AIOFP lobbying regulators over Trio Capital

The Association of Independently-Owned Financial Planners (AIOFP) is lobbying key regulatory and administrative stakeholders over the management of now defunct fund manager Trio Capital.

AIOFP executive director Peter Johnston last week sent an email to members of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the administrator of Trio Capital, PPB, in which he stated that in meetings with one of the directors of Trio Capital, Shawn Richards, he had been shown “convincing evidence” proving the location of various tranches of missing investor funds.

Also included in the email distribution list was the Minister for Financial Services, Chris Bowen.

A number of the AIOFP’s licensee members have clients who are heavily invested in Trio Capital funds. Johnston argued that the advisory groups with clients invested in the Trio Capital funds did not support a winding up of the funds.

“Over the past two weeks, we have interviewed the major advisory groups [Seagrims, Dominion and Tarrants] and the Private Equity group Millhouse IAG about their clients' feelings and their wishes for the management of the assets by PPB,” the email stated.

“These groups represent over 90 per cent of the investors and assets of Astarra. They cannot see any reason why PPB should be advocating the winding up strategy they are pursuing.”

Johnston maintained that the missing funds could be located through the pursuit of other companies and individuals associated with the funds.

“After getting a better understanding of the [Astarra Strategic Fund] money trail and collecting information from Australian and Hong Kong-based entities, we are confident Jack Flader and GCSL hold the key to the recovery of all assets,” Johnston’s email stated.