Hi, Paul.

PE> FM> Trades - EDWARDS.TXT uploaded with this packet. I simply ran the same
PE> FM> database query as last time, so let me know if that's OK.

PE> Thanks.  Could you sort it by date next time though?

There is a new Edwards.txt with this message.

PE> FM> Balance of both your accounts - *both* your accounts? We only have one
PE> FM> cash management account. Oh, maybe you meant the options account which
PE> FM> might have some money in it. Should have thought of that at work. I'll
PE> FM> get those balances after the credit has been actioned.

PE> Not so much an "option" account, but you were at one stage holding
PE> a small amount of money in my account, long before I bought options.
PE> It wasn't an account with the bank or anything, it was just in
PE> SHAW's account, but under my name.  Any time I have given you money,
PE> or you have held money waiting for me to collect it, you have always
PE> held it in this "magic account".  It doesn't earn me interest or
PE> anything, but it's there anyway.

Ah, I understand. The trust account. All client moneys which are
received without a specific destination like a cash management account
go into the trust account. This is in fact most money, as we would
normally receive payment for buys at least a day or so before
settlement, and many clients after selling say, "Hold this 'cos I'm
going to be buying something soon" - that too stays in the trust
account. One client (your namesake as it happens, Dr. Edwards) has had a
few $k sitting there for some months.

OK. As of now there is no money being held for you in the trust account.
The balance in the cash management account is $29.62. (That doesn't yet
include the credit BTW.) I bet neither of those numbers agree with what
you think. At some point, whatever was left hanging over in the trust
account was either transferred to the cash management account, or used
to fund a purchase with the balance coming from the cash management
account. The cash management account also has had interest paid on it
and, if I'm reading this thing in front of me correctly, withholding tax
deducted - you should give me your (sorry, Xiayi's) tax file number to
prevent that.

If you can give me a starting point, ie a date and what $ you think were
where, I can figure this out for you. Alternatively I could give you all
this shit and you can figure it out. I promise you you won't like that.

Or, I can start from scratch on the cash account (that's not too
difficult) and maybe send you a Lotus file (are you still using Lotus?)
I *might* even be able to relate that back to the trust account, but
that would be a minor miracle.

The ANZ cash management we used to have was so much more
straightforward, I got (still get) a statement every morning of the
balances and accrued interest of all my clients, the clients got a
statement every (I think) month. With NAB, they issue a statement each
week (one copy only, so the cash management dept gets that, you have to
ask for a photocopy - ANZ were smart enough to produce 2, one for them,
one for the advisor) and I don't know when the client gets one - have
you ever had one?

But, ANZ said all the small balances were costing them money and told us
to look elsewhere, like by tomorrow. Tomorrow was about 12 months ago
and there are still some stragglers on their system and loving it. But
they won't open any new ones.

Oh BTW, one of the cash management girls is very pretty, and the other
one is even better. Don't feel any compunction about asking me to follow
up any of this.

Regards, FIM.

 * * Liberalism kills brain cells
@EOT:

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