Olint shut down

[Bricktop]

Whatever his game was... whether ponzi schemes, money laundering ... if he is guilty of financial misconduct.... it's just part of a sleazy continuum of fraud which was bound to be unraveled.

I'm not too interested in parsing words or clintonesque obfuscation.

Was? He is free to trade he is simply being investigated as to the origin of the funds he uses to invest. So he is investing the money but it's a pyramid scheme? Interesting thought process.

[Me]

There is a difference between this one and Cash Plus. Cash Plus they seized the company and it was found that they really didn't have any money being generated from their "investments".

In this case people are cutting off his access to his funds, then obviously he can't fight it forever.

[Don1]

Was? He is free to trade he is simply being investigated as to the origin of the funds he uses to invest. So he is investing the money but it's a pyramid scheme? Interesting thought process.

Is this the end of the legal process? No.. it's probably in mid-stream. There's probably more to come unfortunately.

I wish the guy well and hope that depositors, you included, are at least made whole.

[Peter R]

Do you believe that he has assets (investments) that exceeds the total deposits actually made by the investors? I hope so for his clients' sake.

I'll tell you though I do not believe 10% per month is sustainable in a legitimate investment plan. There has to be an end game to his scheme... and if he is aware that this is so, then he could be accused of fraud.

[Bricktop]

Do you believe that he has assets (investments) that exceeds the total deposits actually made by the investors? I hope so for his clients' sake.

Of course he doesn't. He trades on margin so he would never be able to pay everybody all at once. If every depositor went to NCB to draw out their money yuh tink NCB coulda payout everyting?

[Islandman]

So Bricky, you think 10% a month is sustainable forever ,like 10-20 years, even if there is no run on the deposits?

I'm not saying you said this, I am just asking your opinion.

[Bricktop]

So Bricky, you think 10% a month is sustainable forever ,like 10-20 years, even if there is no run on the deposits?

I'm not saying you said this, I am just asking your opinion.

Warren Buffet made $2 billion in 3 years on the Forex market. Your bank is investing your money into Forex as we speak and making a lot better return than they are giving you. To answer your question, yes.

[Islandman]

Ok. I disagree though. Yes there is money to be made in forex but 10% a month for 20 years compunded is some serious exponential growth.

The question I would ask you is how much did Buffet invest to make that $2 billion.

[Peter R]

But..the depositor at NCB has deposit insurance and the banks have to a certian minimum reserve with the Central Bank...so there is some assurance that you'll get your money back from a bank.

Now the Forex thing is an investment so a horse of a different colour. The problem that the regulators have identified, one of them, is that investors were not getting the advice they should be given before investing with Olint.

Now if I invest in an Equity Mtual Fund, I can physically see the investments that the manager has bought on the annual and semiannual reports. Even if the asset value were to fall drastically, at least I could recoup a percentage of my investment if I needed cash immediately, otherwise I'd wait for the market to go back up. With the Forex scheme, as an investor you have to have more literally blind faith in the money manager as you have no idea what he's doing.

The fact that Olint had implemented withdrawal restrictions should be a red flag that all was not well. BTW such a restrictiion is typical of a Ponzi scheme.

All of that, for someone with my risk tolerance, is worrisome.

[Me]

problem that the regulators have identified, one of them, is that investors were not getting the advice they should be given before investing with Olint.

All of that, for someone with my risk tolerance, is worrisome.

What advice weren't they getting?

[Peter R]

Apparently none whatsoever. If you are a broker or a mutual fund seller, you have to have at least done some sort of course sanctioned by the regulatory body or be qualified as a certified financial planner.

One of the key concepts that they (are supposed to) do is to Know the Client. I believe they call it KYC, Know Your Client. that means they have to carry out an assessment of your current financial situation and advise you on a plan that will meet your investment goals.

The advisor would/should go through options and let you know about historical performance, risk level, potential returns with a full explanation of the up and downsides of the options so the investor can make an informed choice.

I do not know how Olint promoted their product; probably word of mouth from the initial investors who would have made a bag of money, but they certainly should not have guaranteed anything.

I do not believe that Olint's clients were given this type of advice.

[Me]

Apparently none whatsoever. If you are a broker or a mutual fund seller, you have to have at least done some sort of course sanctioned by the regulatory body or be qualified as a certified financial planner.

One of the key concepts that they (are supposed to) do is to Know the Client. I believe they call it KYC, Know Your Client. that means they have to carry out an assessment of your current financial situation and advise you on a plan that will meet your investment goals.

The advisor would/should go through options and let you know about historical performance, risk level, potential returns with a full explanation of the up and downsides of the options so the investor can make an informed choice.

I do not know how Olint promoted their product; probably word of mouth from the initial investors who would have made a bag of money, but they certainly should not have guaranteed anything.

I do not believe that Olint's clients were given this type of advice.

I have not met one person who said OLINT told them nonething whatsoever pertaining to the risk level of the investment and the potential loss.

FX trading is risky and they let people know that. They have encouraged those with low risk tolerance to only investment a small amount and then pull the principal once they make it back and leave the interest in.

I have not met one person who said that OLINT guaranteed any return. By repeating 10% people have started to state this as a fact when they have given less than 10% quite a few times.

[Muadib]

I cannot be called out on this.

I made no statement on the viability of OLINT or how 'untouchable' David Smith is.

You however still perpetuate the claim that it is a pyramid and are yet to provide evidence of such.

This seems to be a habit of yours... I would advise you find a way to cure it. It is a root cause of you constantly making an a s s of yourself in here.

[Peter R]

My apologies; I misread.. the problem was not the lack of advice, but rather lack of licence and registration to do so.

I still wouldn't advise anyone other than those who have money to play with to invest in Olint.

I guess the fact that I am privy to information re some prior activity of Mr Smith has made me a skeptic of Olint.

pr