from Crikey …..
CEOs: the poor little rich guys
Adam Schwab writes:
"The hidden villains of the market collapse, faceless company directors, are revolting. The Financial Review reported today that a recent "survey" found that 27% of Top 200 company directors believed that there was a high risk of being found personally liable for decisions. A further 65% of directors claimed that the risk of liability makes them occasionally take an overly cautious approach to business decisions."
".. no action has been taken against the directors of disgraced funds manager MFS/Octaviar. Investors in the company have lost billions as executives Michael King and Phil Adams wandered the world, overpaying for assets and fooling shareholders with blatantly incorrect financial statements. In addition, investors (many of whom are retirees) in MFS's managed funds, such as the MFS Premium Income Fund, have had distributions suspended or postponed. Two former MFS directors, Paul Manka and Michael Hiscock, were financial planners whose firm, Avenue Capital Management, recommended that their clients invest their savings in MFS Premium Investment Fund. No action has been taken against Manka or Hiscock."
"Instead of further weakening director liability, Federal Corporate Law Minister Nick Sherry should be adding further investor protections, seeking to hold directors personally accountable where companies produce flawed financial statements or where directors approve destructive related-party acquisitions."
For full story, see: http://yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/7389
There should be heavy penalties for related party recommendations.
What gets me is, that Manka and Hiscock are suing the Wellington PIF - it should be the other way around!!
OCV
octaviar limited
