Investors beware

When Helen and I decided to invest the million dollars we were paid for our shopping centre in 2007 we knew very little about investing in the share market. Aside from the million dollars, we owned a house outright worth some $380,000 and had other assets including superannuation worth about $300,000 give or take. In fact we were set for life! The only reason we decided to invest was to leave a legacy for Helen's children and grandchildren rather than have our money whittled away by inflation. It seems ludicrous now when you think about it but at the time it seemed like sound reasoning. But then, how were we to know that the financial sector is a minefield for the unwary?

The one thing that we didn't want at the time was to invest in anything that would put our money in jeopardy. The Storm solution seemed ideal. "Spread the risk over many companies in the share market and you can't lose!"  We had no reason to suspect that Storm Financial posed any risk. After all, Storm Financial was a substantial advisory firm with many clients; some being high profile individuals. Further, many of the major banks such as the CBA and Macquarie Bank worked hand in hand with them and any risk therefore seemed minimal. In fact we stressed to Storm on more than one occasion that we wanted nothing that placed our assets at risk. The rest as they say is history.

The moral of this story is a simple one. Don't invest full stop. The financial market place is an accident waiting to happen for the unwary investor. Let what happened to all of us serve as a  warning to any would-be investors out there. The financial sector offers no guarantees that your investments will be safe. For those that are contemplating using financial advisers and banks, THINK AGAIN! We were duped! You could be next. 

Despite the Government's protestations, your investments will be placed at extreme risk. The regulations, the insurance laws, the various Acts, the lack of fiduciary responsibility in respect of financial advisers, the law, the ineffectual powers of the regulator, ASIC, and the power of the banks to ignore their customers' interests conspire to place your money at 'HIGH RISK' despite everyone telling you otherwise.

One thing is for sure! Don't trust financial advisers with your money! Don't trust banks with your money! Don't trust ASIC to protect you! Don't trust this Government to protect you! Don't trust the laws of this country to protect you. 

Take it from us. We did and we wound up as 'collateral damage'. You could too if you do not pay heed.