Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) unit Macquarie Investment Management Limited (MIML) contravened the Corporations Act by failing to place the Shield Master Fund on a watch list for heightened monitoring, the Federal Court has found.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said Justice Michael Wheelahan made declarations that MIML should have placed the Shield investment options on a watch list so that they could be subject to further monitoring, such as additional reporting, due diligence, performance monitoring or other follow-up action.
ASIC launched legal action against MIML after accepting a court-enforceable undertaking that it pay 3,000-plus members all they invested in Shield, less any amounts withdrawn, with about $321 million paid in September last year.
The collapse of Shield and the First Guardian Master Fund cost more than investors more than $1 billion.
Deputy Chair Sarah Court said the outcome was another important milestone in ASIC’s 2026 enforcement priority related to the collapse of Shield.
“Superannuation trustees play a crucial role safeguarding the retirement savings of their members,” Court said in a media release.
“Australians expect super trustees to take the steps necessary to monitor funds available on their platforms.
“In this case, those steps could and should have triggered closer scrutiny of these investments.
‘Following ASIC’s investigation, Macquarie paid members quickly, providing them certainty by returning them to the position they were in before their retirement savings were eroded.
"Today’s declarations reinforce that trustees must put members first and take active steps to identify and respond to risks."
Justice Wheelahan said the declarations sought were appropriate because “they inform the public of the harm arising from Macquarie’s contravening conduct, and they deter other corporations from contravening the Corporations Act”.
ASIC did not seek a pecuniary penalty against MIML due to the exceptional circumstances of the case, including the payments made to investors.
ASIC said it continued to investigate misconduct relating to the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds to hold those involved to account.
