The AFCA memberships of United Global Capital and Next Generation Advice will be extended due to concerns affected members of Shield and First Guardian didn’t have a fair chance to lodge a complaint against the advisers responsible.
United Global Capital’s membership had ceased on 31 May 2025 but will now be reinstated to 31 March 2026. Previously, Next Generation Advice’s membership was scheduled to expire on 18 October 2025, but this has been extended to 18 April 2026.
The collapse of Shield and First Guardian has become one of the corporate watchdog’s highest priorities with $1.2 billion of retirement savings across 11,000 investors at risk.
UGC’s membership lapsed 12 months after ASIC cancelled its license, which is the usual timeframe given to keep a window open for complaints to be filed.
The decision to extend the complaints deadline was made by the AFCA’s board due to information that has emerged since the firm was expelled as an AFCA member.
AFCA’s board now understands that many consumers didn’t understand the connection between the financial advice they received from UGC and the collapse of Shield and First Guardian and that several potentially eligible consumers were unable to lodge complaints in time.
“This is a targeted, time-bound decision made in the public interest, and under exceptional circumstances,” AFCA said in a media statement.
“It gives certainty to both affected consumers and industry. AFCA continues to work closely with stakeholders to ensure impacted consumers have accurate and timely information.”
AFCA lead ombudsman for investments and advice Shail Singh further added that a clearer picture of the broader implications of the scheme emerged.
“When UGC’s AFCA membership ceased earlier in 2025, the full picture of the consumer harm and UGC’s involvement in the collapse of Shield and First Guardian was not yet understood, nor was the interconnectedness between the various firms involved,” Singh said in a statement.
“What we’re seeing in these complaints is allegations of conflicted advice models and inappropriate recommendations to invest in the collapsed schemes and other self-managed super funds, that may not have been in the best interests of consumers.
“This is not a course of action AFCA takes lightly or regularly, but on this occasion, it is the right course of action.”
ASIC commenced enforcement action against First Guardian and Shield due to concerns about conflicts of interest with directors in the fund, misuse of investor money and mislabelling of the risk profile of the products.
The regulator also alleged that advice firms received payments from the Shield and First Guardian funds which in turn used lead generation services to funnel customers into the funds without factoring in their best interests.
ASIC has cancelled almost all licensees it has named as being involved in the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian funds.
Seqouia-owned InterPrac Financial Planning – which authorised Venture Egg, Miller Wealth Group and Reilly Financial – is the only licensee that hasn’t been cancelled by ASIC.
The regulator revealed last week that 140 advisers are being examined for their role in the collapse of the funds.
AFCA deadlines (updated dates in bold)
| Licensee | Date cancelled | AFCA complaint deadline |
| Next Generation Advice | 18 October 2024 | 18 April 2026 |
| Rebellis Financial Services | 7 June 2025 | 4 June 2026 |
| 5 Point Australia | 7 June 2025 | 4 June 2026 |
| AS Financial Planning | 7 June 2025 | 4 June 2026 |
| STC Financial Planning | 7 June 2025 | 4 June 2026 |
| MWL Financial Services | 25 August 2025 | 25 August 2026 |
| United Global Capital | 31 May 2025 | 31 March 2026 |
Source: ASIC, AFCA.
