The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has accepted a fifth enforceable undertaking (EU) from a former Trio Capital (Trio) director.
The corporate regulator accepted the EU from David O’Bryen yesterday.
O’Bryen was a non-executive director of Trio from June 2007 until Trio’s collapse in December 2009.
He was also a member of the risk and compliance committee from December 2007 to December 2009. He was chairman of the committee from August 2008 to November 2008 and again from February 2009 to December 2009.
Under the terms of his EU, O’Bryen has undertaken not to act as a trustee or as a responsible officer of a body corporate that is a trustee, investment manager or custodian of an APRA-regulated superannuation entity for a period of five and a half years.
APRA’s concerns included that Trio failed to redeem existing investments in the Exploration Fund Limited (EFL), an offshore hedge fund for a number of reasons.
These reasons included a lack of arms-length arrangements in place as the EFL was a related party to Trio; investment risks associated with the EFL; and that Trio had failed to comply with the provisions in its Overarching Investment Policy dealing with hedge fund and related-party investments.
APRA also said the company failed to redeem existing investments in the Astarra Strategic Fund (ASF) and made ongoing investments in the ASF, given there were similar issues to those associated with the EFL investment.
The Trio superannuation entities’ investments in the ASF have not been able to be redeemed and ACT Super Management Pty Limited, the acting trustee appointed to the Trio superannuation entities, has determined that the funds have been lost due to fraud or theft.
“Mr O’Bryen accepts that, with the benefit of hindsight, and with what has since transpired, he should have acted differently in relation to APRA’s concerns, and genuinely regrets the consequences that arose,” an APRA statement said.
APRA has accepted EUs from four other Trio directors: Natasha Beck, Rex Phillpott, David Andrews and Keith Finkelde.
APRA’s investigation in relation to Trio is continuing.
Trio was formerly the licensed trustee of five registered superannuation entities as well as the responsible entity of a managed investment scheme known as the ASF, a fund of hedge funds.
