Family ties connecting key players at Blue Sky Alternative Investments to world of law and politics are intriguing

SOME of the family ties connecting the key players from embattled fund manager Blue Sky Alternative Investments to the outside world of politics and law are very intriguing.

Blue Sky Investments Rob Shand.

HALF A DEGREE

They say there’s just six degrees of separation in the world.

In Brisbane, it’s more like half a degree.

For evidence of this, look no further than Blue Sky Alternative Investments.

Some of the family ties connecting key players at the embattled fund manager to the outside world of politics and law are both intriguing and typical of a big country town.

To wit, Blue Sky boss Rob Shand and one of his top lieutenants have noteworthy relatives who have made news over the years.

Just last week, Shand’s uncle, Harold Shand, was struck off as a solicitor after losing an appeal.

That followed his four-month stint in the iron motel after being convicted in 2011 of paying corrupt former Queensland minister Gordon Nuttall $60,000 in secret commissions nine years earlier.

The Queensland Court of Appeal judge overseeing the case was none other than Philip McMurdo.

In a rather startling bit of irony, one of his kids, Lachlan McMurdo, is now an investment director at Blue Sky reporting to top gun Rob Shand.

SINKING THE BOOT

After watching more than half a billion dollars in market value go up in smoke over the past few weeks, they must be desperate for a bit of blue sky. The company’s move to cut profit guidance on Monday sent the shares tumbling another 22 per cent and they shed a further 6 per cent on Tuesday to close at $3.82.

Under fire for its alleged lack of transparency, Blue Sky is now greenlighting an independent review of its asset values and financial disclosures.

Soren Aandahl, research director at the US short seller, Glaucus Research Group, which triggered the bloodbath, couldn’t help putting the boot in when asked for his reaction.

“I think at this point the market reaction says it all,’’ Aandahl said in an email from his base in California.

“An independent review by the very same board that signed off on the previous misleading disclosures will not restore Blue Sky’s shredded credibility.’’

Even house broker Morgans slashed its target share price to $5.55 yesterday, down from $14.95.

“Blue Sky should be considered high risk in the short term given the potential for ongoing negative sentiment,’’ analyst Scott Murdoch told clients.

SISTERS IN LAW

She’s the sports-mad lawyer who made a name for herself in Brisbane legal circles promoting women in the sector.

But Cassandra Heilbronn is packing her bags and heading for Melbourne, where she will continue working for MinterEllison.

The 33-year-old Bundaberg native gets on a plane on May 5 and she’s not exactly prepared for the four seasons-in-a-day weather down south.

Heilbronn told City Beat yesterday that she’s never lived outside of Queensland and her wardrobe reflects that fact.

Indeed, she’s partial to tank tops and thongs, while the warmest bit of clothing she owns is a mere hoodie.

After four years in the Minter bunker in Brisbane, Heilbronn said the move will allow her to continue focusing on sports law and general insurance while also cutting down on travel time.

She leaves behind her role as president of the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland, her work as a panel member advising the state government on potential new judges and her
input with the Brisbane Heat and Squash Australia.

But she’s still going in to bat for the sisters.

Once settled in Melbourne, Heilbronn plans to ramp up work on The Prominenti Society, which she launched last year.

It’s a speaking agency featuring female speakers in demand for corporate event.

The idea is going global, with some of the speakers heading to the Bahamas and
Florida soon.

Not surprisingly, Heilbronn is a speaker herself and she’s off to Switzerland and London later this year to deliver a few talks.