# Investing with Friends First..



## UnhappyI (16 Jul 2010)

In January 2007 I invested 150,000 euro in the U.K. Select Property Fund of which some were invested in an Irish Property Fund. The product name was FA Global Investment Funds from 'Friends First'. 

Three days ago I rang them and they told me that the fund has an encashment value of 68,458 euro. How can this be possible?! Why do Friends First allow this to happen without advising it's investors. They only send an annual statement every year. I'm wondering whether to withdraw the funds altogether if this genuinely reflects the value of the funds invested. Will management charges significantly eat further into the fund? Is there an early encashment penalty even when I am losing money? Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Grateful for all replies!


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## LDFerguson (20 Jul 2010)

Terms and conditions, charges etc., should have been notified to you at or before point of sale.  Charges and terms may differ depending on what channel you purchased the product from, e.g. broker, bank, direct from Friends First etc.  

Have you contacted the person who arranged this for you?

In general, is early encashment penalties apply, they are applied as a percentage of the fund, regardless of whether it has gone up or down.  An annual management charge is common to most if not all investment bonds, although the size of the charge can vary widely.


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## werner (21 Jul 2010)

UNHAPPY1 You have my sympathies. WHen companies like Friends First lose so much of their investors money it is a disgrace that they do not keep investors frequently appraised of the situation (yearly is a joke) or suggest safer havens for your investment. After all they are one of the higher charging companies for such funds

Not what you want to read but I spotted this from 2008

[broken link removed]
The Irish Times - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 
*Friends First bans withdrawals from fund*

*InvestmentMarket:* The €400m Irish Commercial Property Fund at Friends First is the fourth fund to suspend redemptions recently, writes *Gretchen Friemann.* 
Friends First has become the latest institution to impose a six-month ban on cash withdrawals from its Irish Commercial Property Fund as an investor exodus leaves it struggling to cope with rapidly falling liquidity levels.
The €400 million portfolio, comprising prime office, retail and industrial property, is the fourth to suspend redemptions in recent months, following closures from Hibernian, Standard Life and Irish Life.

The move means investors wishing to access more than €100,000 from the fund will be unable to do so for up to six months. Cash withdrawals for under that amount are still permitted but will now be subject to a 12.5 per cent exit penalty.

Friends First outlined the new restrictions in a letter circulated to brokers last week. In it the institution stated the "significant increase in the number of encashments or switches out of the Irish Commercial Property Fund in recent weeks" had "resulted in the cash reserves in the fund being significantly eroded


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## LDFerguson (21 Jul 2010)

Friends First as a company are not permitted to advise clients to switch between their funds unless they are closing a particular fund.  Advice such as that can only come from a suitably authorised entity.  

I'd agree that more frequent communication would be welcome.


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## UnhappyI (3 Aug 2010)

Thanks werner and LDFergusson, I appreciate you taking time to read and comment. Unfortunately it seems I'm in a no-win situation. More pressure really needs to be put on all financial institutions and investment managers to thoroughly explain all aspects of an investment, and to communicate more frequently with investees.


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## Monica1 (17 Aug 2010)

Yes, I agree with you.  I invested a substantial amount of money in Irish Life Property  Portfolio in 2007 and got a letter towards the end of April 2008 telling  me that a 6 month notice was in force since the end of March 2008.  On  looking through old posts on Askaboutmoney, I notice that some people  seem to have got a letter in February 2008 or October 2008 re the 6  month notice from Irish Life.  Why would this be?  Should all investors  have got the letter at the same time?


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