Laid up in a hospital bed after suffering serious injuries in a fall, Helen (not her real name) was in agony but could only think about money. After three L operations, it was clear the 68-year-old would have an ongoing disability, and it threatened her working future. Though past retirement age, Helen, a widow who was working in education, was worried that her life savings would not be able to sustain her in the years ahead, or to provide a decent inheritance for her adult children.
But a phone call from her financial adviser put her fretting mind to rest. Helen had invested her superannuation with Maliver, a boutique financial services company in Sydney, whose owner seemed to be something of a stock-market savant. Always immaculately groomed and smiling, Melissa Caddick was reporting millions of dollars in returns for her investors, who had entrusted their life savings and super funds with the 49-year-old.
“She was so supportive,” Helen tells marie claire. “She said, ‘You’ve got enough money in your super fund so if you can’t work again, it’s alright. Don’t concern yourself with anything. I’ll set up a plan so that you’ll be supported. We just have to look after you.’”
Reassured with that life-changing knowledge, Helen retired and looked forward to a future of leisure and grandkids, in the modest suburban home where she had raised her family with her late husband.
“I liked knowing I would have something to leave my children,” Helen says. “To make their lives
