A former Securities Commission member says Commerce Minister Craig Foss is “looking in the wrong direction” in claiming Ross Asset Management has not demonstrated regulatory failure.
David Mayhew, the former Commissioner for Financial Advisers who is now a London-based barrister, said the regime authorising financial advisers – where attention on the Ross collapse has focused – was simply designed to ensure applicants were qualified. The problem was a lack of licensing and oversight.
Hubbard investors’ complaint to the Government has failed to bring any action.
The Investor Liaison Group had complained to Commerce Minister Craig Foss and Attorney-General Lyn Provost about the conduct of statutory managers Grant Thornton.
The group hoped the complaint, which was signed by 230 investors, would prompt the Government to find an appropriate solution for all investors, while picking up the tab for management and legal costs, which have reached $12 million.
Bruce Tichbon speaks on behalf of investors in Ross Asset Management, who have lost millions of dollars in a suspected Ponzi scheme. (23′37″)
Some investments in David Ross’ failed business could have been saved if his clients had voiced concerns about their money sooner, says a financial disputes service.
Commerce Minister Craig Foss denies the Ross Asset Management collapse has exposed regulatory failures, with no plans in motion to modify legislation he says is key to building confidence in financial markets.
In an interview Foss, a former investment banker with Credit Suisse, said accountants or other advisers working for Ross’ clients had time to ask questions of how the company was being managed, if the regulator couldn’t.
Receivers and their legal counsel for Ross Asset Management discounted their charges but still couldn’t extract their full fees from the liquid assets left in David Ross’s group of investment companies, the High Court has been told.
The founder of failed investment firm Ross Asset Management and his wife are seeking permission to sell chattels to help cover his legal bills and recoup household costs.
Lawyers for David Ross, sole director of the company feared to have run what could turn out to be New Zealand’s largest Ponzi scheme, were in the High Court at Wellington yesterday for the latest hearing on freezing orders over his assets and companies.
Ross Asset Management investors are calling for the liquidation of the company to be put out to competitive tender.
The High Court at Wellington has been told that Ross had insufficient means to cover costs of more than $153,000 and assets need to be sold.
Investors are worried most of the available money will be devoured by professional fees.
This Guide has been prepared by Ernst & Young.
If a company is in financial difficulty, its shareholders, creditors or the court can put the
company into liquidation under the provisions of the Companies Act 1993 (―the Act‖).
This information sheet provides general information for unsecured creditors of
companies in liquidation.
Receivers and their legal counsel for Ross Asset Management discounted their charges but still could not extract their full fees from the liquid assets left in David Ross’s group of investment companies, the High Court has been told.