News Round Up: June 26
IRG assets on the block; AXA farewell confirmed; Keep finance company failures in perspective.
Monday, June 25th 2012, 6:00AM 
2 Comments
Listed firm Investment Research Group (IRG) plans to sell all its assets and retain the shell as a listed entity.
IRG has a number of businesses including a financial planning arm and it also publishes NZ Investor Monthly magazine and sharechat.co.nz.
Its advisory business includes the Tauranga-based Ellerie Cornwall firm it acquired from Phillip King.
"The trading businesses are sound and are operating with positive cash flows. However, the issues are about the burden of the overheads," managing director Brent King says.
He may bid for some of the assets. "I am considering whether I will bid for all, some or none of the IRG's assets and I will advise accordingly," he says.
Since the announcement IRG has reported a loss of $1.14 million the 12 months to March 31.
AXA goodbye date
The AXA brand is due to start disappearing from the market in November.
AMP managing director Jack Regan says November is a major milestone month for the move from the AXA to the new AMP brand, but the AXA brand won't fully disappear from the market until the end of March 2013.
The change will include all marketing materials, customer communications, business systems and building signage.
"Bringing together a range of changes at one time will help keep the experience as straightforward and streamlined as possible for you, our customers and employees," he says in an update to advisers.
It has complered a goal of transitioning assets from AXA Global Investors wholesale unit trusts to a new range of AMP Capital Investor's wholesale multi-manager funds, exclusive to AMP Financial Services.
Last week it completed the transition of assets and appointment of new fund managers
Keep finance company failures in perspective
General Finance director James Lockie says people need to keep the finance company failures in perspective.
"It is estimated that around $7 billion has been lost by investors. A similar amount has been lost by investors in the publicly listed company, Telecom. This company has lost around $7 billion in market capitalisation, with its share price having dropped from around $10 to $2, over past 10 years.
"During the 1987 share market crash, it is estimated that the New Zealand share market dropped by around $30 billion. Well-known companies such as Chase and Equiticorp disappeared for ever. So much was lost, that some investors have never returned to the market. Finance companies have been given a lot of media attention but it would be appropriate for some of the other businesses and sectors, where investors have lost money, to be discussed.
He acknowledges the finance company collapses were "particularly serious" for investors. "However, it needs to be put in prospective."
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Regarding Telecom, it's nonsense to say shareholders have lost $7 billion. The people that own Telecom shares today are not the same people that held them 10 years ago. People will have sold out at $9, $8 etc on the way down, and some new shareholders will have bought at $1.70 back in 2009. Also, Telecom has paid out a significant amount of money to shareholders in the form of dividends in the past 10 years (around $4.10 per share) and continues to do so.
Everyone investing in equities understands that there are risks involved, so most are well diversified. The reason finance companies got bad press is that they were sold as 'guaranteed' and many investors lost almost all their money in the collapse of the sector.