The Federal Court has today made declarations that Netwealth Superannuation Services Pty Ltd and Netwealth Investments Limited (collectively Netwealth) contravened the Corporations Act in relation to the First Guardian Master Fund (First Guardian).

Based on Statements of Agreed Facts and Admissions filed by the parties, His Honour Justice McEvoy made declarations that Netwealth failed to obtain and assess sufficient information about First Guardian, failed to make sufficient independent enquiries to understand or evaluate the investment risk of First Guardian before and while offering it to members, and did not inform members of the potential illiquidity of First Guardian.

ASIC commenced proceedings against Netwealth after accepting a court enforceable undertaking requiring it to compensate affected members 100% of the amounts they invested in First Guardian, less any amounts withdrawn.

More than $100 million was paid to over 1,000 affected investors in January 2026.

ASIC Chair Sarah Court said, ‘Superannuation trustees are a critical safeguard for Australians’ retirement savings and must undertake rigorous due diligence before making investment options available to members.

‘In this case, Netwealth admitted it failed to obtain sufficient information about First Guardian and failed to undertake sufficient enquiries to properly understand the risks associated with First Guardian.

‘Following ASIC's investigation, Netwealth compensated affected members, providing certainty to more than 1,000 Australians whose retirement savings were exposed to significant harm.

‘Today's outcome sends a clear message that superannuation trustees must put members first and take proactive steps to identify and respond to investment risks before members suffer harm,' the Chair said.

ASIC did not seek a pecuniary penalty in the matter, owing to the particular circumstances of the case, including the timely payment of compensation to affected members.

ASIC now has 14 cases underway against 31 defendants and is continuing to investigate alleged misconduct relating to the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds to hold those involved to account.

# Download

[Judgment](https://download.asic.gov.au/media/52hm0wqw/26-197mr-asic-v-netwealth-investments-limited-2026-fca-1186.pdf)

# Background

Netwealth Superannuation Services Pty Ltd and Netwealth Investments Limited are subsidiaries of Netwealth Group Limited and Netwealth Superannuation Services Pty Ltd is the trustee of the Netwealth Superannuation Master Fund (NSMF).

The First Guardian Diversified Class and Growth Class were made available to adviser-led members through Netwealth's Super Accelerator Plus product from March 2021. The First Guardian classes were closed to new investments in December 2022.

Between March 2021 and December 2022, approximately $128.5 million was invested across the two First Guardian classes by 1,303 members of the NSMF. 1,080 NSMF members were still invested in First Guardian when Falcon Capital froze redemptions in May 2024, with member investments totalling about $100.7 million.

ASIC commenced proceedings against Netwealth on 18 December 2025 ([25-307MR](https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2025-releases/25-307mr-netwealth-admits-to-first-guardian-failures-and-agrees-to-compensate-affected-members-100-million)). At the same time, ASIC accepted a court enforceable undertaking requiring affected members to be compensated for their net investments in First Guardian. Compensation payments were completed in January 2026.

ASIC notes that APRA also accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Netwealth Superannuation Services Pty Ltd on 17 December 2025 to address material weaknesses in its investment governance framework and practices.

ASIC and APRA continue to work closely to hold trustees of regulated super funds to account consistent with ASIC and APRA’s respective mandates.

Proceedings that ASIC has commenced against Equity Trustees Superannuation Limited seeking compensation for investors in Shield ([25-176MR](https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2025-releases/25-176mr-asic-sues-equity-trustees-alleging-due-diligence-failures-relating-to-shield)) and First Guardian ([26-101MR](https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2026-releases/26-101mr-asic-sues-equity-trustees-alleging-first-guardian-onboarding-failures)), and against Diversa Trustees Limited seeking compensation for investors in First Guardian ([25-296MR](https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2025-releases/25-296mr-asic-sues-diversa-trustees-alleging-failures-relating-to-first-guardian)), are continuing.

In March 2026, the Federal Court made declarations that Macquarie Investment Management Limited contravened the Corporations Act by failing to place Shield Master Fund on a watch list for heightened monitoring. Approximately $321 million was paid to affected members in September last year ([26-053MR](https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2026-releases/26-053mr-federal-court-declares-macquarie-contravened-the-corporations-act-in-relation-to-shield-master-fund)).

# Consumer information

ASIC has issued a consumer alert warning amid increasing concerns that people are being enticed to invest their retirement savings into complex and risky schemes: [25-120MR Consumer alert](https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2025-releases/25-120mr-consumer-alert-asic-warns-about-pushy-sales-tactics-urging-people-to-make-quick-superannuation-switches). Be super smart, visit ASIC’s [Moneysmart campaign page](https://moneysmart.gov.au/protect-your-super-from-pushy-sales-calls).

If you have concerns about the financial advice you have received or about your superannuation trustee, you may wish to consider lodging a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority ([**AFCA**](https://www.afca.org.au/)). AFCA is the external dispute resolution scheme for financial complaints in Australia and must deal with complaints independently and fairly.

# AFCA’s service is free for consumers

AFCA can be contacted by:

* calling 1800 931 678 for free (9am – 5pm Melbourne time), or
* lodging a complaint online on [AFCA’s website](https://www.afca.org.au/make-a-complaint).

Stay Updated: ASIC will post important updates about the First Guardian Master Fund on its dedicated webpage: [First Guardian Master Fund](https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/asic-investigations-and-enforcement/enforcement-activities/first-guardian-master-fund).

Federal Court declares Netwealth contravened the Corporations Act in relation to First Guardian