Alicia
Well-Known Member
Done seeks $53m refund
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/done-seeks-53m-refund/2008/03/19/1205602483717.html
Vanda Carson
March 20, 2008
THE artist behind some of Australia's most colourful images, Ken Done, may have to return to painting the harbour and cuddly koalas after losing three-quarters of his personal fortune due to what he claims was bad financial advice.
Done, 67, who painted the widely recognised and colourful depictions of Australian life, is suing the financial advice arm of the Commonwealth Bank for $53 million after his nest egg was whittled away on risky loans and stakes in untested and little-known companies that ultimately failed.
In a case that will have its first preliminary court hearing today, he claims that had the advisers invested as he said over the four years from 2001 to 2005 he and his wife, Judith Done, would now have a trust fund worth $61.5 million. Instead he has been left with just $8 million.
Done argues in documents filed with the Federal Court that he believed his money was in safe hands with experienced managers at leading banks who were using blue-chip shares to ride the soaring sharemarket.
But instead of investing in companies that are household names with solid financials and a history of healthy returns, he discovered that it had been sunk into dozens of ultimately unsuccessful small investments including a stake in two soccer teams - the Northern Spirit and the Central Coast Mariners - a beauty spa, a catering company and an obscure Maltese biotechnology company.
Many of the shares it now holds in these companies are virtually worthless and various allegedly unauthorised loans to individuals have not been repaid or cannot be recovered.
Done claims he paid nearly $2 million in fees over six years. He also claims he was misled by false accounting entries in monthly performance statements.
Done made his fortune by licensing his popular artworks for use on merchandise including clothing and homewares which reached the height of fashion in the 1980s, particularly with overseas tourists.
He also designed the official 2000 Sydney Olympics logo.
He argues it was known he did not "actively supervise" his investments and was relying on advisers to protect his money.
Despite setting up an experienced investment team in 1999 and setting strict ground rules on what they could invest in, the first clue that something had gone wrong did not appear until April 2005.
Alarm bells rang when he was called by the chairman of the Newcastle Stock Exchange, who was a director of one of the companies Done had unwittingly invested in. This triggered Done's investigation into his investment portfolio.
Done alleges he was promised that his money would be managed by "leading financial advisers" including the Commonwealth Bank, Deutsche Bank and other "leaders in their field".
He argues that he did not authorise almost all of the investments and had emphasised that less than 20 per cent of his nest egg was to be put into speculative ventures.
Luckily all is not lost for Done and his family. He owns various properties, including a waterfront home in Balmoral.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/done-seeks-53m-refund/2008/03/19/1205602483717.html
Vanda Carson
March 20, 2008
THE artist behind some of Australia's most colourful images, Ken Done, may have to return to painting the harbour and cuddly koalas after losing three-quarters of his personal fortune due to what he claims was bad financial advice.
Done, 67, who painted the widely recognised and colourful depictions of Australian life, is suing the financial advice arm of the Commonwealth Bank for $53 million after his nest egg was whittled away on risky loans and stakes in untested and little-known companies that ultimately failed.
In a case that will have its first preliminary court hearing today, he claims that had the advisers invested as he said over the four years from 2001 to 2005 he and his wife, Judith Done, would now have a trust fund worth $61.5 million. Instead he has been left with just $8 million.
Done argues in documents filed with the Federal Court that he believed his money was in safe hands with experienced managers at leading banks who were using blue-chip shares to ride the soaring sharemarket.
But instead of investing in companies that are household names with solid financials and a history of healthy returns, he discovered that it had been sunk into dozens of ultimately unsuccessful small investments including a stake in two soccer teams - the Northern Spirit and the Central Coast Mariners - a beauty spa, a catering company and an obscure Maltese biotechnology company.
Many of the shares it now holds in these companies are virtually worthless and various allegedly unauthorised loans to individuals have not been repaid or cannot be recovered.
Done claims he paid nearly $2 million in fees over six years. He also claims he was misled by false accounting entries in monthly performance statements.
Done made his fortune by licensing his popular artworks for use on merchandise including clothing and homewares which reached the height of fashion in the 1980s, particularly with overseas tourists.
He also designed the official 2000 Sydney Olympics logo.
He argues it was known he did not "actively supervise" his investments and was relying on advisers to protect his money.
Despite setting up an experienced investment team in 1999 and setting strict ground rules on what they could invest in, the first clue that something had gone wrong did not appear until April 2005.
Alarm bells rang when he was called by the chairman of the Newcastle Stock Exchange, who was a director of one of the companies Done had unwittingly invested in. This triggered Done's investigation into his investment portfolio.
Done alleges he was promised that his money would be managed by "leading financial advisers" including the Commonwealth Bank, Deutsche Bank and other "leaders in their field".
He argues that he did not authorise almost all of the investments and had emphasised that less than 20 per cent of his nest egg was to be put into speculative ventures.
Luckily all is not lost for Done and his family. He owns various properties, including a waterfront home in Balmoral.
