What is being done?

Last updated: 16 July 2026

Work is being done to try to get money back for investors, to investigate what happened, take action against a number of different people and companies for their involvement in the collapses of Shield and First Guardian Master Funds and protect investors in the future. Keep reading to learn about 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 Ltd. 

On 26 August 2025, ASIC filed civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Equity related to Shield. 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, ASIC amended its claim to ask Equity to repay members the amounts they lost. 

On 21 May 2026, ASIC also filed civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Equity related to First Guardian. ASIC says that Equity failed in its obligations when it decided to put First Guardian on its investment menu and when it allowed its members to invest 100% of their money in First Guardian. ASIC is asking for Equity to pay penalties and repay members the amounts they lost.

To date, Equity has denied that it broke the law and is defending both court actions.

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. Diversa is defending the court action.

People were invested in Shield through Macquarie Wrap.  

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

  • Under the agreement, Macquarie has admitted it broke the law by failing to place the Shield investment on its ‘watch list’ for further monitoring. The ‘watch list’ is a list of investments that Macquarie watches more closely. 
  • 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 money back. For example, Macquarie members can still ask for lost earnings or the refund of fees.

For more information about the agreement, read ASIC’s media release.

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 money back. For example, Netwealth members can still ask for lost earnings or the refund of fees.

For more information about the agreement, read ASIC’s media release.

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 26 investigations into over a hundred people and companies related to Shield and First Guardian. ASIC has started 15 federal court cases against 30 people and companies related to misconduct, which include super funds, financial advisers, investment company directors, a lead generator and a research house. In those actions, ASIC is seeking penalties and in some cases money back for investors. 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.

Protecting investors in the future (new)

Work is also being done to prevent the kind of large-scale misconduct that happened with Shield and First Guardian from happening again.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is responsible for making sure that superannuation funds are strong and well-run by trustees that follow the law and put their members’ best interests first. Last year, APRA did a review of superannuation funds that offer platform products and found they needed to improve the way they make investments (like Shield and First Guardian) available to investors. Following its review, APRA has taken action against 5 platform funds to protect investors by making sure funds only offer investment options that are carefully reviewed and appropriate for what their members need.

Netwealth: On 17 December 2025, APRA accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Netwealth to improve its operations. A court enforceable undertaking is a written promise that the court has the power to enforce if the fund does not do what it agreed to do. APRA’s review found issues with the way Netwealth put new investments on its menu and also with how Netwealth was keeping an eye on those investments over time. 

Equity: On 18 December 2025, APRA put additional licence conditions on Equity Trustees to deal with issues around how they decide to add new investments and monitor them on the platforms they offer. Licence conditions are rules that funds must follow until they fix issues with their processes or practices. Under the conditions, Equity must hire an independent expert to identify risks and they must stop adding new, risky investments until they can prove to APRA that their practices are safe for investors.

Diversa: On 23 December 2025,  APRA put additional licence conditions on Diversa Trustees to deal with issues with their investment governance rules and processes, including monitoring platform investment options. Under the conditions, Diversa must hire an independent expert to identify risks and they must stop adding new, risky investments until they can prove to APRA that their practices are safe for investors.

Fiducian Superannuation: On 2 April 2026, APRA put licence conditions on Fiducian Portfolio Services Limited, the company responsible for the Fiducian Superannuation Fund. The licence conditions deal with issues with their investment governance rules and processes, including how they monitor investment options on their platforms, and how the company’s board makes decisions. Fiducian did not put Shield and First Guardian on its investment options menu.

HTFS Nominees Pty Limited: On 29 May 2026, APRA put licence conditions on HTFS Nominees Pty Limited, the company responsible for HUB24 Super Fund, to deal with issues with their investment governance and how they monitor member outcomes. HUB24 did not put Shield and First Guardian on its investment options menu.

The Government is working on changing the law to better protect investors and is thinking about changes to:

  • ASIC’s powers to oversee managed investment schemes like Shield and First Guardian.
  • Rules about marketing companies (lead generators) calling people about switching their superannuation.
  • Rules about how financial advisers can get paid for advice about switching super funds.
  • What compensation is available when people lose money because of high-risk investments in super and who has to help pay for it.

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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