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I too attended the EUFA meeting but only as an "interested observer." I am also now a member.
I have to agree with the comment about the lawyers. I thought there were three, not two and the last one was determined to be heard fully despite polite requests to him to shut up and sit down. I felt that Chris Lee was by far "the best of the bunch."
My chief interest in attending was that the main thrust of EUFA was against the financial advisers and very little, if any, against the finance company(ies)
My own feeling is that a two pronged attack should be considered. I have seen deals done by finance companies that should never have been done in a million years. Car loans where the amount of the loan for the actual vehicle was increased by about 50% as a result of the addition of "broker fees", "establishment fees", LRI (Loan Repayment Insurance) in some cases sold to beneficiaries who could never ever make a claim (talk about insuring pig iron under water against fire!) and, of course, vehicle insurance. All these extras were, of course, charged for at the same high (25-30%) interest rate as the loan on the security. So, you have the financial advisers shovelling the money in through the front door and finance companies shovelling it out through the back door on some highly suspect, at best, and fraudulent, at worst, loans. I personally know of one finance company branch manager who worked for one of the finance companies that went broke (not Bridgecorp) and some of whose deals I have seen, walked literally across the road and got a job with another finance company and is probably continuing with the new one where he left off with the old one. Surely the directors and, perhaps, ex-employees of the bankrupt finance companies should be called to account.
EUFA stands for "Exposing Unacceptable Financial Advice." I submit that it is not just the advisers who have given "unacceptable financial advice," it is also the finance company employees that have given it and the finance company directors have condoned it by allowing high risk loans to be made on a "carte blanche" basis.
The finance companies are the tip of the iceberg. I read where KiwiBank had NZ$6 Million in Northern Rock paper, makes you wonder how much the big banks had and how many high risk loans to high risk borrowers they have made. The article from Finsec about BNZ on the EUFA website gives an interesting insight into what goes on. If any reader really wants to know "where the money comes from" that banks lend, I suggest they do a Google search of "Money as Debt" It is a 47 minute movie, admitted in cartoon format, but which really shows how banks create money literally out of nothing. Only two entities seem to have the ability to create something out of nothing; God and banks!
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Being professional is also about growing your business in a clear and honest fashion. Slandering other companies and the advisers shows the public just why they cannot trust the financial adviser profession. We have advisers not only bagging the collapsed finance companies, but they bag viable finance companies under the guise of being informed. When in fact they are only putting the wind up people and causing them to question the profession these “professional” represent.
Since Bridgecorp went into receivership I have been astonished with the vitriol from some adviser including one who claimed to have a degree and then when noted this was not true announced he should have as he was good enough to have one. AND TV and newspapers continue to quote this chap as an “expert” Is it no wonder ‘Joe Public” is concerned about the adviser profession.
To those adviser to which this refers, Grow Up, act like your wish others to see you, Professional. If you have information that is correct about a company share it with everyone, don’t repeat hearsay! And most of all Don’t rubbish each other to grow your business, it won’t happen!!