Latest news with #FirstGuardianMasterFund
West Australian
8 hours ago
- Business
- West Australian
‘Significant shortfalls': First Guardian Master Fund investors warned they may never see their money again
'Significant shortfalls': First Guardian Master Fund investors warned they may never see their money again
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Inside the mega waterfront mansion and life of luxury a super fund manager accused of spending YOUR money on
The founder of a collapsed superannuation fund splurged more than $9million on a five-bedroom waterfront mansion before allegedly siphoning retirement savings from thousands of hard-working Aussies to himself. The First Guardian Master Fund is now in liquidation with 6,000 retirement savers owed $590million between them. David Anderson, 46, a director of the fund and a parent company Falcon Capital Limited, is accused of siphoning millions of dollars into his personal ANZ bank account and shifting money overseas after the corporate regulator launched an investigation into his business affairs. Records show he bought his five-bedroom, three-bathroom mansion in the upmarket inner-Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn for $9.040million in December 2020. The home on Glan Avon Road, built in 2014, backs onto the Yarra River and is in one of Melbourne 's most upmarket postcodes within walking distance of the city centre. The mansion would now be conservatively worth more than $10million, or almost four times Hawthorn's already expensive median house price of $2.6million, based on Cotality data. As anxious Australians wonder whether they will ever see their retirement savings again, Anderson allegedly lives a life of luxury in a waterfront home with a pool, a landscaped garden cascading down to the river and an interior with spotted gum hardwood floors and a sculptured staircase. The Federal Court this week agreed to an application from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to stop Mr Anderson and fellow Falcon Capital director Simon Selimaj, 63, from leaving Australia. ASIC in February obtained the power to freeze the assets of Anderson, the First Guardian Master Fund and Falcon Capital, with FTI Consulting appointed as liquidators in April. FTI Consulting has promised an initial report to creditors by July 9, with senior managing partners Ross Blakeley and Paul Harlond handling the case. 'Since our appointment, we have been conducting a critical assessment of the situation and position of the company and funds, in accordance with the court order to wind up the affairs of the entities,' a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia. 'We remain committed to providing the creditors of the company and unitholders of the funds with updates throughout the liquidation process, including regarding the potential for and timing of any returns.' PKF Melbourne partner Paul Allen was appointed a receiver of Anderson's property. Anderson is accused of siphoning $5.6million into his personal ANZ account 'without any legitimate basis for payments in that amount being apparent to ASIC or disclosed to investors'. The Melbourne-born company director is also accused of moving $274million overseas after learning of ASIC's investigation into financial irregularities. The First Guardian Master Fund was initially registered in August 2019 as a managed investment fund. But a search of Anderson's corporate history shows he had 20 roles with companies using the First Guardian name going back to 2014. These include First Guardian Property, First Guardian Synergy Capital, First Guardian Holdings, First Guardian Investments, First Guardian Services and First Guardian Capital. Anderson had been a director of Falcon Capital Limited since November 2012. His home address in Hawthorn was listed 72 times on his corporate file for a range of companies including the Rogue Traders Group and Rogue Traders Management which were wound up in March. His 34-page registry with ASIC and the Australian Business Register includes 102 roles that have ceased and 25 that are still current, with companies registered to his home address in Hawthorn and a rented commercial office space in nearby Richmond. Mr Anderson's defence lawyer Dan Mackay, a director of Mackay Chapman, previously said 'there have been no findings of fact or law by any court or tribunal, nor by ASIC'. 'Mr Anderson will fully exercise his rights in response to allegations which may be made against him at the appropriate time in the appropriate forum,' Mr Mackay said. Many Australians invested with First Guardian after being contacted by Venture Egg Financial Services, whose director Ferras Merhi Pty was a VFL ruckman. The Federal Court froze Mr Merhi's assets in February following an ASIC application.
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Thousands at risk after super collapse
Thousands of Aussies who have invested millions of their super into First Guardian Master Fund are in limbo as the company collapses. About 6000 Australians have invested $590m into the superannuation fund, which was founded in 2019 as a management investment scheme. Investors were advised to roll their money into a retail choice super fund, then invest their funds into First Guardian, which was available to investors on the superannuation platforms Equity Trustees, Netwealth and Diversa. Thousands of Aussies who have invested millions of their super into First Guardian Master Fund are in limbo as the company collapses. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Despite the details being written in the company's legal documents, customers said they were unaware their funds were being transferred to First Guardian Master Fund. One of the customers affected was Juan Carlos Sanchez, a 41-year-old business owner from Melbourne who told the ABC he was contacted by a financial advisory called Venture Egg, who convinced him to roll his nest egg from ANZ to a fund called Austrac. He said the fund convinced him his super would increase to $1m by the time he retired, likening the process to 'someone selling you cars … just relentless, relentless people'. However, after he shifted his money over to the fund and checking his balance, he discovered his withdrawals had been frozen. He later learned the withdrawals from his super had been frozen since May 2024. 'When I got that email (from Austrac advising the superannuation money had been frozen), my stomach dropped — I just had this sick feeling,' he told the outlet. He learned his funds were not being reinvested to increase his super, but instead sent to a 'cash hub' which was controlled by directors of First Guardian Master Fund, which he had never heard of before. The superannuation fund collapsed earlier this year. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar Credit: NCA NewsWire The company collapsed earlier this year, with 6000 customers investing $590m into the fund before its demise. Corporate watchdog Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) confirmed it was launching an investigation into the company. Falcon Capital Limited is responsible for the filed superannuation fund, with ASIC investigating its former managing director David Anderson, who allegedly funnelled funds from superannuation members into his failed property developments and craft breweries. It's alleged Mr Anderson also poured the investor's savings into celebrity chef Scott Pickett's restaurant empire, of which he was an investor, ABC reports. Mr Anderson's assets have been frozen and his passports seized as the Federal Court appointed liquidators to Falcon Capital and investigators continue to sort through financial records. ABC reports Mr Anderson allegedly moved $274m into offshore companies after he was alerted about the corporate watchdog's probe. ASIC warned the money would be hard to recover. The watchdog alleges Mr Anderson received $5.6m 'without any legitimate basis'. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia The watchdog alleges $5.6m was deposited into Mr Anderson's ANZ account between June 202 and September last year 'without any legitimate basis for payments in that amount being apparent to ASIC or disclosed to investors'. ASIC also alleges Mr Anderson used $16,000 to make mortgage payments on his $9m home overlooking the Yarra River. Documents obtained by ABC revealed ASIC 'alleges that Falcon and its directors and officers may have failed to act in the best interests of members'. 'Falcon appears to continue to redeploy the limited funds it has received to illiquid investments, despite representations made to investors that it would fulfil redemption requests and reopen the First Guardian Master Fund for investment once the cash receivables are received,' the report read. The allegations suggest Falcon may have misled its investors about the safety of their money after the suspension of applications and withdrawals in May 2024. However, Mr Anderson's legal representative, Dan Mackay of Mackay Chapman, told the ABC 'there have been no findings of fact or law by any court or tribunal, nor by ASIC'. 'Mr Anderson will fully exercise his rights in response to allegations which may be made against him at the appropriate time in the appropriate forum,' he said. ASIC investigators said in the 'best-case scenario', $81m would be unaccounted for, but confessed money loaned to international businesses may never be recovered. ASIC has accused others of allegedly receiving money for marketing services. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia ASIC is also investigating Ferras Merhi, a Melbourne-based financial adviser and former VFL: ruckman who controlled Venture Egg Financial Services and allegedly encouraged thousands of clients to move their funds into First Guardian Fund and Shield Master Fund. The Federal Court has since frozen some of Mr Merhi's assets and is allegedly linked to 2,440 clients who invested $179m into First Guardian. It's alleged Mr Merhi was paid $19m from First Guardian to market the fund, according to court documents.
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
6,000 Australians set to lose super savings
The collapse of the $590 million investment fund, First Guardian Master Fund, has wiped out the superannuation savings of about 6,000 Australians.
