Investors in the failed Dunedin-based Victoria Property Fund are raising questions about its performance in recent years and the fee structure applied by manager Britannia Management Ltd since the fund's inception in 2006.
Although he has been asked repeatedly, fund manager Britannia's co-director Craig Myles has not disclosed Victoria's total investor losses or how many people have been affected.
The Victoria fund's last asset, property in Richmond, is subject to a potential mortgagee sale by its bankers over demands for a loan repayment, while a High Court case is pending over disputed non-settlement of a property purchase from Victoria's property portfolio.
Since it was made public this week that the Victoria fund had told investors earlier in the month it was "highly unlikely" they would receive any return on their investment, four investors have contacted the Otago Daily Times claiming individual Victoria fund losses ranging from $20,000 to $100,000.
The Victoria fund was launched in April 2006, with its prospectus outlining $15.02 million in assets belonging to its parent company, Victoria Properties Consolidated Ltd.
Mr Myles said earlier this week the Victoria fund was established by Myles Planning Ltd funds of $5 million of clients' money invested in property assets. It remains unclear how small the Victoria fund has shrunk since then.
Attempts were made by email, phone and text to contact Mr Myles yesterday, but he did not respond.
One former Victoria investor, who had lost more than $40,000 and wanted to remain anonymous, yesterday said "the information coming from them was wonderful at first, then it dried up completely".
Another investor, claiming losses beyond $50,000, said "the Victoria Property Fund component of my portfolio was no longer showing in the report".
"It was only after my inquiry that investors were formally advised that there were serious issues about the Victoria Property Fund," the person said.
Mr Myles was asked in written questions yesterday what updates had been given to Victoria investors and when they were given, once it began having difficulties, which the fund's trustee Perpetual Trust described this week as being in "a distressed situation for a number of years" following the property-sector crisis.
A former Victoria investor told the ODT that "as a now totally disillusioned investor who had bought into the theory of balanced and distributed investment, I have withdrawn remaining funds", noting he wound up with less cash than the original dollar investment, which spanned more than a decade.
One investor queried Mr Myles' involvement in so many of the associated companies and was now unsure "where all the fees actually lay".
Mr Myles was asked yesterday in written questions to supply the annual distribution, in profits or losses, to all Victoria's investors spanning the past five full financial years and what were the annual fees paid to Britannia Management, or any other companies.
A prospectus for Victoria stated manager Britannia would charge an annual advanced base fee of 1.75% or $275,000, whichever was greater.
Mr Myles said earlier this week he and Roger Bridge, of Christchurch, were not managers of the Victoria fund.
"The manager of the [Victoria] Fund is Britannia Management Ltd and Craig Myles and Roger Bridge are directors of the manager," Mr Myles said.
Mr Myles is at present a director of NZ Funds Private Wealth, having earlier been involved in Myles Planning Ltd and Myles Wealth Management, and is a director of eight finance sector-related companies.
According to Company Office records, Mr Myles is a director of Victoria Properties Consolidated Ltd, VPCL Trustees Ltd, Britannia Management Ltd, Britannia Syndicates Ltd, Myles Planning Ltd, Access Shelf Storage Ltd, Mymack Ltd and Financial Fitness Ltd.
• Investors in the Victoria Property Fund can contact Simon Hartley,in confidence, at simon.hartley@odt.co.nz, or direct dial (03) 479-3527.
