Blue Chip and other dodgy investments

Sigh...and then there are the ones who have been caught doing what they ought, ie spreading savings around a variety of investment companies offering only marginally above bank returns anyway...

A friend (in her late 50s) has just called to say her $12,000 tied up in Lombards is now at risk (see today's news), and a colleague who is very near to retirement has been hit by four of the finance company collapses, each of which he had a bit of his savings in...

Unlike the Blue Chip scenario, neither of these folk mortgaged anything to get the money, or took a gamble on property directly as the Blue Chip investors did. It was simply hard earned savings they had squirrelled away over their working life and put into a managed fund to get a good but not spectacular return on, and now when they are about to need it most its not there .

That is why I get upset with this sort of stuff, because it is hard earned savings, even if the remaining 80% was borrowed against their home, the deposit is still a substantial size of money for most people, and people are being lied, tricked to, for them to part with their money in the first instance.

If the information and risk level was honest, then I would think good job, but its not and as people will find out as they get older and realise they will not be able to make ends meet on the aged pension or trusted superannuation funds, then they may make rash decisions at a time when they should be able to chill out and relax.

But ultimately the thing that gets up my nose even more so, is the Directors of these businesses will continue to live their livestyle in their lavish various homes around the globe.

I lost money years ago in what was supposed to be a relatively safe investment in Aust with 2 top businessmen at the helm. The Directors mislead them and the shareholders, one became a whistleblower and did a little time in jail for reduced time, and the other fought and fought his charges whilst his lawyer wife applied to the family court to have their assets moved into her name in "case" of separation, which never happened.
To this day that so and so is off overseas on skiing holidays and the like, lives a great life in his "wife's house, and others far worse off than I are struggling with what is left of their savings..... and will never get to see inside of an aeroplane, let alone go somewhere for a holiday.

I am passionate (I am sure you know this already[]) that something more permanent needs to be done to stop these Directors (I shouldn't always say "blokes" either) from running away from their multi million $$ decisions (that they received lavish incomes for), and should have to enter into a repayment plan that bankrupcy cannot relieve them of, should it be proved they misled the shareholders, media and public..... during their tenature.