ACI

Early (Post March 2013) Knowledge

The Advisors Committee for Investors (ACI) are a group of advisors that were selling investments in the LM Funds. They are not all of the advisors that were selling investments in the LM funds. They claim to represent investors totalling better than 40% of MPF fund value with a desire to get beyond 50%.

The 'Life' companies, such as Royal London 360, Royal Skandia, Generali, Friends Provident International and Hansard don't seem to have come aboard this effort.

Many investors felt uncomfortable with the ACI effort as, in parallel with their formation and claim to represent investors interests first and foremost, it was understood that advisors were creditors (who, in Australian law stand ahead of investors in the distribution of funds at liquidation) of LMIM and were continuing to pursue commission payments still owed to them by the failed LMIM.

ACI's initial effort was to rescue the 2nd mortgage position the fund held on the Maddison Estate by attempting to buy the first mortgage position through a call for extra funds. The effort failed to raise the funds required and Suncorp who owned the first mortgage position has since sold it onto Sunland. It is understood that the current value of the Maddison Estate is barely the amount of the first mortgage.

Mid 2015

ACI claimed to have spawned an organisation called Investor Network Limited (INL). INL in turn claim to be distancing themselves from ACI presumably because of the conflict of interest inherent in a recovery strategy likely to result in advisers being summoned as a co-defendants. However funds alleged to be available to INL comprise a narrow band of investor contributions plus contributions from ACI grouped advisers which at one point were alleged to include pledges of outstanding commissions!

Third Quarter 2015

It has become increasingly clear that some if not many advisers in Thailand selling LM investments were not licensed by the Thai SEC and therefore, under Thai law, were operating illegally. Such operators are now featured on the Thai Securities & Exchange Commission Investor Alert list. In line with warnings from the Thai SEC, LMIVC advise investors to exercise extreme caution, avoiding businesses featured on the Alert List where possible.