Investors question Edwards' ING role

ING CEO Helen Troup and David Jansen listen as media adviser Brian Edwards (front) addresses an ING meeting. Photo / Greg Bowker

Former Fair Go presenter Brian Edwards says he doesn't see any problem with being both the media adviser to ING and the mediator at the meetings the fund manager has held around the country for investors in its frozen funds.

Edwards, who runs a media advisory business with his wife Judy Callingham, had to step in and calm investors at some of the 10 meetings held this week for the 13,000 investors who have money locked into ING's Regular Income Fund and Diversified Yield Fund. At Thursday's Auckland meeting he told investors he was there to help them and even asked questions on behalf of investors.

But some investors have questioned his independence given his dual role as a media adviser to ING.

"What went through my mind is someone like that can't really be independent as far as a moderator goes. I was thinking - has he coached them to respond to certain questions? Even though he did ask tough questions I couldn't help wondering if they were prepared for them," Frozen Funds Group investor Andrew Davidson said of the Auckland meeting.

Fellow investor Hector Fsadni said Edwards had run the meetings well but some had felt uncomfortable with his role.

"It doesn't sit too comfortably really. It must be a conflict of interest if ING is paying for his services."

A spokeswoman for ING confirmed ING staff had three meetings with Edwards before the roadshow so he was "aware of what the issues were".

Edwards was unsure of how long he had been providing advice to ING. "I'm not sure when I started - a couple of years ago."

Edwards also said he couldn't remember when he began giving advice to ING specifically on the frozen funds but believed it to be "reasonably soon" after the funds were frozen in March last year.

"If you don't understand the type of work I do - I could certainly see how there might be a perception of a conflict of interest," he said.

"I am a professional. Whether I am being interviewed on the radio or the TV I have to be independent. If I was to go along and do a patsy job, that would be horrendously bad for my reputation."

Edwards said for the first two or three meetings with investors he had no idea what was going to happen. "After doing nine of these you have a pretty clear picture of what is coming up."

Edwards said he believed he had asked tough questions and denied having coached ING chief executive Helen Troup on how to answer them.

He said he felt it was important to ask questions to help out the audience as many of them were elderly.

"I am not officially there to represent them [investors]. But when you have an audience like this - where a lot of people are elderly - it is important I think - that they are at least assisted."

But Davidson, questioned why Edwards needed to ask any questions at all.

"His job was to facilitate questions between those on the floor and the management team. The people that wanted to ask the questions were on the floor. They are the people that are hurting."

Investors have until July 13 to decided whether they will accept a settlement offer of 60c per unit for the DYF and 62c per unit for the RIF.