Sections
PSG responds to Treasury Minister’s answers to Keys’ questions about Premier Low Risk Fund
The Premier Shareholders Group (PSG), a group of investors and former investors in the IOM based fund, has issued a response to comments made by Treasury Minister, Allan Bell during a recent Keys’ Question Time.
Michael MHK, David Cannan had posed to Mr Bell a two part question: (a) Whether the Financial Supervision Commission is taking action to address the grievances of the Premier Shareholders Group in respect of the management of the Premier Low Risk Fund plc; and
(b) if he will make a full disclosure of the beneficial ownership of the Premier Low Risk Fund plc and the underlying financial problems?
Mr Bell had reassured Mr Cannan that the Financial Supervision Commission had put a considerable amount of time in to trying to find a solution to the problems experienced by the fund; but essentially said the decision to put money into the fund was made by investors knowing the risks involved.
Some of Mr Bell’s comments appear to have enflamed the already volatile and acrimonious saga with PSG going as far as accusing Mr Bell of misinforming the House with some of his answers.
In a hard hitting open letter, reproduced in full below, the PSG also accuses the Manx government of changing the law to prevent some of the disaffected investors from bringing claims under the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme.
Therefore, it would appear, to the Manx Herald, this saga has some way to run yet before a satisfactory outcome, as a far the investors who have ‘lost’ a considerable amount of their savings, is found.
OPEN LETTER TO: - The Treasury Minister, Allan Bell MHK
Government Office
Buck's Road
Douglas - IM1 3PZ
Isle of Man
From:- The Premier Shareholders Group
9th December 2009
Dear Mr. Bell
The Premier Low Risk Fund plc
Your recent comments made on Manx Radio and in the House of Keys are nonsense.
The Isle of Man is NOT a good place to do business and investor’s money is NOT safe on the Isle of Man.
You misinformed the House of Keys by claiming that: - “The promoter (Premier Low Risk Fund plc) introduced a market value adjustment to be applied to early redemptions from the Fund. I am advised that the majority of investors in the Fund understood the issues the Fund faced, and wished to leave their investments, in fact.
Clearly, however, a minority of investors were not happy and a number of those have become vociferous complainers, especially those who are retired and were expecting to rely on the Fund for income.”
This is nonsense.
Regardless of all other circumstances it is illegal for the Premier Fund’s directors to apply ANY exit penalty unless first disclosed to investors BEFORE they transferred their savings to the Fund (or any other fund).
Also nonsense is your claim: - “that the majority of investors understood the issues the Fund faced and wished to leave their investment in the Fund”. Investors are withdrawing money from the Fund in droves as is demonstrated by the Fund’s asset value falling from over £200m to a current figure of around £60m.
And the reason that pensioners “were expecting to rely on the Fund for income” is simply because the Fund’s directors advised them that this is exactly what they would be able to do!
You claim to have used your influence as best you can with the FSC to find a solution to these elderly people’s predicament, but then argue that because the Premier Low Risk Fund plc is classified as an Experienced Investor Fund the pensioners were required to sign an agreement recognising the risks involved with such Funds.
This is more nonsense.
The Premier Fund is designed exclusively for institutional or professional investors and the directors tricked pensioners into transferring their savings into a totally unsuitable Fund by offering them misleading advice.
This advice included claiming that the Fund is ‘Low Risk’ when a High Court has ruled that the investment strategy adopted by the Fund’s directors is ‘High Risk’, advising the pensioners that their savings were ‘secure and guaranteed’ and associating the Fund’s risk rating with that of a Building Society.
Pensioners lost up to 60% of their savings in the process of rescuing them!
The Isle of Man government maintains a reserve of £1.3b which is at your disposal to compensate those suffering hardship as a result of being mis-sold an investment product.
However the use this money would also oblige the government to investigate the activities of Premier’s directors – and when faced with this dilemma you prefer to see pensioners suffer the misery of losing their savings.
And to further add to this misery your government has cunningly passed a new law which prevents some of the pensioners bringing claims under the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme.
To refer to the Premier Low Risk Fund as an “ill conceived venture” is the understatement of the century.
The PSG will use every available means to bring this disgrace to the attention of the world. Trust us.
Premier Shareholders Group
del.icio.us |
Digg
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text
This accusation does not take into account the fact that the “wretched pensioners” are decent honest people who have carefully accumulated, over a lifetime's hard work, savings to supplement their state pension.
Never in their lives have they been involved in anything that suggested obtaining money by deception– and they do not want to be involved now.
This is why they are appealing for the return of their savings and no other reason.
See how 10,000 other depositors mainly UK citizens have lost their life savings, by entrusting their money to The Isle of Man, many are OAP's.
Make sure you tell everyone you speak to, not to trust the Isle of Man with any monies in any form. They will promise you everything as they did with the KSF bank, assured us it was 100% guaranteed. Not true, depositors who had their money with either the Derbyshire Building Society or The Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander bank Isle of Man, have only got between 24% and 50% of their money back and then 13 months later.
Your case should be brought to the attention of the IMF so that the IOM tripple A rating can be reduced, it is being revieved now for a downgrade.
Lets hope by contacting thousands of people by the Internet, Twitter, facebook, youtube that other depositors can avoid being conned by the Isle of Man and their speel.
The only way they will get their reputation back and customers is to pay depositors out 100%.
Like you, we believed what we were told by the FSC, we did not expect to put our money in a Building Society or bank with a 100% guarantee to get a fraction of our deposit back.
It is absolutly disgusting the way the Authorities on The IOM can get away with loosing your money and telling lies.
This is the second Christmas we have had with this worry and no money.
But the IOM Government don't care, it is no hardship to them. They still get paid.
The FSC employees still get their massive £250,000 a year wages plus expenses, and Directors of the failed bank still get their full salary, while ordinary folk loose their hard earned cash.
When will their be justice?
But when the "suckers" are also pensioners it’s forever more laughable.
Shame on the lot of you!
These Funds were unique in that they were not subject to any form of regulation or statutory approval, either on the Isle of Man or anywhere else in the world.
Effectively they gave licence to anarchy and were an unmitigated disaster – particularly the Premier Low Risk Fund plc.
The then Head of Supervision at the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission was actively involved in the introduction of these Funds.
He has since left employment with the FSC and is now employed where?
Yes you’ve guessed it! He is now a director of the Premier Low Risk Fund plc
And whilst hundreds of pensioners continue to lose thousands of pounds (after being promised “capital security” and “capital guarantees” and a risk rating comparable with a Building Society) the directors cheerfully continue drawing their salaries – probably the only “secure” and “guaranteed” feature of this Fund!
The best possible advice for everyone is: - NEVER INVEST OF DEPOSIT A SINGLE PENNY ON THE ISLE OF MAN!
To facilitate this process the OFT furnishes them with a full a list of Manx lawyers, as if every pensioner person, recently impoverished by fraud, will leap at the opportunity of losing another £50.000 to the Island’s legal profession.
Both the Isle of Man government and Premier’s directors have thought this scam through very carefully and innocent pensioners (and their life’s savings) become lambs to the slaughter...
Islanders cannot exercise independence of thought or deed - and to question policy is to risk transportation to the Gulag (or back to the UK.)
A sorry and dangerous place for everyone’s savings!
However the directors of the Premier Low Risk Fund plc are using bank loans and investor’s capital to trade in second hand Endowment Policies (TEPs)- an investment strategy that has always been considered “High Risk” .... as is the use of bank loans to speculate in anything!
The Premier Low Risk Fund plc is trading under a false name.
A criminal offence.
These payment are “off-the-books”, possibly subject to “confidentiality agreement” and paid via the Caribbean shell companies the directors formed to pay commission fees to unregulated, unlicenced persons (represented to the public as “professional” investment advisors) for assisting in distributing the director’s misleading advice.
The Fund is a plc wholly owned by the shareholders (including pensioners naïve enough to believe the directors)
Deloitte, the Fund’s auditors have received a fifty page “Dossier of Evidence” in support of allegations that the directors obtained bank transfers from the public by dispensing misleading advice.
Despite this Deloitte continue to inform shareholders (20th October 2009) that “the (Fund’s) financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error.”
No doubt more interesting revelations will come to light in 2010
And people still trust them with their money?
Post your comment