Tale as Old As Time [Finished]

[accalia]

Echo's investment broker was a short, older woman, dressed in a mart black suit over a powder blue blouse. She had introduced herself as "Julie Schallen, of Schallen, Schreien and Hören" and was upbeat and cheerful.

Although she wore several pieces of jewelry it was all in non precious metals, brightly polished copper, brass and iron rather than silver or gold. Her hair is thinning and silver white and a long healed, but still very visible triple scar marks her face from her left temple across her right cheek.

Julie: "I admit I was surprised to get a call from your friend with the scars, it's been nigh on sixty years since I last saw him...  anyway, I hear that you have a problem that needs solving in the financial realm?"

[yamikuronue]

Siegfried had introduced the family accountant as "Mr Randor, our family accountant for some years now." Now, as he leads them to the table, he fumbles over how to give the run-down: "Ah, yes. The family's fortunes have, ah, changed, recently, and the Young Master and Master Obsidian would like to be apprised of their options in the financial sphere. As I am no accountant, merely the steward, I have asked you both to give your professional advise."

[CalamityJade]

Mr. Randor scratched his chin. "That would be...difficult to say. It has been some years." He looked around the room and...seemed to blink for a moment. "If you don't mind me asking, is something different here?" Something he couldn't put his finger on...but it was like someone moved at vase in a room you'd been in several times.

[accalia]

Julie nods and pulls a slim grey notebook out of her jacket pocket.

Julie: Indeed it would be most difficult to suggest a course of action without knowing, at least roughly, what shape the client's accounts are in at the moment and what the client wants to do or change about how the money is being handled. Perhaps we could start there?

[yamikuronue]

Siegfried declines to answer Mr Randor's question, instead leading them into the dining room where Lance and Obsidian (and the binders) await. "Allow me to introduce the Young Master, Lancelot Roidemet, heir to the Roidmet fortune and majority owner of Choranz International. The gentleman beside him is Obsidian Roidmet, recently paroled and financially destitute, to whom he has expressed interest in transferring some of his many assets."

"You will find all the information I have collected in the previous nine years in these binders," he adds, gesturing to the table.

[accalia]

Julie: Julie Schallen, of Schallen, Schreien and Hören. I was contacted that you might be interested in someone to actively manage some investments for you. With your permission I'd like to examine your books to get a rough idea of where your finances are while you tell me more about what you would like my firm to do for you if hired.

Julie bows respectfully but perfunctorily to both Lance and Obsidian on being introduced.

[CalamityJade]

Well, it wasn't like he was used to getting answers to questions. The entire household tended to have been like that. "Greetings. I'm sure you already know, but I'm Morden Randor a long time consultant and accountant for your family." He gave a nod towards Julie "And I would have to agree. I doubt you can expect  me to remember every form for your family over the past several years."

Obsidian looked over the two of them. Sure, Morden he was somewhat familiar with, but he's always a little warry about new people. "Sure...can't exactly work on this without information, I'm sure."

[yamikuronue]

Lance hasn't seen Morden in ten years, but he doesn't look any different, really. He scowls, looking away off to one side. "I just want this to handle itself. I'll give you whatever percentage you want to handle the money so I don't have to bother about it."

Siegfried winces. "What percentage is fair, of course, according to market rates. We'd like to increase the household expenditures but lack the disposable income to do so, and we'd like input as to how we can produce a larger monthly income without depleting the principles on these accounts. Many of them are re-investing their profits to the principle, so I suspect it's a matter of diverting some of those profits into our current account, but of course, there are likely also suboptimal allocations that may need re-allocating, and it'd be good to have an ongoing eye on the allocations to catch unforeseen issues. Mr Randor is familiar with the property holdings that may also be under-utilized, and with the Young Master's legal situation..."

[accalia]

Julie walks carefully over to the pile of books and opens the latest one. she examines it carefully and makes a large amount of notes in her note pad.

Julie: "So what you are saying is that you want to reorganize your accounts and investments to give you more operating money for day to day affairs without compromising the principle? hmmm yes I might just be able to help with something like that."

[CalamityJade]

Morden took one of the older books. "And as far as under-utilized holdings, there are probably several. Not to mention there is no doubt that some could either be re-purposed or other investments transferred." This would probably take some time before he was sure, but there's obviously some automatic account debits and transfers that may no longer be needed.

[yamikuronue]

Lance nods. "Great. I'll leave you to it."

[CalamityJade]

Obsidian gave Lance a look. "Where the hell do you think you're going? It's your money and your responsibility so you sure as hell are gonna stick around and make some decisions."

[yamikuronue]

Lance makes a face, turning to Morden. "Which reminds me: I want to gift this asshole the house."

[accalia]

Julie looks up from her calculations

Julie: now I won't promise anything without a fuller accounting but it looks to me like I could manage about 60% of the assets here, the rest being fixed debits and real estate that my firm just doesn't deal with. And based on the numbers i see here I believe we could give you a 20 to 30% increase in your monthly disbursements without using any principle and maintaining a healthy growth rate of 5% per year on the principle.

Julie pauses for a moment before continuing

Julie: I'm sure some of these automated debits could be dropped or refinanced, but without a better understanding of the household and what exactly the debits are servicing and how they are administered i couldn't tell you which ones those are or how they could be restructured.

[CalamityJade]

Morden looked up from the binder. "You..realize that you can't just 'gift' a house. Especially with the sort of accounts you're holding now. Leaving the entire idea of you suddenly giving your estate to your uncle..." He pauses in his thoughts. "Who apparently has left prison by being a model inmate and being on parol...anyway, that would cause issues and uproar, even if people are starting to not know who you are. I'm sure some would see it as some way to avoid taxes, as well as the chance for coercion on his part, all of which I imagine you are trying to avoid."