5 Aug 2009
5th Aug 2009
The Ovation Curatorship saga continues…the court case that was scheduled for yesterday has been postponed yet again, this time to Sep 3 (but I wont be holding my breath).
This is unbelievably frustrating and emotionally draining (I write this as both a financial planner dealing with clients as well as an investor in Ovation).
Just so you know, we have been writing to the regulators and curators fairly often but have received fairly terse replies in most instances. We have now also written to the head of ASISA (Association of Savings and Investments South Africa) as well as to the press (Personal Finance). When (if) we get a response or if we have any more news on the Ovation saga, we will post it here so check up once a week to see if there is any news.
You are also welcome to give me a call if you have any questions.
Gregg
Letter from ASISA CEO
16 July 2009
Dear Gregg
While we understand your concerns, it is regrettable that you appear to be under the impression that ASISA is in sleep mode and oblivious of the latest developments in the Fidentia/Ovation saga.
I can assure you that we at ASISA have been following these developments closely and that we are in regular contact with the FSB on issues of concern.
However, irrespective of the legal opinions expressed by the curators of Fidentia and Ovation, the unit holder assets invested on the Ovation platform are protected by law. Therefore, in terms of Cisca, this money cannot be accessed and used by any party other than the legal owners, namely the unit holders.
If Fidentia’s ill gotten gains were invested in these unit trust funds together with the money of other investors, then Fidentia’s share may be disinvested and paid back to Fidentia once the assets are released. Equally, once this happens, all other investors will also be disinvested and their assets returned to them. As you know the release of these funds had been blocked by one individual investor.
Since it is illegal to access unit holder assets held within a unit trust fund, we have no reason to believe that a court would overthrow the legal protection offered to investors.
As ASISA we have to allow the curators to follow their processes and to debate and test legalities. While we may not agree with some of the views expressed, ASISA is not a part of this process and has no right to interfere, especially since we do not see an immediate threat to investor funds. As pointed out earlier, the FSB is well aware of these developments and of our views on the matter.
If you remain concerned about this or any other issues, please feel free to contact me. I also invite you to pay a visit to the ASISA offices at your convenience so that we can provide you with an overview of issues high on our agenda. You are welcome to raise any concerns you may have.
Yours sincerely
Leon Campher
CEO ASISA
