Section 73 of the Act deals with investment of strata money:
73 Can money in administrative fund or sinking fund be invested?
(1) An owners corporation may invest any money in its administrative fund or sinking fund in any manner permitted by law for the investment of trust funds or in any prescribed investment.
(2) Any interest received on an investment made under this section forms part of the fund to which the investment belongs.
I would be very concerned if I found out that the strata funds were being invested by a single person and there was no accounting in relation to the funds. As a matter of corporate governance you would expect a resolution to approve the investment of the funds at the outset, and ongoing reporting in relation to those funds. This is trust money, it should not be in the control of someone who has no obligations under any legislation, unless there are proper controls in place. This is distinct from a strata manager who does have obligations and if something goes wrong you have recourse.
There is nothing wrong with investing strata funds, we resolved to invest a set amount in a certain way at the AGM. Note also that the Act requires that you must invest the money in a certain way. You can’t just put it on the horses.
If I were you I would be raising it now and insisting on an answer – it is very puzzling that the strata manager is being defensive. If I didn’t get an answer I would be asking for the accounts.