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Federal Court confirms Netwealth's First Guardian failures. The latest issue of Financial Standard now available as an e-newspaper Regulatory | / | / | / | / | Federal Court confirms Netwealth's First Guardian failures BY MATTHEW WAI | FRIDAY, 21 AUG 2026 12:04PM The Federal Court has declared Netwealth Superannuation Services and Netwealth Investments contravened the Corporations Act in relation to the First Guardian Master Fund. 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requiring it to compensate affected members 100% of the amounts they invested in First Guardian, less any amounts withdrawn.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 1000 affected investors in January, after Netwealth confirmed it would compensate victims in December 2025. ASIC did not seek a pecuniary penalty in the matter, owing to the circumstances of the case, including the timely payment of compensation to affected members, the regulator said. Based on documents supplied by the parties, Justice McEvoy declared that Netwealth "failed to obtain and assess sufficient information about First Guardian," The judge also noted Netwealth failed to make sufficient independent enquiries to understand the risk of the managed investment scheme and did not inform members of the potential illiquidity of it. ASIC chair Sarah Court said the case represents the important role platform trustees play and shouldn't be overlooked. It also follows APRA commencing to uplift platform trustees' investment governance under a new consultation as part of minster for financial services Daniel Mulino's reform package unveiled this week. "Superannuation trustees are a critical safeguard for Australians' retirement savings and must undertake rigorous due diligence before making investment options available to members," Court said. "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. "[The] 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." ASIC has 14 cases underway against 31 defendants and is investigating alleged misconduct relating to the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds. 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, ASIC noted and 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 1303 members of the Netwealth Superannuation Master Fund. Read more: ASIC, First Guardian Master Fund, Federal Court, Netwealth Superannuation Services, Netwealth Investments, APRA, Australians, Daniel Mulino, First Guardian Diversified Class, Justice McEvoy, Netwealth Superannuation Master Fund, Sarah Court, Super Accelerator Plus VIEW COMMENTS Related News | | | First Guardian victims claim victory against InterPrac | | | | APRA targets platform trustees, welcomes stronger powers | | | | Mulino unveils sweeping reforms to cold calling, MISs | | | | ASIC ramps up enforcement action | | | | Former Berndale director jailed for $700k in misused funds | | | | Sequoia caves into InterPrac sale undertaking, ASIC withdraws proceedings | | | | NSW director disqualified over $7m SMSF scam | | | | ASIC sues First Guardian-linked auditors | | | | ASIC draws parallels between ASX and super trustee failures | | | | Mulino brings New Class of Advisers to life, guarantees fairer CSLR funding Editor's choice. From the advice sector to super funds, reactions to the sweeping reforms announced by the minister for financial services have been broad. TAL has named a new chief customer and health officer, choosing to promote from within. The $105 billion super fund has named a new head of risk and new head of finance, who will also serve as deputy chief financial officer. MA Financial Group posted a positive half year to 30 June 2026, with assets under management (AUM) increasing by 44% to $15.5 billion, attributed to significant activity levels in core real estate. Videos. Further Reading

Federal Court declares Netwealth contravened Corporations Act over First Guardian fund failures. By Business News Australia 20 August 2026 Photo: Netwealth via Facebook Wealth management platform Netwealth Group (ASX: NWL) has been found to have contravened the Corporations Act after the Federal Court declared two of its subsidiaries failed to conduct adequate due diligence before offering a high-risk investment fund to superannuation members. The declarations, handed down by Justice McEvoy today, found Netwealth Superannuation Services Pty Ltd and Netwealth Investments Limited breached their obligations as financial services licensees by failing to properly vet the First Guardian Master Fund before making it available on the platform, and by not warning members about potential illiquidity risks. About $128.5 million was invested in the First Guardian fund by 1,303 members between March 2021 and December 2022 and when fund manager Falcon Capital froze redemptions in May 2024, around 1,080 members still had $100.7 million exposed to the fund. The declarations were made by consent, based on statements of agreed facts and admissions filed by the parties, and allow Netwealth to finally put the long-running saga behind it. ASIC did not seek a pecuniary penalty, noting Netwealth had already compensated affected members following an agreement announced in December last year. Netwealth paid $101 million to more than 1,000 affected superannuation members, with the remediation program completed in January this year. The group disclosed a net profit after tax impact of $71 million from the compensation payments. "From the outset our position has been that affected members should be remediated as soon as possible, without having to wait for the recovery of funds by the liquidator or the completion of any ASIC investigations into the various parties involved in this matter," says Netwealth chairman Michael Wachtel in a statement to the ASX this afternoon. "We are pleased that the ASIC proceedings are now concluded and that we were able to provide certainty to our members in relation to their superannuation savings." Netwealth CEO Matt Heine says the agreed outcome confirmed by the court allows the company to "move forward and continue our work in supporting our members, our clients and our business". "The compensation payments provided by Netwealth means affected members' superannuation accounts had the net capital invested in First Guardian returned, alleviating distress caused by the collapse," he says. ASIC chair Sarah Court says the case underscores the obligations trustees owe to superannuation members. "Superannuation trustees are a critical safeguard for Australians' retirement savings and must undertake rigorous due diligence before making investment options available to members," says Court. "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." ASIC says it now has 14 cases under way against 31 defendants in matters relating to the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds and superannuation trustee obligations. Despite the regulatory action, the broader Netwealth business has continued to grow. The group today reported net flows of $15.4 billion for FY26, with total funds under administration reaching $135.7 billion as at 30 June 2026. Business News Australia Australia's business news. Free. Always. Join thousands of founders, investors and executives who read Business News Australia every morning. No paid subscriptions, just free. Unsubscribe anytime. Partner Content

Netwealth tightens trustee oversight with new hire. The latest issue of Financial Standard now available as an e-newspaper Executive Appointments | / | / | / | / | Netwealth tightens trustee oversight with new hire BY MATTHEW WAI | WEDNESDAY, 29 JUL 2026 11:11AM Netwealth has created a new role to strengthen its trustee oversight, governance, and member-focused leadership capability. Mel Jose has joined Netwealth as general manager, office of the trustee, leading the existing office of the trustee team and supporting the trustee board to strengthen governance practices, the platform said. Jose joined from TAL, where she was most recently the head of partnerships, working closely with Aware Super. Before that, she was the general manager of product, super retirement, insurance solutions at Rest, and senior manager, investment governance at NGS Super. Earlier in her career, she held roles at AMP, Colonial First State, Perpetual Investment Management, BT Financial Group, and Westpac. Netwealth said Jose's appointment reinforces its ongoing investment in experienced leadership and robust governance as the company continues to deliver long-term value to clients and advisers. "Throughout her career, Mel has built a reputation for delivering strategic outcomes across product, investment governance, regulatory change, risk management, and business transformation," Netwealth said. "She has established and led high performing teams, and worked closely with boards, executive leadership teams, and regulators to deliver strong and focused member outcomes." Commenting on her appointment, Jose said: "I am delighted to join Netwealth at an exciting stage of its journey. Netwealth has built an outstanding reputation for innovation, client service, products, and strong governance." "I look forward to working with the trustee board, executive team and my colleagues across the business to continue delivering exceptional outcomes for members, while supporting Netwealth's continued growth and strategic ambitions." Read more: Netwealth, Mel Jose, Aware Super, BT Financial Group, Colonial First State, NGS Super, TAL, Westpac VIEW COMMENTS Related News | | | New alternative investment firm lands in Sydney | | | | Netwealth expands Morgan Stanley mandate | | | | TCorp chief investment officer retires | | | | Emerging markets, private assets lift NGS Super FY26 performance | | | | CFS strengthens managed accounts menu | | | | Special Feature: Beyond Safekeeping | | | | State Street IM Australian investments lead to retire | | | | Aware Super acquires $226m real estate investment | | | | Fight between SMC and FSC on super rages on | | | | HUB24 FUA soars over $164bn Editor's choice. Apex Group managing director for superannuation will leave his post in September, joining its technology partner in a C-suite capacity. Amid a ratings downgrade and possible governance issues concerning the Centuria Bass Credit Fund (CBCF), Morningstar predicts the property debt fund will be pulled from major investment platforms and unlikely receive new inflows. ETF Shares has reduced the management fee on its ETFS US Technology ETF (ASX:WWWW) positioning the fund as one of the lowest-cost options for Australian investors seeking exposure to leading US technology companies through the ASX. AustralianSuper has appointed Andrew Smith and Luke Smith as co-heads of Australian equities, effective immediately. Videos. Further Reading