The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has sought court approval to take action to preserve the assets of a managed investment scheme (MIS) operator that attracted $160 million mainly from SMSF members.
The corporate regulator stated it had applied to the Federal Court seeking asset preservation orders and the appointment of receivers to Australian Fiduciaries Ltd and 30 related entities after the firm failed to lodge mandatory documents.
“Australian Fiduciaries has failed to lodge audited financial statements or audited compliance plan reports for its registered managed investment schemes for the 2024 financial year or the first half of the 2025 financial year. ASIC understands that it has also failed to keep investors updated on the status of their investments since May 2024,” it said.
Australian Fiduciaries is an Australian financial services licensee based in Queensland and is the responsible entity of three registered MISs – the Global Diversified Alpha Fund, Global Multi-Strategy Fund and Global All Seasons Fund.
In making the application, ASIC added it understands around 600 Australian retail investors have invested around $160 million in MISs offered by Australian Fiduciaries since February 2020, predominantly via SMSFs.
“The application seeks to preserve the assets of the scheme and obtain a clearer picture of the financial position of Australian Fiduciaries and its schemes while ASIC continues its investigation,” it said.
“ASIC is investigating concerns around inadequate management of conflicts of interest, the ways investors were sold units in the schemes and how their funds were ultimately invested into a complex group of entities controlled by related parties, the suspected failure by Australian Fiduciaries to conduct regular valuations of its schemes and the loss of value in the underlying assets.”
The application, lodged late last week, will be heard by the court on a date yet to be set.
