http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...-complex-product/story-fn91wd6x-1226397181582
The NSW Supreme Court heard that Mr Coco, a long-standing Westpac customer, was told by a Westpac financial adviser about a "great product", known as Guaranteed Portfolios Service.
Mr Coco was told the amount he invested would be "guaranteed", as would any dividends he received during the term of the investment, which was five years.
His lawyer later sent Westpac some questions clarifying the nature of the investment and Mr Coco decided to invest $10m.
In February 2009, Mr Coco met the Westpac adviser, expressed concern about the worsening global economy and inquired how his investment might be performing.
He was told his $10m investment had lost more than $3m.
In addition, he was told that Westpac planned to keep $2.3m in interest it expected to be earned on the bonds.
Ruling in favour of Mr Coco, Justice Hammerschlag said: "The case illustrates the importance of officers responsible for selling complex financial products on behalf of institutions understanding how such products work and the importance of such officers not conveying incorrect information about such products to buyers."
The judge said the Westpac adviser did not seem to fully understand the product and could not recall being trained about it, before promoting the product.