If you are looking for one reason so many New Zealanders are reluctant to entrust their money to the local sharemarket, look no further than Wilson Neill, finally put out of its misery yesterday.
No, we know it wasn't a "real" listed company, subject to the disclosure requirements and other rules
imposed by the Stock Exchange.
Wilson Neill was traded on the unlisted market which, as the NZSE is always quick to point out, it "facilitates" but does not control.
But the fact remains that 8200 or so shareholders - according to Wilson Neill's latest annual report - have done their dough.
At this point, you could take the attitude that you pays your money and you takes your chances, that people who invest in unlisted companies have to accept that there's a chance of being taken for a ride.
However, investment is an act of faith. That faith is easily damaged and the damage can take a long time to heal. Some investors are still staying away from the local market because of the losses they suffered a decade and a half ago.
They put their money into the sometimes illusory safety of property or fixed interest, all the while muttering darkly about the likes of Equiticorp and Chase Corporation.
Listed or unlisted, for many potential investors the sorry saga of Wilson Neill will simply reinforce the view that the sharemarket is a lottery and businesspeople are not to be trusted.
That view is understandable, given the long, slow and very public nature of the company's self-destruction.
For months we have been treated to the sight of a company making promises that didn't come true.
A case in point: the $17.5 million which an "international wireless television, communications and internet service provider" called WeCU was to pay for a 27 per cent stake in Wilson Neill subsidiary Radionet.
Another case: the delivery of Wilson Neill's annual accounts, "a matter of weeks" away before Christmas, but not produced until February.
One more: the $6 million profit which Wilson Neill forecast last October, which had turned into a $24 million loss by the time the accounts finally turned up.
Wilson Neill's directors may yet face the consequences of their tardy delivery of the company reports, with the Companies Office still considering whether to prosecute.
In war, says the old cliche, truth is the first casualty.
In investment, it's confidence.
<i>Mark Fryer:</i> Investors learn a painfully real lesson from an unreal company
If you are looking for one reason so many New Zealanders are reluctant to entrust their money to the local sharemarket, look no further than Wilson Neill, finally put out of its misery yesterday.
No, we know it wasn't a "real" listed company, subject to the disclosure requirements and other rules
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