Why retiree revenge is not sweet

Hanover Finance co-owner Mark Hotchin talks to investors after a meeting to discuss the Allied Farmers deal. Photo / Richard Robinson.

Any story that begins "A GANG of pensioners who kidnapped and tortured their financial adviser..." just has to be read to the end.

And if you do read to end of this one you'll discover that the lovable old age pensioners, who had collectively lost about $4.5 million via their adviser, were in fact tax cheats.

Despite their allegedly vicious treatment of the hapless adviser, James Amburn, public sympathy rested with the gang of five pensioners whose ages ranged from about 60-80.

Fan mail for the so-called 'Old Age Pensioner Mob' is accruing.

I don't think they deserve fan mail but you can see how their actions could incite such popular support. The German pensioners have played out a revenge fantasy that thousands of New Zealanders of like age could relate to - such as the hundreds who attended the Hanover roadshow this week.

But the reason why I don't believe the German oldsters deserve their cult hero status is because they were not innocents meting out just revenge but ignorant, tax avoiders engaged in dodgy investment behaviour.

A strong clue is the name of Amburn's 'investment' company: 'Digitalglobalnet' just reeks of insincerity. Isn't wisdom supposed to come with old age?

Admire their stamina if you want but their asset allocation strategies were awful.

The story might be apocryphal - it was carried on the newswires with several versions out there - but it has the kind of detail I love.

For instance, after being wrapped in masking tape and bundled into the back of a car, Amburn was "hit over the head with the walking stick of one of his kidnappers".

"It took them quite a while because they ran out of breath," Amburn was quoted in the story.


David Chaplin