conflict....what conflict

Yet another departure from Octaviar (nee MFS) has been announced with chairman, Andrew Peacock, finally resigning after what can be described as a relatively unsuccessful tenure. Peacock will be replaced as Chairman of the company by non-executive director, Paul Manka. Manka is a financial planner from Avenue Capital Management. Manka’s appointment as Chairman is somewhat surprising, given Avenue has been mired in a conflict-of-interest scandal, with its clients being a leading source of funds invested in MFS Premium Income Fund (PIF). At the same time as Avenue was pushing clients into PIF, both Manka, and former MFS director, Michael Hiscock played a large role in both organizations. PIF has since suspended redemptions and payouts to investors. While many companies would have demanded the resignation of a board member who faced such a conflict, Octaviar (which is still suspended from the ASX because its auditor refused to sign-off that they are a going-concern) thought it fitting to appoint Manka as Chairman of the company. -- Adam Schwab