don't know who the resident "idjiit" is.

3. Choose the location with PR or advertising advice to provide subliminal assistance to my appearance.

4. Keep on repeating the message I need to get across, "Black Swan, CBA, Banks," etc etc etc

5. Ensure my Channel 9 limo was of a stature befitting my ego, and then back to mansion to chill out.

gg

gg, clearly Manny would derive much benefit from your wisdom and public relations savvy.
Perhaps offer your services for a sum befitting your status?

For a percentage of such a sum I would be prepared to act as your agent, explaining to Manny how the services of Garpal Gumnut would quickly render him pure as the driven snow in the eyes of everyone concerned.

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

gg, clearly Manny would derive much benefit from your wisdom and public relations savvy.
Perhaps offer your services for a sum befitting your status?

For a percentage of such a sum I would be prepared to act as your agent, explaining to Manny how the services of Garpal Gumnut would quickly render him pure as the driven snow in the eyes of everyone concerned.

lol

5%

I am in more or less constant contact with Manny's dealings as a mate is a footman at Palazzo Cassimatis.

It is much funnier than anyone realises, unless you were a Storm punter of course.

gg

 

[Trevor_S]

Well I hope the reporter who interviews him has a bit of fire in his or her belly,

I was listening to an interview on the radio this afternoon with the SICAG guy, Mark. It was interesting when pressed about the culpability of Storm investors, he dodged the question totally and placed all the blame on Storm and in particular the Banks... with all due respect to his situation, sounds like he would make an excellent politician blame everyone else and dodge the questions that are difficult.

 

[Glen48]

GG would EC need a F P to decide on how best to spend the money from 1 Hour or would he take his own advise and buy shares?
The first thing any one should do is take their passport but then they have right,s like the Female from Bonds getting $40K a week for flogging undies and nothing can be done about you take $4k from a bank you get 10yrs.