Triple class-action threat puts more heat on AMP

SCANDAL-HIT wealth management company AMP has been hit with the threat of three separate class-action suits in the wake of shocking revelations of misconduct at the royal commission.

Class action specialists Slater and Gordon, Queenslandbased Shine Lawyers and global law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan announced yesterday they were set to pursue AMP over the company’s alleged withholding of information from investors. AMP declined to comment on the news.

The financial services royal commission has already carved $1 billion off the company’s market capitalisation and prompted the early exit of chief executive Craig Meller.

Shares in the company fell a further 3 per cent yesterday. The stock has lost a quarter of its value since early March.

AMP last week admitted to charging clients fees for services they did not get and misled the corporate regulator about it 20 times. The company also admitted to manipulating a supposedly independent report into the debacle, commissioned by AMP’s board.

Chairman Catherine Brenner is facing pressure to step down for her role in the doctored report, while AMP group counsel Brian Salter has been forced to take leave.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan said it would be ready to file a shareholder class action against the embattled finance group within 10 days.

Shine Lawyers also said it was investigating a class action.

THE Australian share market ended yesterday higher, ignoring soft Wall Street leads with investors finding value in the big mining companies and the nation’s largest lenders.

The ASX200 closed up 17.2 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 5886 points while the All Ordinaries was up 11.6 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 5976 points.

Macquarie Private Wealth division director Martin Lakos said the market had “an incredibly dull day” with little conviction among traders despite mild rallies for the blue chip miners and banks.

Turnover was low, with just 2.8 billion shares changing hands during the session.

In the US on Friday, a steep slide in technology shares led the three major Wall Street indexes lower.

As iron ore futures rose, Rio Tinto gained $1.13, or 1.4 per cent, to $81.66 and BHP Billiton was up 37c, or 1.2 per cent, to $31.23.

National Australia Bank gained 1.4 per cent to $28.76, Commonwealth Bank lifted 0.8 per cent to $72.67, ANZ was up 0.9 per cent to $26.97 and Westpac added 0.9 per cent to $28.86.

AMP ended 13c, or 3 per cent lower, to $4.17.