ASIC steps up finfluencer crackdown as it targets licensees
The corporate watchdog is expanding its surveillance of so-called “finfluencers” to include those that are authorised representatives of AFS licensees, signalling that its interest in the area extends well beyond stamping out only unlicensed and unauthorised operators.
April 24, 2026
Diversa applies for $239m First Guardian government bailout
Diversa Trustees has applied to the government for a bailout of First Guardian investors worth approximately $239 million, arguing the losses were a result of fraud and remediation will be in the best financial interest to members.
April 23, 2026
Managed account growth drags on GDG results: Morningstar
Morningstar says that Generation Development Group’s growth in managed accounts has failed to meet investor expectations and was the cause of a drop in GDG’s share price following the release of March quarter results. The analyst note comes despite Morningstar running competing businesses with GDG, including managed accounts, although it made clear the equity analysis retains a clear separation from other business lines.
April 23, 2026
The hundreds of millions of bucks that stop with the Sequoia board
The failures of oversight, compliance and management that placed InterPrac Financial Planning squarely at the centre of one of the biggest advice scandals of the past decade can be traced back to the performance of the board and management of its parent company, Sequoia Financial Group, writes Simon Hoyle.
April 22, 2026
Govt urged to act quickly on adviser education standard reforms
A three-part framework for new financial adviser education standards has received widespread support from industry and professional bodies across the spectrum, but the government has been told to act urgently to implement reforms to reverse a precipitous decline in adviser numbers since 2019 and to make advice more affordable and accessible.
April 22, 2026
Shield, First Guardian reforms must not become a covert operation to restrict competition
There is broad consensus in industry and Canberra that the collapses of the Shield and First Guardian master funds – and failures that led to them – demand a regulatory response. But getting that response wrong could create an uneven playing field in the industry and some counterproductive consumer outcomes.
April 21, 2026
HUB24 moves ahead with acquiring trustee service
Platform provider HUB24 has decided to move ahead with acquiring HTFS Nominees, bringing the trustee service in-house as the government considers banning the trustee-for-hire model. The firm was owned by EQT Holdings, which also owns the troubled Equity Trustees which is being sued by ASIC over due diligence failures for onboarding the Shield and First Guardian master funds.
April 21, 2026
Ferras Merhi says courts will vindicate his Shield, First Guardian advice
The man ASIC alleges played a key role in the distribution of the Shield and First Guardian funds says the case against him is based on a “misunderstanding” of financial advice by the regulator. In an exclusive interview with Professional Planner, Ferras Merhi claims any adviser who fights ASIC’s allegations in court will win, and that the Albanese government should remediate investors for losses ultimately caused by the operators of the now-defunct funds.
April 20, 2026
Insignia to delist with all hurdles for sale completed
Insignia Financial will delist from the ASX at the end of the month as the Federal Court has given approval for the acquisition of the ASX-listed wealth giant by CC Capital.
April 20, 2026
Netwealth rolls out changes to fine print in wake of Shield, First Guardian
Netwealth has updated its terms and conditions to allow it to directly correspond with clients without necessarily needing to inform the adviser or licensee and potentially limit user access. The move comes as part of the regulator-enforced governance uplift across the platform sector in the aftermath of the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian master funds.
April 17, 2026
Licensee leaders call on minister to expedite education changes
The Licensee Leadership Forum – made up of the country’s largest licensee owners – has written to Minister for Financial Services Daniel Mulino and pushed for progress on “timely” education reforms.
April 17, 2026
New AMP CEO says lead generators a ‘real driver of consumer harm’
In one of his first interviews as chief executive of AMP, Blair Vernon tells Professional Planner that lead generators and introducers conducting business with rival platforms to AMP’s North present a “real risk” to consumers beyond the victims of Shield and First Guardian. The comments come as the Albanese government consults on measures to crack down on super-switching lead generators, including a possible new licensing regime.
April 16, 2026
