storm financial
the storm financial fiasco underscores much of what is wrong in the financial planning industry, writes paul resnik .
if storm financial has dogged the reputations of financial planners, mike taylor writes that the findings of the ...
proceedings against the executive directors of storm financial limited, emmanuel and julie cassimatis .
overview of current and past actions arising from asic' s investigation into storm financial .
storm financial’s stumble into administrator’s hands wasn’t just a result of the financial crisis – its strategy left it badly exposed and distracted .
storm financial founder mr cassimatis in 2009, when investors lost up to $ 3 billion .
the financial planning industry has been rocked by a series of scandals, such as storm .
hearings this week into the storm financial collapse could reveal the unauthorised version of just why the financial planner failed so spectacularly - with storm' s senior managers and banks firmly in the spotlight .
the former directors of storm financial broke the law by allowing inappropriate financial advice to be given to vulnerable clients, the federal court has found .
'' i am one of the many devastated, completely guttered and ruined clients of storm financial .
the collapse of townsville - based financial planning group storm financial has placed a dark shadow over the savings of 13, 000 storm clients, who had invested more than $ 4 billion with the company .
storm was an ostensibly ‘independent’ financial planning group but had seemingly strong ties to a number of financial institutions that provided investment and lending products and facilities (not unlike many other ‘independent’ financial planning groups) .
summary of recommendations made in 2009 by the parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services inquiry into financial product company collapses, including storm and opes prime .
storm financial primarily monitored its investors' loans so they could be increased, bringing in more fees for storm, rather than to protect investors from market falls, the failed financial planner' s liquidators have found .
boq has reached a $ 19. 7 million settlement with asic and borrowers who were advised by storm financial .
a number of storm clients have told businessday however that they never spoke with a banker, just the storm representative .
the parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services chaired by mr bernie ripoll mp, conducted an inquiry into recent financial product company collapses, including storm and opes prime .
a former storm financial adviser has had a charge against him dropped after an elderly witness deemed critical to ...
just something i posted in relation to banksia, another financial advising outfit, which has gone * * * * up and taken many good peoples money as storm financial did .
a man who campaigns for higher standards in financial planning is principal of sydney based quantum financial services, tim mackay .
in other words, the
sales culture
at storm financial stunk to high heaven but at least it was legal .
the liquidators also found the collapse of storm financial was inevitable due to its reliance on fees from over - leveraged investors .
victims of the collapse of storm financial will not get a second chance to pursue asic over perceived failures to ...
the letter blamed their financial destruction on the gfc and it believed the financial advice don nguyen had given them was appropriate .
future of financial advice - read about the australian government' s future of financial advice (fofa) reform package. urltoken
the financial planning association of australia @ australiafpa - the fpa is australia' s leading professional community of financial planners. urltoken
the minister for financial services, superannuation and corporate law, chris bowen mp, said that the future of financial advice reforms are designed to tackle conflicts of interest that have threatened the quality of financial advice that has been provided to australian investors, and the mis‑selling of financial products that culminated in high profile corporate collapses such as storm financial, opes prime, and westpoint .
storm financial victim sean mcardle with some of the huge pile of paperwork that piled up in the court case against the company .
the community will continue to lose confidence in the players of the financial system, particularly bankers, fund managers and financial planners .
they rolled their own standards setting body, in effect announcing that accountant financial planners are just the same any other financial planners .
finally, the financial planning association (fpa) appears too meek to condemn a misuse of financial products so blatant that it clearly breaches the fiduciary responsibilities inherent in the role of the financial planner .
as hundreds of thousands of victims of commonwealth bank financial planning, macquarie private wealth, storm financial, opes prime, westpoint, great southern plantations, etc, can attest, that is so true .
demystifying financial advice | choice | 26 sep 2011 - the proposed new
best interest duty
for financial advisers is long overdue .
asic has argued since 1994 storm financial operated a system considered to be one - size - fits - all investment advice for all clients .
many storm clients were geared to 85% and even higher in storm - branded index funds. now many are losing their homes. this email arrived this week from a storm client who wished to remain anonymous :
sydney based financial planning practice, bfg financial services is a rarity in that it' s compliant with apes 230 in its original form .
braund' s financial planner' s note | 2002 - this handwritten note by the braund' s financial advisor, don nguyen, clearly states the couple had a conservative financial profile. [ pdf 63kb ]
the claim alleges that westpac breached its contracts with the storm clients, that it engaged in “unconscionable conduct”, and that it is liable as a “linked credit provider” of storm for misrepresentations and breaches of contracts by storm .
storm financial’s stumble into administrator’s hands wasn’t just a result of the financial crisis – its strategy left it badly exposed and distracted. james thomson picks over the remains and looks at the salient lessons for every entrepreneur .
the rudd government is today announcing reforms to financial advice that will improve the trust and confidence of australian retail investors in the financial planning sector .
3 parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services, inquiry into financial products and services in australia, paragraph 3. 37, page 22 .
the consumer financial protection bureau has published a rule barring financial companies from using arbitration to shut down class - action suits. video provided by newsy
as the pjc inquiry concluded when examining the storm financial collapse ,
for at least a sub - set of storm' s investment clients - the advice to engage in aggressive leveraged investment strategy was clearly inappropriate .
3
this package represents a comprehensive government response to the recent inquiry into financial products and services in australia by the parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services (the pjc inquiry, see attachment a), which was set up in the wake of collapses such as storm financial and opes prime .
we are now in the endgame of the storm financial saga, when judges, barristers and forensic auditors make their quid from the misery of investors .
customers who were caught up in the storm financial collapse are soon set to receive a $ 17 payout from the bank of queensland (boq) .
commonwealth bank of australia had long been storm’s key lender and an important partner, with many storm clients holding margin loans with cba and its subsidiaries. but as storm has inched closer to the brink, the relationship has deteriorated quickly .
these reforms are the government' s response to the parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services' inquiry into financial products and services in australia .
the financial ombudsman service offers a free, fair and accessible service to consumers who are unable to resolve a dispute with a financial services provider. urltoken
however, the future of financial advice (fofa) reforms, which flowed out of the ripoll inquiry into the collapse of storm financial, were always a compromise between vast competing interests - with the big banks, who largely control the financial planning industry, at one end and consumers at the other .
just ask the 13, 000 clients of one of the nation' s biggest financial planning groups, storm financial, which faces a $ 4 billion crisis this weekend after the big banks pulled the rug from under the company .
in 2012, in the wake of financial planning scandals such as those at storm financial and others where thousands of people lost their life savings, the accounting and professional ethical standards board (apesb) decided to take a stand .
an unfortunate behaviour i suspect is common to many other financial planners and planning groups is the projection of the financial planner’s risk tolerance on to their clients .
storm’s founders could never have predicted the severity of the financial crisis, but it was not until october 2008 that they advised clients to start getting out of equities and into cash. by then it was too late for storm and its clients .
let' s make financial planning a trusted profession ,
they said .
commonwealth bank offers customers review of dodgy financial advice | 3 jul 2014 - the commonwealth bank is offering reviews to customers who feel they received poor financial advice .
rampant litigation in the financial sector will only create more risk for australia’s banks .
storm financial was a boom - time business. while the company was established 35 years ago and had seen off incidents including the sharemarket crash of 1987, the asian financial crisis and a couple of gulf wars, it really only rose to prominence in the last five years as world financial markets entered a roaring bull market .
storm will not be the last financial advisory outfit to be engulfed in this crisis. financial advisers at every level from the white shoe brigade in queensland (wouldn' t you know it the head office of storm is in townsville) to tailored spivs at our leading banks have been
gearing up
their clients for years .
the storm financial investment model encouraged investors to borrow against their assets and buy indexed share funds, but the stock market collapse has left them owing millions of dollars .
unregistered managed investment scheme (umis) proceedings initiated by asic against storm financial limited, commonwealth bank of australia limited, bank of queensland limited and macquarie bank limited .
cba, macquarie and bank of queensland had provided the margin loans to storm clients .
you only need to visit storm’s website to see how desperate it was to grow its financial planning group at virtually any price. “we’re expanding across australia and now buying quality financial planning practices for top dollar, ” the website says. storm promised to pay financial planners “above industry standard” for the businesses, and pay in a shorter time than is usual (50% upfront and 50% in 12 months) .
when financial planning firm storm financial collapsed with $ 3 billion in investment losses, many of its investors were left destitute. a parliamentary joint committee inquiry into the company’s demise was conducted in response and, in 2010, then financial services minister chris bowen announced a series of sweeping reforms aimed at giving greater protection to retail investors .
1 the reference to the term' financial adviser' in this information pack generally refers to those who provide' financial product advice' under the corporations act 2001 .
sunshine coast investors burnt by the $ 3 billion collapse of storm financial are furious that a landmark inquiry into the company’s demise failed to take the banking industry to task .
westpac has unilaterally moved to end grandfathering with respect to its financial advice ...
financial planner (voiceover): mr stevens, tell me about your ...
don’t include personal or financial information like your national insurance number or credit card details .
justice edelman stated a reasonable director would have known that the storm model when applied to these clients was likely to lead to inappropriate advice and that consequences would be catastrophic for storm .
storm’s attempt to float on the australian stock exchange in late 2007 was an absolute disaster .
with the harvey disaster unfolding, the question is whether the storm could become another katrina .
second, the float seemed poorly organised. storm was forced to delay its ipo by one month because of conflicts with its reporting dates, and fund managers who saw storm’s presentations remember a shabby and disorganised sales pitch, with storm executives openly bickering with the company’s corporate advisers .
adele ferguson: inside the frankston branch, the financial planner asks noel stevens a series of questions about his job, his financial status and, crucially, his medical history .
coast - based storm investors consumer action group co - chairman mark weir said lender liability should have been at the heart of the parliamentary joint committee for corporations and financial services report .
yet the guts of this investor calamity is that storm - unlike mortgage funds such as city pacific or failed corporates such as allco, centro and babcock - was a financial planner .
whether this is in the form of a payment, from a product provider, or from any financial services business, in relation to the distribution or advice for retail financial products .
what an enlighteningly misinformed comment. you fail to realise that financial planners are ...
the main issue with financial planners transitioning to conflict free is their mind set .
i don' t go with financial advisers and don' t know much about them .
by late 2008 and early 2009, many of storm' s clients had suffered significant losses .
answers to frequently asked questions about compensation, legal proceedings and asic actions in relation to storm .
it gives me great pleasure to announce significant reforms to the provision of financial advice, which i believe will improve the quality of advice, strengthen investor protection and underpin trust and confidence in the financial planning industry. these reforms should ultimately encourage more people to seek financial advice .
the commonwealth bank secretly struck a deal with class action lawyers for storm financial group which left victims in a $ 1 billion claim against the bank with a return of just $ 34 million .
these reforms will see australian investors receive financial advice that is in their best interests, rather than being directed to products as a result of incentives or commissions offered to the financial adviser .
adele ferguson: inside the commonwealth bank, the financial planner looks at noel' s details .
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 .
this is best exemplified in this exchange reported in the townsville bulletin on january 7 this year between business editor tony raggatt, and emmanuel and julie cassimatis, the founders of the storm financial group .
the storm draft prospectus shows ignite had contracts to supply not only software support services to storm and its authorised representatives but also business services, research and analysis, education and training, and other services .
storm - related class action proceedings against commonwealth bank of australia limited and colonial first state investments ltd .
storm is shaping up to be the case study for everything that is wrong with the investment market in 2008. storm made its name as one of the
high energy
financial planning groups that coaxed investors into using their home equity to finance their investments, and then boosted those investments through borrowing .
any form of payment relating to volume or sales targets (including employee sales and volume targets) from any financial services business, relating to the distribution and provision of advice for retail financial products .
the committee recommends that asic immediately begin consultation with the financial services industry on the establishment of an independent, industry‑based professional standards board to oversee nomenclature, and competency and conduct standards for financial advisers .
levitt robinson has brought a class action in the federal court of australia against westpac bank on behalf of former storm financial clients who had mortgages with westpac. the lead applicants are john and glenda lee .
in the case of storm however, the lawyers are lining up their attack on the assumption that storm was an agent of the banks. it appears that in some cases, client income was overstated on credit applications and in many cases the documentation was struck at storm offices or over the phone to the banks .
financial planning has a blueprint to become a trusted profession. it' s the original apes 230 .
cba harvested customers for in - house advice | financial observer | 11 apr 2014 - the whistleblower at the centre of commonwealth bank of australia' s (cba) financial advice saga has claimed the bank harvested client databases and used banking staff to funnel customers to its in - house financial advice businesses .
the consumer financial protection bureau said monday financial companies will no longer be allowed to force customers to use arbitration to settle group disputes, restricting the industry' s favored legal tool after years of review .
but the liquidators dismissed this argument, finding that storm would almost certainly have been insolvent early last year .
first, the riskiness of the plans and product recommendations seem to have been unrelated to the risk tolerance of storm clients. rather, there are fears they have been structured to maximise revenue for the storm business .
secondly, last year’s dividend paid to the founders of storm is mystifying when judged against conventional accounting standards .
it seems all in storm believed their message. it is claimed everyone lost money, staff and clients alike. it would appear, to an outsider, storm simply projected its corporate risk tolerance onto its clients .
licence fees under the software deal entailed storm paying 35% of all platform fees (calculated monthly) and 0. 175% of the gross asset value of funds in storm - branded product after two years .
settlement agreement with the commonwealth bank of australia (cba) for compensation for losses suffered on storm investments .
the hurricane, which has weakened to a tropical storm, is the first category 4 storm to hit the united states since charley in 2004. harvey has destroyed homes, severed power supplies and caused severe flooding .
however, sean mcardle, the lead litigant in the storm class action lawsuit against the bank confirmed over the weekend he and other storm victims were not made aware that any deal had been struck with the bank .
2 a retail financial services product, under the corporations act 2001, is defined as a financial product (see s763a for the general definition) that is held by a retail client (see s761g for the meaning of retail client and wholesale client). section 764a lists the specific things that are defined as financial products. if the client is classified as
retail
, then the financial product is a
retail financial services product
, and the investor protection provisions contained in chapter 7 of the act apply
the committee recommends that asic immediately begin consultation with the financial services industry on the establishment of an independent, industry - based professional standards board to oversee nomenclature, and competency and conduct standards for financial advisers .
as part of its defence strategy storm is exploring the possibility of legal action against commonwealth bank' s colonial funds group. colonial dumped storm funds from its client lists, triggering a round of margin calls on storm clients. in turn, these margin calls will create forced share sales that will mean multimillion - dollar losses for investors .
the federal court may have found that emmanuel and julie cassimatis breached their duties as directors of storm ...
a significant number of storm’s clients were aggressively double geared, which is widely regarded as a very risky strategy .
two other former storm staff called to give evidence, kristy devney and carmela richards, who were also former commonwealth bank staffers, argue in detail that the bank' s lending to storm was hardly an isolated townsville issue .
they used their powers as directors to create an environment in which [ as they were aware ] it was almost inevitable that the storm model would be applied to people with a high degree of financial vulnerability .
storm, the speculative townsville - based financial advice firm, collapsed in january 2009 amid the global financial crisis and was shunted into liquidation shortly afterwards. it owed $ 3. 6 billion to some 14, 000 investors who had been recklessly advised to use high levels of debt to invest in shares during the bull market .
the business could no longer meet its financial obligations as they fell due and is now being wound up .
it was the local frankston commonwealth bank, inviting noel to come in and speak with their financial planner .
the cfpb has enacted a new rule, banning financial companies from insisting on arbitration to settle group disputes .
in a similar case, beset by a number of class actions following the failure of storm financial, commonwealth bank was forced to settle with asic for a sum totalling $ 270 million to its customers who had lost in storm’s collapse. again there was no admission of liability by commbank. nor, as it turns out, did the commbank board take any responsibility. in the mean time, other class actions related to storm continue for commbank .
the inquiry looked at the role played by financial advisers, the state of the general regulatory environment, remuneration models (such as commissions), the role of marketing and advertising in financial product distribution, the licensing arrangements of those who sold the financial products and services, and the consumer protection and insurance arrangements in place .
in early january, storm released a media statement declaring the court had agreed with its claims, when in fact justice greenwood had dismissed storm’s application and said the matter needed to be tested at trial. cba was deeply unimpressed .
[ the federal court' s ] decision also highlights the significant obligation of financial services licensees to provide financial advice that is appropriate to the persons to whom it is given ,
asic commissioner greg tanzer said .
storm never had the capacity, or the intention, of closely monitoring and managing client' s debts and portfolios .
one of the more confronting issues that emerged over recent days is the relationship between lenders, fund managers and storm .
apart from bull * * * * and promises, the storm strategy was about debt, and lots of it .
the prime minister of antigua and barbuda said the islands had been levelled by the storm, with 90% destroyed .
certainly, neither macquarie nor boq has plans to concede, with the latter issuing a press statement to say, “it is our intention to defend this action vigorously. ” boq went on to say it had “never provided margin loans, never promoted storm financial products, never managed geared equities and never [ taken ] any commission from storm. ”
the key benefit of the reforms will be that consumer trust and confidence in the financial planning industry is strengthened .
while asic is right to pursue more timely breach reporting by financial planning firms it should acknowledge that ...
claire mackay is a financial planner, accountant and lawyer who was appointed to the apesb in july last year .
adele ferguson: if the teller succeeds in getting noel to see a financial planner and sign up for a bank product, he stands to get a bonus worth hundreds of dollars and the financial planner will get even more .
adele ferguson: banks now own or control up to 80 per cent of the country' s financial planners .
financial planner jeff morris was discovering dozens of don nguyen' s victims who were also losing their life savings .
he said it was important the federal government introduced stricter laws regarding financial advisers to stop similar incidents from happening .
cfpb: financial firms can no longer force consumers to use arbitration in group disputes the cfpb has enacted a new rule, banning financial companies from insisting on arbitration to settle group disputes. check out this story on urltoken urltoken
i welcome the significant efforts of industry, including the investment and financial services association (ifsa) and the financial planning association (fpa) to remove commissions. the reforms clearly support their efforts by introducing enhanced standards that apply across the retail financial services industry. the reforms will greatly reduce the incidence of investors being recommended financial products as a result of sales incentives offered to advisers. clearly, clients should receive advice that is in their best interests .
yet these financial collapses happened at almost exactly the same time: bernie madoff was led away in handcuffs in december 2008, just as storm’s banks pulled the plug on the big townsville - based financial planner and its unfortunate clients. there are, of course, huge differences between the two cases, not least that bernie madoff pleaded ...
storm were not communicating from 20 december to 5 january (they say because they had an agreement with the
regulators
. asic have twice indicated to me that they did not instruct storm - so who are the regulators?''
some of those selected are not sticking to the neat script of the commonwealth bank' s submission, that argued its storm problems were an isolated issue chiefly revolving around some former commonwealth bank staff who moved to storm' s head office .
i welcome the significant efforts of industry, including the investment and financial services association (ifsa) and the financial planning association (fpa) to remove commissions and improve professional standards. these reforms clearly support their efforts .
it seems storm’s clients did exactly as they were told. they stumped up cash again and again, even as the market fell. trusting their advisers, they walked into the fire. quite reasonably, they may also have put their faith in asic, which gave storm the government’s tick of approval by licensing manny and his boys to dispense financial advice .
storm collapsed with the loss of almost $ 3 billion in investor funds, leaving many among its 3000 former investors destitute .
the ignite application was made in late november last year, just before commonwealth bank began contacting storm clients to advise them of margin calls against their positions and selling down its storm - branded funds. (challenger had begun selling in october) .
may i wish all storm investors a merry christmas, and hope for you all that 2013 will see some justice done .
not surprisingly, institutional investors laughed storm out of town and the float was eventually pulled due to a lack of support .
on 24 december, storm went to the federal court to apply for an injunction preventing commonwealth bank from further communicating with its clients, arguing that letters the bank sent to storm clients in early december were misleading and may have exacerbated client losses .
let' s return to the recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of storm financial services. the collapse of the townsville - based group left hundreds of investors, big and small, with losses of about $ 3 billion dollars .
in minimising these distortions, financial advice should not be put out of reach of those who would benefit from it .
it also wants the australian securities and investments commission to be able to deny, suspend or cancel financial services licences .
for the chief executives of financial services companies struggling to fund the cost of compliance in an ever - ...
published by tiso blackstar and distributed with the financial mail on the last thursday of every month except december and january .
the aim: to ensure accountant financial planners operated to the highest ethical standards and could be trusted by their customers .
storm' s lack of capacity to manage clients' margin loan positions included a reliance on data provided by the loan providers .
may i wish all storm investors a merry christmas, and hope for you all that 2013 will see some justice done. gg
given a decade of generally bad publicity for the financial planning sector, it is a wonder that planner numbers ...
its british parent company provident financial has issued its third profit warning this year - saying it may lose up to €131m .
of that $ 34 million in compensation for australia’s most devastating financial scandal, legal fees came to almost $ 10 million .
the storm investment approach advocated clients borrowing against their homes and other assets to buy into the share market. despite the protestations of the financial planners association that it is acceptable for planners to spruik margin lending and home equity withdrawal to unsophisticated retail clients, the reality is that leverage is reckless except for investors who are not retired and who have a solid understanding of financial markets .
yet these financial collapses happened at almost exactly the same time: bernie madoff was led away in handcuffs in december 2008, just as storm’s banks pulled the plug on the big townsville - based financial planner and its unfortunate clients. there are, of course, huge differences between the two cases, not least that bernie madoff pleaded guilty and storm’s founder, emmanuel cassimatis, didn’t steal investors’ money. but there are also strong similarities; these two super salesmen helped wreck the lives of thousands of elderly investors .
cba had been advising storm of the client positions in a daily update as they fell into arrears. earlier, in a self - serving missive to clients on october 8, storm had advised its faithful to switch to 100% cash but not to pay down their debt. storm reaped fees on the gross assets and clients extinguishing their borrowings would have meant choking off the fee - flow .
licensing is the rock on which asic’s regulation of the financial planning industry is founded. if you visit the regulator’s website you’ll see dire warnings of the dangers of taking advice from an unlicensed financial planner. but the experience of the storm case suggests a licence from asic doesn’t necessarily make investors safe. those who lost hundreds of millions of dollars in property group westpoint also found little protection .
earlier this year asic chairman, rod sims, told a senate inquiry ,
we still regard the financial advice sector as one of the riskiest sectors that we regulate
, adding ,
we need a financial advice sector that australians can trust .
adele ferguson examines a sales - driven culture inside the commonwealth bank' s financial planning division described as profit at all cost .
heavy - polluting countries should bear their share of the financial burden of severe weather caused by climate change, mr browne added .
if asic succeeds, it could establish an important principle for future investors: that the banks who lent money to storm’s clients were “linked credit providers” under section 73 of the trade practices act (tpa) and can therefore be sued for any damage inflicted by storm’s misdeeds .
for example, how was it that - for all of storm' s talk of
dams
and safety of its strategy - margin calls were never received by many of those who invested through storm, leading to a disastrous evaporation of their cash
buffer
.
on this occasion they (colonial geared investments) appear to have had an oh s * * t moment and realised that their systems have failed ,
mr dalle cort wrote in his submission .
the storm financial failure was due to product failure .
but nothing matches the devastation of the present client base, once some 13, 500 clients - strong according to storm, boasting $ 4. 5 billion under management when the cassimatises sought to float their company at the height of the market in december 2007. emboldened by their bull - market success they had built a national presence by absorbing a number of other financial planning businesses into the storm network .
over time, more investors will develop the confidence and trust to seek financial advice as attitudes about perceived conflicts within the industry change. the reforms will improve the quality of financial advice, particularly with respect to product recommendations, and provide strong safeguards for investors .
the advice recommended clients, to invest substantial amounts index fund, using the what was called the
double - gearing storm
model .
giving debt to many of storm’s clients was akin to giving whisky to a two - year - old child. does society ban whisky ?
the government recognises the important role played by financial advisers 1 in assisting people to plan for their future. longer term challenges such as the ageing of the population, as well as recent events such as the global financial crisis, underscore the need for quality advice .
the distinction between a retail and wholesale client is important in the regulation of financial services. the obligations placed on financial services providers in relation to retail clients recognise the greater protection that unsophisticated investors need. this distinction has not been reviewed since its introduction in 2001 .
but it stopped short of calling for legislation that would outlaw commissions in financial planning, with the issue thrown back at the government .
financial planners have had several opportunities to give their profession a good name, but have eschewed them in favour of conflicted commission payments .
the cba says it has since cleaned up its act and there is no place for so - called' rogue' financial planners .
adele ferguson: jeff morris worked as a senior financial planner at the chatswood branch because it was a quick train ride to home .
file photo taken in 2015 shows richard cordray, director of the consumer financial protection bureau, at a hearing in denver, colorado .
teasing out who was exactly to blame will take a degree of persistence on the committee' s part. mr dalle cort and other former storm staff have a clear interest in blaming the banks for either a systemic failure or a blithe ignorance to the dangers of the storm model .
a critical failure however with the storm model was the aggressive topping up of loan positions. clients were urged to increase their borrowings at every opportunity (and interest was capitalised) - a classic conflict of interest for financial planners earning their fees on the size of an investment .
i work in financial planning and we received an email recently showing what constituted a' statement of advice' for storm. if it was legit, it is a joke of a document and discloses little while getting you to sign off on an open, unexplained investment plan .
we need to find and apply a higher standard of personal behaviour. i suspect that can be found in the process of seeking clients’ properly informed commitment to both their financial plans and the riskiness of the products, which is the core of a robust financial planning process .
it seemed to primarily monitor its investors' position to allow storm to increase customers' level of borrowing - and consequently increase its own fees .
the report found mr cassimatis and his wife julie were paid $ 500, 000 a year and were primarily responsible for the operations of storm .
their host, and storm founder, emmanuel cassimatis confided to one client that the banks were picking up the bill. not that cassimatis needed to dig into the marketing budgets of the bankers and margin lenders. clients were paying for the holiday anyway, and besides, storm charged some of the most heroic fees in the financial services business and, as it turned out, for some of the most fundamentally - flawed advice .
it was mid - 2007, the height of the stock market boom, and clients of storm financial group partied the night away in the banquet halls of bracciano castle, a magnificent fifteenth - century edifice towering high above the azure waters of lake bracciano on the outskirts of rome .
choice: advice on investing | @ choiceaustralia - independent and trusted investigations and guides to the financial planning industry and your investment options. urltoken
storm financial went into administration on january 9 and liquidation on march 26 when last year' s sharemarket falls ended its business model of recommending clients withdraw money through a mortgage on their homes, then use the proceeds as the basis for a further margin loan to invest in the stockmarket .
the federal government also wants to make changes to the financial advice legislation that would reintroduce some of the commissions and kickbacks that had been banned under the previous government. if the reforms go ahead it will potentially mean financial planners are less, not more, accountable to their clients .
such legal uncertainty, if it were to become prevalent throughout the industry, may even undermine australia’s hopes to be a regional financial hub in the asian century. perhaps it is time for the peak regulator, the council of financial regulators, to address this potentially significant systemic risk .
many storm clients were not told of the deterioration in the value of their investments, so they were unable to take action to reduce the losses .
havana fared better than expected but the storm surge still inundated two blocks into the cuban capital, with 11 - metre waves crashing over the famous malecón. other cuban regions fared much worse, after irma made landfall as a category5 storm on friday, tearing roofs from houses and flooding communities. it was the first category 5 storm to hit cuba since 1932, but by sunday tourists in the varadero area were ready to return to their holiday .
cassimatis’ ex - partner, ron jelich, who sold his financial planning business on the gold coast to storm and became a key player in the group, told a parliamentary inquiry in 2009 that the collapse had inflicted “total horror, emotional despair and psychological terror” on “thousands of loyal, innocent, trusting, decent storm clients”, whose lives had “been shattered, in many instances, beyond repair”. yet more than two years later, emmanuel and julie cassimatis, the two principals of storm, have not been punished, no adviser has lost his financial services licence – as far as we know – and the banks who put up the money for investors to gamble with have not been made to pay. or, not by asic .
ironically, asic searches reveal that ignite, a company associated with emmanuel cassimatis, has applied for a financial adviser' s licence with the regulator. the approval is'' pending''. ignite is owned by emmanuel and julie cassimatis and earned royalties from storm for providing software services .
president trump signed a federal disaster declaration for the state, and long said the move freed him to unify efforts and send in federal resources. trump’s declaration made federal financial assistance available to victims of the storm; they will have to apply for federal aid and can find information at urltoken .
the u. s. department of treasury (dotreas) activated the financial and banking information infrastructure committee (fbiic) communications protocols and will continue monitoring key financial sector infrastructure in the hurricane irma impact zone. treasury also assists with preparation and priority restoration of financial institution operations, and continues working as necessary to mitigate any impact on the financial system. the department provided personnel and facilities to assist with fema’s response efforts and provided tax payers with guidance for storm preparation and recovery, and any available tax relief. in addition, a “treasury quick response team” of special agents is deployed in miami assisting with recovery operations. finally, treasury closed facilities in the virgin islands, florida, georgia, south carolina, and alabama .
the storm creditors' meeting is slated for tomorrow and it promises to be a dramatic affair. whether the founders will turn up is anyone' s guess. storm funds under management are now believed to be down by 80% from their highs. should evidence emerge that the cassimatises or other associates of storm have been the beneficiaries of any payments from the failed group prior to it unravelling last year, tempers will surely boil over, for starters .
the committee recommends that section 920a of the corporations act be amended to provide extended powers for asic to ban individuals from the financial services industry .
adele ferguson: at the frankston cba branch, noel stevens turned up for his 11: 30 appointment with the bank' s financial planner .
cba admits failings in nguyen investigations | financial observer | 11 apr 2014 - commonwealth bank of australia (cba) has told a senate inquiry it made the wrong decision in failing to alert the corporate regulator sooner of misconduct claims made against one of its former financial advisers five years ago .
earlier this year, storm’s high - flying founders emmanuel and julie cassimatis were valued at a staggering $ 450 million by brisbane newspaper the sunday mail, after the pair had led the company on a turbo - charged growth spree, acquiring a large number of financial planning businesses along the eastern seaboard .
when you are geared big time there is no way out, but to sell out. the letter to storm clients six weeks ago admitted as much .
the liquidators spent considerable effort reporting on propositions put by mr cassimatis in a court action launched in december 2008 blaming commonwealth bank for storm' s collapse .
if you were a storm client and you had a mortgage from westpac, contact us to see if you are eligible to register for the class action .
thirdly, despite claiming independence, storm appears to have had many links to institutional product suppliers that appear inconsistent with the ordinary use of the term ‘independent’ .
in the statement of advice i reviewed, the fee to storm was not paid by the fund managers but as a direct reduction from the moneys borrowed .
for the life of me i can’t see why some people continue to hold the view that very few people could have seen risk in the storm model .
an expert advisory panel will be established which will review professional standards in the financial advice industry, including conduct and competency standards, which may include a code of ethics for financial advisers. the advisory panel may include members from the industry, professional associations, academia, consumer representatives and asic officers .
the grey area of agency needs to be explored with some care. the client’s financial plans often demanded that at least one loan be taken out .
appeal judgement: commonwealth financial planning ltd v [ teghan ] couper | 16 dec 2013 - transcript of the court appeal in noel stevens' matter .
the landmark dodd - frank wall street reform act, which was passed in 2010 following the financial crisis, created the cfpb and ordered the agency to assess financial firms' use of mandatory arbitration clauses. the agency issued a draft of the rule in may, 2016 and asked for public comments .
it’s far from a storm in a teacup; it just might be a storm that leads to a senate inquiry. and remember, that senate is no longer controlled by a finance sector - friendly liberal government and any inquiry will occur in an environment where ‘good government’ just might be ‘heavy - handed regulation’ government .
whistleblower claims the existence of 100 cba rogue advisers | financial standard | 24 mar 2014 - former commonwealth financial planning adviser and whistleblower jeffrey morris has
no doubt
that a proper investigation by the australian securities and investments commission (asic) would reveal at least 100 current or former rogue cba advisers .
while the
mums and dads
at storm were borrowing up to the eyeballs, the managers were doing their bit to make them feel more relaxed  it' s estimated that storm paid the bill for overseas holidays for at least 1000 clients over the past two years, mostly to sun city in south africa .
colonial (owned by commonwealth bank) also offered lower interest rates and higher loan valuation ratios and was super keen to get storm’s business. in mid 2007 it spent heavily to sponsor a glamorous gala for storm investors in the fifteenth - century odescalchi castle in italy, where celebrities tom cruise and katie holmes were married .
the committee recommends that the government consult with and support industry in developing the most appropriate mechanism by which to cease payments from product manufacturers to financial advisers .
“they’ve aimed the big guns at the financial services industry and the regulators, but they’ve aimed a pop gun at the banks, ” mr weir said .
warren mckeown is a certified financial planner who advises clients on investment and superannuation matters. the licensee is not associated with any bank or industry superannuation fund .
in 2007, don nguyen' s legendary ability to sign up new customers scored him number one in the bank' s internal financial planning league table .
the committee recommends that the government consult with and support industry in developing the most appropriate mechanism by which to cease payments from product manufacturers to financial advisers .
according to sources, the regulator again fielded complaints about storm last year and responded that it had looked at storm and was satisfied there was no need for an investigation.'' a clean bill of health'' was the way the source put it. asic was contacted late last week and declined to answer questions .
storm was able to produce impressive returns for investors by advising them to borrow heavily to “amplify” the performance of their portfolio. while markets were soaring, the model worked brilliantly, and client numbers and funds - under - management grew quickly. but when the market turned, the margins calls started, and storm was sunk.
storm financial limited was a financial advice company , based in townsville , queensland , australia . the company was founded by emmanuel cassimatis and his wife julie cassimatis as a private company initially with the name cassimatis securities pty ltd on 23 may 1994 . as part of the company 's expansion outside of townsville the company changed its name from a personality based name to ozdaq securities pty ltd on 10 april 2000 . this name remained intact until 1 feb 2004 when it was relinquished consequent to trademark objections from the nasdaq stock exchange in the united states . the company then traded as storm financial pty ltd from 2 feb 2004 until 14 jun 2007 at which time the company became an unlisted public company and continued trading as storm financial ltd from 15 jun 2007 in preparation for making an initial public offering ( ipo ) in december 2007 . this ipo was subject to a storm financial prospectus which was dated 14 nov 2007 and lodged with the australian securities and investment commission ( asic ) on the same date . storm financial ltd continued to trade until external administrator worrells solvency and forensic accountants were appointed on 9 jan 2009 . the main creditor commonwealth bank appointed receivers and manager kordamentha on 15 jan 2009 . 
storm financial limited was a financial advice company, based in townsville, queensland, australia. the company was founded by emmanuel cassimatis and his wife julie cassimatis as a private company initially with the name cassimatis securities pty ltd on 23 may 1994. as part of the company's expansion outside of townsville the company changed its name from a personality based name to ozdaq securities pty ltd on 10 april 2000. this name remained intact until 1 feb 2004 when it was relinquished consequent to trademark objections from the nasdaq stock exchange in the united states. the company then traded as storm financial pty ltd from 2 feb 2004 until 14 jun 2007 at which time the company became an unlisted public company and continued trading as storm financial ltd from 15 jun 2007 in preparation for making an initial public offering (ipo) in december 2007. this ipo was subject to a storm financial prospectus which was dated 14 nov 2007 and lodged with the australian securities and investment commission (asic) on the same date. storm financial ltd continued to trade until external administrator worrells solvency and forensic accountants were appointed on 9 jan 2009. the main creditor commonwealth bank appointed receivers and manager kordamentha on 15 jan 2009.
storm financial limited was a financial advice company, based in townsville, queensland, australia. the company was founded by emmanuel cassimatis and his wife julie cassimatis as a private company initially with the name cassimatis securities pty ltd on 23 may 1994. as part of the company's expansion outside of townsville the company changed its name from a personality based name to ozdaq securities pty ltd on 10 april 2000. this name remained intact until 1 feb 2004 when it was relinquished consequent to trademark objections from the nasdaq stock exchange in the united states. the company then traded as storm financial pty ltd from 2 feb 2004 until 14 jun 2007 at which time the company became an unlisted public company and continued trading as storm financial ltd from 15 jun 2007 in preparation for making an initial public offering (ipo) in december 2007. this ipo was subject to a storm financial prospectus which was dated 14 nov 2007 and lodged with the australian securities and investment commission (asic) on the same date. storm financial ltd continued to trade until external administrator worrells solvency and forensic accountants were appointed on 9 jan 2009. the main creditor commonwealth bank appointed receivers and manager kordamentha on 15 jan 2009.