A Melbourne-based financial adviser who was involved in promoting the Shield Master Fund to clients as well as speculative investments tied to an advice firm director has been banned for seven years.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) stated Louis Van Coppenhagen will be unable to provide financial services, control an entity carrying on a financial services business or perform any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business for that period due to his actions while acting as an authorised representative of United Global Capital Pty Ltd (UGC) and MWL Financial Services Pty Ltd (MWL).
Van Coppenhagen was previously authorised by UGC from April 2018 to July 2021 and ASIC found during that time he was a key part in implementing a template Advice Proposal Document service model.
Additionally, the regulator found UGC and its representatives gave conflicted personal advice to clients, specifically to establish an SMSF and invest in the Global Capital Property Fund Limited, which was a highly speculative investment related to UGC director Joel Hewish.
ASIC has since cancelled UGC’s licence for providing conflicted personal advice and banned Hewish for 10 years.
Van Coppenhagen, operating under the MWL licence from 7 August 2022 to June 2023, was found to have given inappropriate advice to clients which was not in their best interests, specifically to invest most of their superannuation into the ‘High Growth’ or ‘Growth’ class of Shield, both high risk investments.
In August 2025, ASIC cancelled MWL’s Australian Financial Services licence and banned one of MWL’s directors and its responsible manager.
In banning Van Coppenhagen ASIC stated it had reason to believe he was not a fit and proper person, was not competent and was likely to contravene a financial services law.
The banning order took effect from 16 December 2025 and has been recorded on ASIC’s Banned and Disqualified Register.
Van Coppenhagen has the right to review the decision in the Administrative Review Tribunal.
