Call for inquiry into 'boiler room' link
STUART WASHINGTON
February 3, 2010 .
www.Ally.com
THE Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees has called on the corporate regulator to investigate the link between the Australian superannuation industry and two men facing questions about a penny stock scandal in Britain.
Fiona Reynolds, the chief executive of the peak body for not-for-profit superannuation funds - representing more than $450 billion in investments - said allegations raised by BusinessDay needed to be examined.
''I think where there's allegations made, [the Australian Securities and Investments Commission] has an obligation to investigate the situation because, after all, we are dealing with members' money,'' Ms Reynolds said.
''Superannuation, of course, is very tightly regulated, but we need people of good character to hold financial services licences.''
BusinessDay revealed yesterday that Jeffrey Revell-Reade, based in Austria, owns the Melbourne-based Oz Group companies that help to manage more than $500 million in Australian superannuation.
It was also revealed Go Markets and Vantage FX, owned by James Sutherland, who is based in Hong Kong, were involved in foreign exchange and derivatives trading in Australia.
Mr Revell-Reade and Mr Sutherland have faced questions about their link to Pacific Continental Securities in Britain, which collapsed in 2007. British regulators later ruled the broker acted as a ''boiler room'', using high-pressure sales tactics to sell nearly worthless shares to investors.
But ASIC has refused to answer questions about financial services licences it issued to companies owned by the men and how the companies passed the necessary test of ''good fame and character''.
Ms Reynolds said the three superannuation funds administered by Oz Group were not among her members. The institute works on policy development and promotes the interests of its superannuation fund members.
Superannuation funds administered by Oz Group companies are Enterprise Super, the Pooled Investment Fund and the Pinnacle Superannuation Fund.
Trustees for the three funds have said the Oz Group company only had an administrative role and had no control over the assets placed into the funds.
The assets invested in the funds have been invested with prominent external investment managers such as Macquarie Group. |
