During a boom, the most ridiculous things seem perfectly normal. Spending $10 million on a piece of artwork or paying $50 million for a Palm Beach mansion in Florida is not only acceptable but encouraged. Such largesse is often cheered on by a supportive media which is quick to report on such trends and in many cases, idolise those who treat prolificacy as some sort of competitive sport.

A fine example of this is the short lived Affair magazine. We would include a link to Affair‘s website, but it appears that the magazine has sadly gone the way of Matthew Perrin’s Centrebet account, with the website noting only that the “account has been suspended”. It appears the offer of six issues of Affair for only $39.95 was not enough to entice readers to purchase what was billed as “Brisbane’s newest luxury lifestyle magazine … a diverse and relevant publication, readers are exposed to a high quality print publication, stunning photography and creative, interesting and stimulating content to ensure Affair’s unique market presence.”

Fortunately, some of Affair magazine’s finest work was able to stand the test of time, most notably, its in-depth profile of Andre Dalton. According to Affair, Dalton was “the Head of Equities in Queensland for one of the most prestigious and fastest growing Investment Banks in the country — Tricom.”

The timing of the article appears to be slightly unfortunate. Not long after Affair dubbed it one of the most prestigious in the country, Tricom became the first broker in 33 years to fail to settle trades by the ASX’s three-day deadline.

Affair heaped praise on Dalton, noting that the banker had “a First Class Honours degree in Exercise Science [and] has used his tertiary education to maintain a rigorous fitness regime and strict diet.” The magazine even showed a picture of a resting Dalton fast asleep in his beachside property, along with a very fit looking Dalton skipping and stretching his hamstrings, while not wearing a shirt.

The ever humble Dalton was however, quick to acknowledge his employer, describing Tricom as “an inspirational place to work with a highly entrepreneurial culture that supports his many driven and focused colleagues.” Dalton added that “many of the Tricom team are not only skilled in investing in stocks, they also possess strong technical skills in accounting.”

After struggling for survival, Tricom was rescued from collapse in September 2008 when former Babcock & Brown executive Rob Topfer acquired a 40% stake in the broker after agreeing to pay $20 million (Tricom had been the house banker to Babcock, a role which will be slightly less lucrative in the future). It is believed that Tricom boss, Lance Rosenberg, retains a 10% interest in the company. A series of previous rescue bids by the likes of Danish- based Saxo Bank and Bell Financial were unsuccessful.

The good news is that Andre Dalton has survived the global financial crisis and sharemarket bust and is believed to be still employed by Tricom at the firm’s Sydney office. Crikey endeavored to contact Dalton to perhaps produce a follow up to Affair magazine’s in-depth profile but were sadly unable to reach the famed banker.