where's the outrage, page-3

As cheapprice said,

I expected nothing to be done, but will be pleasantly surprised if something does happen.

As someone who has invested in the micro-cap end of the ASX, I have seen all sorts of dodgy practice which in one way or another disadvantages shareholders to the benefit of management and directors. I have written to ASIC several times and nothing happens, and that was about things that were more unethical than Magnum is claiming in this particular case.

The reality is that ASIC are so stretched they haven't got the resources to pursue the big cases, let alone complaints about micro-caps. As a result, there is a culture of managerial impunity in the micro-cap end of the market. For example, look at the unusual circumstances in which Eye Fund, domiciled in the Cayman Islands, acquired its stake in AQO (paying significantly above the going rate at the time) and then sold out, almost immediately, to DLS. If that happened with a takeover of a top 50 company, questions would be asked immediately in the press, if not by the authorities. At the micro cap end, people just shrug their shoulders.

Its a pity, because in the end, many people/investors avoid anything outside the ASX200 because they don't have faith in the corporate governance of small companies on the ASX (i.e. people, quite rightly in many case, think many microcaps exist to transfer wealth from shareholders to management). As a result, some truly vibrant small-caps are starved of the safest form of finance during the growth phase - equity - and the economy more broadly suffers. On top of this, microcap companies have to contend with bots and other share price manipulation, but that is another issue.

So, yeah, I am annoyed, but these days, like most, I figure my only choice if I am disgruntled is to sell. Why waste time writing letters to ASIC? The only reason the Magnum case is proceeding, I am guessing, is because they have funds to pursue the case and are big enough to gain the attention of the authorities (i.e. they are a large, foreign company).