Some of you guys with nothing better to do than argue semantics miss the point that the outcome of this case is horribly irrelevant to the average mum and dad investor (of which I class myself). A ‘guilty’ vote will only make things harder and even less likely (if that is at all possible) for us to get any of our money back.
Of the alleged ‘infractions’ we’ve waited three years to hear about, one occurred more than 12 months before trading in the stock was suspended (WTF!) and the other occurred after the stock was suspended (WTF!). If ASIC can undo all ISX trading then a ‘guilty’ outcome I’d cheer on. Amongst others, you can return all the money you made having early access to the short report, and us mums and dads can get our money back.
There are plenty of lifestyle companies on the ASX. The incumbents give themselves good coin, make promises they don’t keep and keep kicking the can down the road. ISX wasn’t one of those companies imo. The directors were on small salaries, and the performance rights gave them a chunk of the company they deserved for creating it and making it a success. Shareholders voted for this. So when the short report came out, the SP took a huge hit (almost halved?) - there was a lot of share price volatility that went against ISX… To use a sports analogy, THE UMPIRE SHOULD HAVE SAID PLAY ON imo.
When it counted for something, the umpire wasn’t impartial imo. The game was stopped, and the players sent home. And the 10,000 fans who had paid for their tickets to see the game we’re left totally bewildered. Some of them will want the captain’s head, others will blame certain players and moves made on the field… but a huge number will just go out screaming. They’ll swear never to see another game, they’ll want to set fire to the stadium and even overturn a car or two in the car park…
And little by little, this is how people lose faith in the institutions of this casino that ‘allegedly’ are there to protect them… namely ASIC and the ASX .. (and their ilk).
The outcome of this case will not undo what has happened to mum and dad investors’ money. We simply don’t care about this legalese postmortem - it’s too little, too late.
