MISLEADING STATEMENTS ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S FUTURE FUND We are writing to you about your subscription to Port Phillip Publishing’s (ACN 117 765 009) (PPP) websites Money Morning and Markets and Money. On 29 August 2019, the Federal Court of Australia declared that statements we made in an article entitled “Everyday Australians Now Legally ‘Piggybacking’ ‘the Future Fund’ … and collecting extra monthly income injections of $540 right up to $6,667” (Promo Letter) which: was published on our websites and in emails sent to subscribers to our Websites (defined below); and promoted a document entitled “Your Quick Start Guide to Piggybacking the Future Fund” (Guide), were false, misleading and deceptive. A copy of the Court’s judgment and orders is available here. If you have any questions or concerns about your subscription with us, please contact George Gholam. |
What was the advertisement? Between September 2017 to January 2018, we published the Promo Letter on our websites: http://www.marketsandmoney.com.au; and http://www.moneymorning.com.au (Websites); and emailed it to approximately 200,000 of our subscribers to our Websites. The Promo Letter and the Guide promoted an investment strategy targeted towards retiree investors and investors approaching retirement, amongst others, which involved investing in a portfolio of specific listed investment companies and exchange traded funds which was claimed to mimic the performance of the Future Fund (Investment Strategy). The Guide could only be accessed if a subscriber paid a subscription fee. Why was it false, misleading and deceptive? In a court proceeding brought by ASIC, the Federal Court of Australia found that the Promo Letter published on our Websites and emailed to subscribers to our Websites was false, misleading and deceptive because it: purported to provide the views of PPP’s retirement income expert, Editor A; suggested that the Investment Strategy could generate regular, monthly, income of between $540 and $6,667 per month; suggested that by adopting the Investment Strategy, investors could mimic the performance of the Future Fund and thereby generate the same or similar annual returns; and relied on client testimonials of “Jolly”, “Leon M” and “MH” and represented that each of them had adopted the Investment Strategy and had each received monthly returns of $6,667, $540 and $1,437.50 respectively. In fact, the Promo Letter: did not in all respects represent the views of Editor A, who was not the author of the Promo Letter and who was not a retirement income expert; did not disclose that the Investment Strategy involved investing in securities which only paid dividends on a quarterly or half yearly basis; did not disclose that some returns mentioned could only be achieved by investing approximately $154,286 and $1.9m respectively; did not disclose that the Future Fund has access to some strategies and markets that are unavailable to an individual investor; and did not disclose that “Jolly”, “Leon M” and “MH” each had never adopted the full Investment Strategy. The Federal Court also found that the Guide made representations which were misleading and deceptive in that by adopting the Investment Strategy an investor could mimic the performance of the Future Fund and thereby generate the same or substantially similar annual returns to that of the Future Fund and expose an investor to assets having the same or similar levels of risk as that of the Future Fund. In fact, the Investment Strategy was likely to have generated lower returns than the returns promoted in the Promo Letter and Guide and was likely to have exposed an investor to a greater level of risk than that adopted by the Future Fund in September 2017. The Federal Court also found that Kristan Sayce, who was our publisher at the time, engaged in conduct that was false, misleading and deceptive by: commissioning, reviewing, amending and approving for publication the Promo Letter and causing it to be published on our Websites and emailed to our subscribers; commissioning the Guide and causing it to be sent to 823 paid subscribers; and relying on client testimonials of “Jolly”, “Leon M” and “MH” and representing that each of them had adopted the Investment Strategy and had each received monthly returns of $6,667, $540 and $1,437.50 respectively. Does this affect me? You may have relied on these statements. If you have any queries or complaints regarding any aspect of PPP’s service in relation to Total Income, please contact George Gholam on george.gholam@portphillippress.com.au or 1300 135 234. |