What is being done?

Last updated: 22 December 2025

Work is being done to try to get money back for investors. The regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, is also investigating what happened and has started enforcement action against a number of different people and companies for their involvement in the collapses of Shield and First Guardian Master Funds. Keep reading to learn about the progress of this work.

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Getting money back for people who invested

Liquidators have been appointed for both Shield and First Guardian Master Funds to wind them up, sell all the assets and pay creditors and investors. Liquidators for both funds are also investigating what led to the collapses and will report their findings to the regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Both Shield and First Guardian have some money to pay back people who invested, but not enough to pay back everything. 

Find out more about the liquidators.

ASIC has been taking action to protect assets in both funds and try to get money back. ASIC has also been trying to get the super funds to pay their members back.

See what work is being done below to repay people for each super fund below.

People were invested in Shield and First Guardian through the AMG Super and Super Simplifier super platforms. The company responsible for these super funds (also known as the trustee) is Equity Trustees Superannuation Limited (Equity). 

On 26 August 2025, ASIC filed civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Equity. ASIC says that Equity failed in its obligations to its members when it decided to put Shield on its investment menu and when it failed to monitor Shield’s performance over time. Originally, ASIC only asked for Equity to pay penalties, but on 10 October 2025, it was reported in the media that ASIC has amended its claim to include compensation for members, though this is still subject to Court approval. To date, Equity has denied that it broke the law and is defending the court action. 

We understand that ASIC is still investigating whether Equity broke the law for failing to protect people who invested in First Guardian (the court action is only for investments in Shield). 

People were invested in First Guardian through AusPrac Super and Praemium Super. These super funds also used the brand names Powerwrap, YourChoice Super and OneSuper. The company responsible for these super funds (also known as the trustee) is Diversa Trustees Limited (Diversa).

On 8 December 2025, ASIC filed civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Diversa. ASIC says that Diversa failed to conduct adequate due diligence before allowing its members to invest in First Guardian and failed to conduct adequate ongoing monitoring. ASIC is asking Diversa to repay members the amounts they lost in First Guardian and also to pay penalties.

People were invested in Shield through Macquarie Wrap.  

On 25 September 2025, ASIC announced that it had entered into an agreement with Macquarie to compensate people who invested in Shield through Macquarie Wrap. 

  • Under the agreement, Macquarie has admitted it broke the law by failing to properly monitor the Shield investment. 
  • Macquarie must pay back the full amount members originally invested, but not any amounts they could have earned if they had stayed with another super fund. 
  • Payments should have been made to members’ super accounts by 30 September 2025. 
  • The agreement between Macquarie and ASIC does not take away any legal rights that Macquarie members have to ask for further compensation. For example, Macquarie members can still ask for lost earnings or the refund of fees.

People were invested in First Guardian through Netwealth Superannuation. 

On 18 December 2025, ASIC announced that it had entered into an agreement with Netwealth to compensate people who invested in First Guardian through Netwealth Super. 

  • Under the agreement, Netwealth has admitted it broke the law by putting First Guardian on its platform, failing to set limits for how much people could invest and failing to let people know about some risks and issues with the investment.
  • Netwealth must pay back the full amount members originally invested, but not any amounts they could have earned if they had stayed with another super fund. 
  • Payments must be made to members’ super accounts by 30 January 2026. 
  • The agreement between Macquarie and ASIC does not take away any legal rights that Netwealth members have to ask for further compensation. For example, Netwealth members can still ask for lost earnings or the refund of fees.

Taking action against misconduct

There were many different people and companies involved in selling Shield and First Guardian to investors: marketing lead generators, financial advisers and advice businesses, super funds, research houses (a company that provides advice and ratings about investments), auditors and the people responsible for running the Shield and First Guardian investment schemes.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is responsible for regulating many of the people and companies who were involved. ASIC has said that it has investigations into over a hundred people and companies related to Shield and First Guardian. Currently, there are 12 federal court actions related to misconduct, which include super funds, financial advisers, a lead generator and a research house. In those actions, ASIC is seeking penalties and in some cases compensation. ASIC has also banned a number of financial advisers and other responsible people for their involvement in selling Shield and First Guardian. No criminal charges have been laid.

Where can I get more information?

See the links below for more information about each topic.

Topic

Links

ASIC’s investigation into what happened

ASIC’s investigation into Shield Master Fund
ASIC’s investigation into First Guardian Master Fund

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