AFCA – Steps to Take

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AFCA – First Guardian Master Fund

Dates to ensure your AFCA Complaint is Submitted for Insolvent Licencees

Each column represents the Licencee in Bold whom you are to lodge an AFCA complaint against – Listed are the Financial Advisers who worked under the Licencee; you can mention them in your complaint.

Extended – No END Date

United Global Capital Pty Ltd

AFCA Member No: 40334

Australian Funds Management Group Pty Ltd

Cangro Wealth Group Pty Ltd

Empire Wealth Group Australia Pty Ltd

Funds United Pty Ltd

Global Capital Property Fund Limited

IComplySMSF Pty Ltd

IPro Wealth Pty Ltd

Kinetic Investments Australian Pty Ltd

UGC Asset Management Pty Ltd

UGC Funds Managements Pty Ltd

UGC Global Alpha Fund Limited

Extended – No END Date

Next Generation Advice Pty Ltd.

AFCA Member No: 12450

Integral Advisory Solutions Pty Ltd

Integral Wealth Group Pty Ltd

Wealth Rite Advisory Group Wealth Rite Pty Ltd

 

Extended – No END Date

Financial Services Group Australia Pty Ltd

AFCA Member No: 10327

5 Point Australia Pty Ltd

AS Financial Planning Pty Ltd

Rebellis Financial Services Pty Ltd

STC Financial Pty Ltd

Extended – No END Date

MWL Financial Services Pty Ltd.

AFCA Member No: 11054

National Eqty Partners Pty Ltd

Tartek Australia Pty Ltd

Awaiting AFCA Reinstatement

APT Strategies

Australian Fiduciaries Limited

No end date as Solvent

Interprac Financial Planning Pty Ltd

AFCA Member No: 10416

Rhys Reilly Pty Ltd

United Financial Advice Pty Ltd (Venture Egg)

Australian Fiduciaries Limited – Complaints to be filed against ‘APT Strategies‘

What Happened – APT Strategy / Australian Fiduciaries

Australian Fiduciaries Limited (AFL) operated managed investment schemes that attracted around 600 investors and approximately $160 million, many through self-managed super funds. Personal financial advice to invest in these schemes was largely provided by APT Strategy Pty Ltd (through Compare Your Super as its authorised representative). After both companies entered liquidation, many investors were left unable to recover their retirement savings.

A major issue arose because APT Strategy was deregistered, preventing many investors from accessing AFCA and the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR). Through Conversations between Melinda Kee and FD Legal’s Principal Callun Blurton, the issue was scheduled at the top of the agenda for the next meeting – December 14th, 2025, 2.30 pm – between SOS Save Our Super, ASIC & AFCA

Q.1 – Re-registration of APT Strategies

I have been approached by investors who have claims against former financial services licensee APT Strategies. Can the membership of APT Strategies be reactivated? I am now aware of investors who invested in managed funds that were under the umbrella of a company called the Australian Fiduciaries Limited. What I understand happened is similar to the First Guardian/Shield matters, where a representative of APT Strategies cold-called investors, recommended SMSF’s and then recommended people invest in managed funds within Australian Fiduciaries Limited. APT Strategies AFCA Membership ceased in May 2025; however, Australian Fiduciaries didn’t go into liquidation until 4 July 2025. There is a strong concern a similar situation now faces investors in Australian Fiduciaries, which was going to face UGC First Guardian investors. They have a valid complaint to pursue, but the date they could have been aware of an AFCA claim only arose after APT Strategies ceased to be a member. Can you please provide an update on this, and will you consider re-opening AFCA Complaints as was done with UGC?

A.1 – AFCA and ASIC said complaints cannot proceed while APT Strategies is deregistered. ASIC confirmed it has no power to administratively reinstate the company because the deregistration was lawful, not an error. The only pathway is court-ordered reinstatement, which must be brought by an affected investor (often with legal assistance). If reinstated, AFCA said it would then be a board decision whether to accept membership, with a general inclination to allow claims where possible. They also clarified this is not comparable to UGC, as UGC was never deregistered, and the 12-month PI “tail” does not apply where the company no longer exists.

FD Legal provided its pro bono service to prepare all court documents and represent the victims of APT Strategies, whilst SOS raised the court filing fee via their GoFundMe page. In July 2026, the Supreme Court ordered APT Strategies to be re-registered, allowing its liquidators to apply to restore AFCA membership and potentially reopen a pathway for eligible investors to pursue compensation.

Updates to Follow – Members of Australian Fiduciaries Limited can use the steps below to file an AFCA complaint.

FILLING AN AFCA COMPLAINT  – WHAT DO I DO NOW? 

Step One – Get Organised:

Gather all the information you can – understanding you might not have everything, SEARCH YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT for: Statement of Advice (SOA), Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Facts File, Records of Advice and all the communication you received from Telemarketers, Financial Advisors and Super Funds (Platforms/Trustees).
Get all the facts from your Super fund, transaction reports, portfolio reports and information from your old Super Fund
Preparing your Complaint Letter:

    • Your super statements before/after

    • What remedy are you seeking? You need to detail what you expect to get back – dollar figures. AFCA uses a “but for” calculation, meaning where would you be today financially but for the bad advice you received 3 years ago

    • Complaint is in your name or your SMSF

    • Date and nature of the advice, and why the advice was defective

    • How it resulted in loss or harm to your superannuation

    • That you are seeking compensation via professional indemnity insurance

    • A timeline of events

    • Any supporting documents

    • Statement of Advice (SOA)

    • Product Disclosure Statements (PDS)

    • Emails, call notes, application forms – Create a timeline document.

Step Two

Preparing a template:
If not using the services of a legal professional or Financial advisor. take your SOA & PDS and upload it into ChatGPT or Manus and ask it….. (type the below with your uploaded SOA and PDS if you have them.) If you have someone’s determination that is of a similar circumstance to your own. You can add that too.
^^^^Please read my SOA & PDS and look for inconsistencies and conflicts of Interest to form a strong AFCA Complaint- Then write a complaint letter to AFCA outlining the conflicts of interest and the areas where they have not acted in my best interest – This is for an AFCA Complaint against the Licencee who’s advisor invested my superannuation into (select one – First Guardian Master /Shield Master Fund or Australian Fiduciers Limited), which is now in liquidation. For my compensation of the ‘but for’, please calculate growth at 8% from the date of investment up until today’s date; also add a claim for $5,500 for pain and suffering.^^^^
That will help you form a template and outline of your complaint. Read over it. Check your SOA and make adjustments if needed.

Step Three

Lodge your complaint with your Licencee/ adviser:
The first port of call to complain to is the adviser, or their dealer group. They have 30 days to respond. If they haven’t
responded, or you’re not happy with the response, you can lodge your complaint with AFCA. https://www.afca.org.au/make-a-complaint

SELF MANAGED SUPER FUNDS,

AFCA Complaint → AFCA Determination → Lodge/maintain Proof of Debt with the Liquidator → If unpaid, apply to the CSLR (if eligible).
United Global Capital (AGC) – Contact SV Partners to lodge a proof of debt. They are the
liquidators. Contact Person: Olivia McMahon Email: ugc@svp.com.au Phone: (07) 3310 2024 Address: 22 Market
Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000

AFCA Complaint → AFCA Determination → Lodge/maintain Proof of Debt with the Liquidator → If unpaid, apply to the CSLR (if eligible).
APT Strategies – Contact SV Partners to lodge a proof of debt. They are the
liquidators. Contact Person: Mattew Hudson Email: australianfiduciaries@svp.com.au Phone: (07) 3310 2013 Address: 22 Market
Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000 Creditor Information Portal: SV Partners – Australian Fiduciaries Limited Group Creditor Portal

The Proof of Debt does not replace the AFCA complaint; they are separate processes that run alongside each other. The Proof of Debt preserves the investor’s rights in the liquidation, while the AFCA determination is what may ultimately unlock access to the CSLR.

Step Four

Lodge your complaint with AFCA: AFCA can investigate and pursue compensation from the adviser’s insurer.

    • Against the Licencee whose financial adviser gave you advice that resulted in your superannuation loss (not the actual advisor)

    • If applicable, include – The adviser failing to act in your best interest, where you were misled and most importantly, are there any conflicts of interest for your adviser or their related entities?

    • Your super was misused or misdirected (e.g., invested in schemes you didn’t understand or consent to)

    • If the adviser or their firm is now in liquidation, but may have PI insurance (public indemnity)
      Lodge the Complaint
      Online:
      Select “Financial Advice/Financial Complaint” (not superannuation) as the category if it was the advice that led
      to the super loss.
      By Phone:
      AFCA: 1800 931 678 (Free call)
      By Email:
      info@afca.org.au
      By Post:
      AFCA GPO Box 3 Melbourne VIC 3001

Step Five

Next Step with AFCA

    • Review if the adviser/company was an AFCA member

    • Advise the AFCA member of the complaint (giving them 30 days to respond)

    • Confirm the conduct falls under AFCA’s jurisdiction

    • Contact the PI insurer if the entity is insolvent

    • Determine whether compensation is payable under the insurance

    • Issue a binding decision if the complaint is upheld

If you are feeling completely overwhelmed by this process, Dylan Greenway of Financial Complaint Services offers a
professional service, no-win, no-fee, with a very low capped % for successful complaints. Callun Blurton of Financial Disputes Legal is also handling many AFCA Complaints for all the above funds.
Your Admins of this Group Are:
Melinda Kee
Your Group Moderators are Danielle Adams, Peter Spencer Franks & Natalia Smith
Your Group Experts are Dylan Greenway & Sarah Nulty
Driving our media exposure is Melinda Kee
If you have a strong knowledge of the collapse of First Guardian Master Fund & Shield Fund, and feel you can assist in
the above categories, please contact Melinda Kee. As this group grows, we require more assistance to support all.
Any ideas and support in reaching all victims of this disaster are greatly appreciated! When in many, we will have more impact in fighting the government for support and reform.

Kind Regards
Melinda Kee
SOS Save Our Super!

HOW TO FILE AN AFCA COMPLAINT

AFCA PROCESS – CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Click the link above to download a presentation on filing an AFCA Complaint.

This complaint process has been prepared by Dylan Greenway for the sole purpose of giving you the tools needed to successfully complete the process on your own. Noting that AFCA is a free service, if you are struggling and would like Dylan to act on your behalf, please contact Dylan directly via the Facebook Group.

Dylan Greenway is a licensed financial adviser and the owner of Financial Complaints Services. He also serves as a group adviser in the Facebook community

FIRST GUARDIAN/ SHIELD/ AFL SUPERANNUATION DISCUSSION

Choose a suitable template that reflects your situation

Template / Licencee

Please use this form to complain against the Licencee

Template / Trustee

Please use this form to complain against the Trustee