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April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
Is this confirmed?
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
I have not received a letter yet, although I have seen the form letter that has supposedly been sent to the 1400 investors yesterday, postponing the meeting.
Given the lack of trust to date, I can’t be sure that this isn’t a trick to “fool” us into missing the proxy deadline or otherwise failing to attend the meeting. I will wait until I see mine in the mail, although with the holiday weekend I guess it might not come until Tues or Wed.
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
Am just introducing myself to this thread.
I would like to thank everyone who has thus far posted – your comments were very helpful.
For the record, I am an LP in one of the Concrete Equities funds and was, quite frankly, ignorant of what was transpiring. I am quite concerned and also intend to become more involved by attending an upcoming LP meeting and am willing to share my findings, if anyone is interested.
Thank you, everyone, for your comments so far!
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
This is a team effort. Certainly Dave Humeniuk’s rejection of the real estate counsel of Alberta RECA is out there on the web for all to see.
Varun Aurora is too young to show up anywhere. He is listed as the in our OM as Chief Operating Officer and a graduate of Haskayne School of business. The faculty of University of Calgary cannot confirm anything about Mr. Aurora but initial enrollment, and a transfer from another unrelated department in 2000.
Well Decorated? Some undergraduate coursework after a high-school school diploma, a few industry acknowledgements and �employee retention awards’. (I fly for Westjet but don’t really have a log-book)
It’s in the wording. In any other industry this would be considered misrepresentation and fraud. For Concrete Equities it is just good promotion. It provides ‘credibility’ to the OM…and the OM’s are just paper for the masses. They don’t have to be real or perform.
Word has it Aurora was punted from a local land development company prior as an underperforming ‘prima-dona’. His sell has been to convey massive Pakistan family wealth and huge pools of offshore funds backing the assets and portfolio of Concrete Equities. Amusing but hardly factual.
It’s time we investors were a bit realistic about the ‘team effort’ and Concrete Equities.
Expensive office space, and all of these slick advertising and marketing campaigns cost money! (If I hear that dude’s voice one more time on the radio I’ll puke) Trips to Toronto to play big media big-shots and grease CBC execs is expensive! Gross lifts on properties and massive skimming off the top is an operational necessity to sustain the operation and hey, exotic cars and properties to the principals don’t come cheap!
Let’s be realistic. There is no money in actually managing, monitoring, and ensuring good communication, performance and delivery of returns the LP unit holders!
C’mon now, all…what are we all expecting?!!! Honesty? Integrity? Transparency? Security of our Investment?
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
I hate to say it, but I told this discussion board so.
I watched these guys since they started marketing and when I questioned their investments, investment strategy or their experience they could never provide an answer. I have invested over the years in numerous ventures and the rule has always been to pay attention to who the management team is and what their level of expertise is, past performance and what they have invested in the business, do they have skin in the game. Regrettably, these individuals could not meet any prerequisite that I had set for a credible management team.
My research over 2 years ago showed that Vinny Aurora had not graduated from the Haskayne School of Business, nor did he earn an undergrad degree. This is no surprise as he plays it off as a very experienced businessman with large amounts of family wealth that is not true. Dave Jones was nothing more then an insurance and mutual fund salesman who did some fancy promoting on himself, not bad for someone who doesn’t�t even have a degree or designation in finance. My broker called him and questioned his investment approach and the response was that �the commentary is for entertainment purposes only�. He was never licensed to provide any advice on the markets nor did he have any personal fund that he was managing to provide proof of his returns. I wonder if the public knew he was reading off some banks morning report that he received every day? Dave Humeniuk has such a bad reputation in the marketplace that I was surprised to see his named plastered all over the offering document. Anytime you have someone that needs to make this venture �the last kick at the cat�, Beware! He will always take care of himself, particularly when his name is dirt to begin with. Vincenzo De Palma is a great promoter indeed, always on the TV and radio. No real success story that anyone can verify. He was one of the most compelling Calgarians for 2009; he was quoted as saying “I believe in providing solutions in whatever I’m involved in,” he said. “I’m a big giver, whether it’s giving back to my colleagues or my family.” I wonder if he is willing to give back to the investors and leave town?
These clowns did a hell of a job to distract investors from the true nuts and bolts of their business model which was the high lifts and lack of experience in real estate investing and management, now it has come back to haunt the investors. They overpaid for their real estate and then added large fees when they sold to investors, the promotional material always had something in the lines of 98% + returns (RED FLAG), when it is too good to be true then it is. I can guarantee you that the large promotes that Concrete Equities took on these partnerships will never be returned and I suspect that the lack of basic fundamentals for an investment company is coming to light now as the house of cards falls apart. Looks like most of their staff including sales people have ran from the company, the mass exodus has begun and I guess Humeniuk is no longer with the company either. Doesn’t�t surprise me that few will stick around when the s^&t hits the fan.
Although I never invested with these clowns, I think this just hurts the already crippled global investment climate with all the failed investment companies and banks, we need to change the negativity in today�s marketplace. There are good people and companies out there and we need to rebuild confidence in the marketplace for us to get through this recession. If investors get hurt because of markets and the economy it is acceptable but if they lose money because of incompetence they will start to save money under the mattress like my mom used to. Today, we see a perfect buying opportunity and we need to encourage investing again in these markets.
I hope that your group is able to step in and find some acceptable resolution that doesn’t�t hurt the equity you all have invested. Best of luck and please do keep us updated.
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
The story ran on Global today, will likely be in tomorrows Herald
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
We just caught the story on Global. We are not satisfied with Vincenzo’s response, how does this deal “enhance our investment”? He obviously has not read the same documents we have.
They are not in trouble because of the economy, they are in trouble because they have mismanaged the portfolio! They have no clue in what they are doing.
I encourage everyone to continue to pressure the ASC and anyone else we need to get these idiots out.
If they are that stupid as management, WE WANT THEM OUT!!
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
You have every right to be pissed. So do we and every investor! Even the news media is being led along! Follow me through on this:
We were told conveyed that these were ‘long term’ and ’safe’ investments in commercial real estate, somewhat insulated from the ebb and flow of the stock market, etc., etc. with quarterly cash flow.
In Calgary vacancy rates are climbing and inventory of space is up a bit…but most of the investments were in long term tenancy contracts. Tenants come and go, and legitimate management companies allocate reserves and a given allowance of their income for contingencies for vacancies, economic transitions, and numerous other unforseens…we might expect an ‘adjustment’ to a certain extent, but a complete blow-out of their portfolio and a wholesale discount to another real estate company does not make sense!
Someone needs to accurately report the state of the union. I have not seen a decent balance sheet from Concrete Equities since day one. ‘The economy’ does provide a good excuse safety net for these ‘*clueless monkeys*’ but no economy can be blamed on delinquent management.
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
To All,
Not an investor in CE, but interested in this thread due to the Stategic Group being involved. Strategic seems more intent on taking over your buildings than trying to do the right thing in cleaning up the existing mess they have created in Calgary. The 4th street project and the last Sundance West project are all under liens & lawsuits. Strategic seems unable or unwilling to pay bills and has layers of companies protecting it. I notice today there are nine new companies registered, coincidentally with the names of your projects in front and without exception, all registered to Strategic’s corporate address. They are: Airways Business Plaza Capital Corp., CEP Capital Corp., Deer Valley Station Capital Corp., Glenmore Commerce Court Capital Corp., Meg Place Capital Corp., Millrise Plaza Capital Corp., Parkwood/Eastgate Capital Corp., Symcor-Otis Capital Corp., & Strategic Fund Management Corp.
It looks to me that the intention is more than clear. My advice is if Strategic is involved, run . .
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
This is is my first posting on this thread so please be kind. My wife and I own a “limited partnership” share in CE Place and I must admit I was drawn in to the spiders web by the advertising and the promised returns. I have been trying to sell my interest for the last 6 months with no luck in doing so. Now I know why.Not sure about anyone else but I had to find out what’s been happening from the story I saw on the news last week. The general partner forgot to inform me of a proxy vote that if passed will ultimately turn my secured investment in to a worthless piece of paper. I must admit I was somewhat nieve when I bought this investment but not to the point where I know that if I was secured on title as a limited partner I at least had some comfort level. Now, it looks like with this syndication of the properties our risk will be spread amongst all of CE holdings. This I did not sign up for. I would encourage all owners and stake holders that have not been informed of the possible changes to your investment to contact the office of the general partner and demand to see thse proposal being put forth. I know how I’m going to vote. An emphatic no. We need to boot out the current general partner and replace them with our own or at least one that we can trust. I have pulled title on CE Place and their has been a caveat registered by Strategic. How presumptuous of them to think that we would vote yes to the proposal. When I asked Mr. DePalma about this caveat I was ignored. When I asked why Dave Humeniuk was not longer on the executive I was ignored. This guy has been given a lifetime suspension from The Real Estate Counsel of Alberta for perpetrating mortgage fraud. This is a securities fraud. This guy was hired on to the executive with the other members knowing about his history. Tells me they are after one thing folks and that’s how to steal your money. I implore all of you. Vote no to any changes that may affect your position as limited partner in any of their holdings. Write to the ASC and file a complaint.Tell them to give you a better reason as to why we haven’t received our dividend for the first quarter. Ask to see the list of tenants and the lease agreements. Demand to know who holds the mortgages or at least get the legal descriptions of the properties and I can find out who holds the mortgages. I see one second charge mortgage at 40% interest.This is almost usery.If we let our guards down and give them the false belief that we are going to take this lying down we have lost.