ING talks dismissed as just a PR tactic

The Dunedin meeting between ING chief executive Helen Troup and about 200 upset investors has been described as a "patsy" and a public relations exercise which did nothing to address the concerns of those who attended.

The investor, who wished to remain anonymous, said Friday's meeting, chaired by media trainer Dr Brian Edwards, allowed people to "vent a bit" but there was no negotiation. It changed nothing.

The meeting is one of a series being held by the company throughout the country to explain the final offer to investors in two funds frozen in March last year which contained money from more than 13,000 people.

At their peak the Diversified Yield Fund and the Regular Income Fund were worth about $800 million, but ING now values them at about $143 million. Units in the two funds were issued at $1.

The investor said a concern for those at the meeting was that they had been told that the value of units was now 20c, but not told what that was based on.

Investors have been offered 60c a unit or 62c depending on the fund they are in. They can take the money or invest it in an on-call savings account at ANZ at a guaranteed interest rate of 8.3 per cent.

Investors were angry at the amount of the offer and that if they accepted it they waived their right to make a claim or take legal action against ING New Zealand, ING Group, ANZ, their directors and staff and any adviser that recommended the funds. (ANZ owns 49 per cent of ING).

Investors have until July 13 to make up their minds.

Those at the meeting felt they had been poorly informed about the risks, thinking that they were low to moderate.

"We were encouraged to see this as a long-term retirement investment and that it was as safe as money in the bank."

He said he had lost the majority of his family inheritance money invested for his retirement. "I should have bought a house," he said.

Ms Troup had told the meeting the company and ANZ had put in $400 million to make the deal with investors, but was not able to clarify why it could not put in $800 million, an amount which was not "a lot more" to organisations that size, he said.

* The ING investors' meeting in Auckland is on Thursday at the Ellerslie Convention Centre.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES