SQM turns to Stephen van Eyk amid Shield crisis
Amid the fallout over its role in rating the Shield Master Fund, SQM Research has recruited industry veteran Stephen van Eyk for its ratings and research governance committees. The appointment comes as other parties involved ino the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian master funds add high-profile veterans to help improve governance and lift standards in the wake of the collapsed schemes.
October 08, 2025
A tiny fraction for a big impact: Rethinking consumer protection funding
The financial advice profession is paying millions each year to cover the corporate regulator and last resort consumer remediation. Financial adviser Rob Pyne writes the current model places a heavy burden on a narrow base which could be flipped to cover a wider scope.
October 08, 2025
InterPrac denies moving advisers to avoid Shield, First Guardian liabilities
ASX-listed Sequoia Financial Group has denied it is transferring advisers out of its InterPrac licensee with the intention of avoiding mounting liabilities from the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian master funds. The concern has been raised by victims of the collapsed schemes who are worried about a repeat of the group using legal loopholes to avoid accountability.
October 07, 2025
Advisers could play crucial role in trustee response to Shield and First Guardian
Macquarie’s deal to remediate Shield clients was the first feel good story in what has been a torrid experience for clients of the collapsed fund and the whole industry. For the other trustees who are dragging their feet on making a similar deal, advisers are going to begin to question which are trustworthy and where they should put client money.
October 03, 2025
‘How not to run an ESG fund’: ASIC acts on closed Fiducian product
ASIC has sued the asset management arm of ASX-listed licensee owner Fiducian Group over allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct about a now-closed ESG fund. Investors had raised concerns about investments into mining companies, which ran contrary to the values described in the PDS, while the fund continued to distribute such documents for nine years after concerns were raised.
October 03, 2025
The increasing democratisation of private markets
A strong market environment, product evolution and access to institutional-quality managers has helped fuel the adoption of private markets, but expect to see a larger disparity between the winners and losers in the coming decade.
October 02, 2025
The case for PE secondaries in a diversified portfolio
The private equity (PE) secondaries market has expanded rapidly in recent years and eligible high net worth and sophisticated retail investors can now access the PE secondaries market through semi-liquid, evergreen structures. Buying later gives secondary investors substantially more information about underlying holdings, which reduces blind pool risk and improves price discovery.
October 02, 2025
Vanguard wants to do more on ‘small a’ advice
Despite the fact that its global business operates popular robo-advice tools, Vanguard Super has no intention of “leading the charge” on technology-enabled advice down under instead relying on “small a” advice that relies on nudges and personal guidance tools should the next phase of advice reform get completed.
October 01, 2025
Entireti re-launches legacy managed account service
Entireti has re-tooled a managed account service it picked up during the acquisition of Australian Unity’s financial advice business, rebranding it as Salita Portfolio Services. The separately managed accounts offering is supported by the investment consulting capabilities of Evidentia Group’s Lonsec Investment Solutions.
October 01, 2025
