ASIC has banned former financial adviser Rhys James Rolls Reilly from providing financial services for 10 years and has suspended the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of Conexus Group Pty Ltd (Conexus) until 31 July 2026.
ASIC found that Mr Reilly engaged in serious misconduct, including accepting conflicted remuneration, making false or misleading statements to clients, failing to act in clients' best interests, and prioritising his own interests over those of clients.
ASIC also found that Mr Reilly was not a fit and proper person, was not competent to provide financial services, and was likely to contravene financial services laws in the future.
As a result, ASIC made a banning order prohibiting Mr Reilly for a period of 10 years from providing any financial services, controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business and performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business.
The misconduct primarily related to advice recommending investments in the First Guardian Master Fund (First Guardian), including advice to roll over significant superannuation balances into this product. ASIC found that Mr Reilly failed to properly investigate the suitability of this investment for certain clients and exposed certain clients to unacceptable levels of risk.
ASIC found that Mr Reilly accepted $100,000 in payments that constituted conflicted remuneration and failed to disclose those payments to clients, while recommending that clients invest most, or all, of their superannuation into First Guardian. ASIC also found that Mr Reilly made false or misleading representations in certain Statements of Advice by stating that no benefits capable of influencing his advice had been received, when that was not the case.
ASIC also found that Mr Reilly was not a fit and proper person and failed to oversee financial advisers operating under Reilly Financial's authorisation who were advising clients to invest in the Shield Master Fund (Shield) and First Guardian.
ASIC has also suspended the AFS licence of Conexus.
At the time of ASIC's decision, Mr Reilly was the sole director and person in control of Conexus. ASIC found that, while Mr Reilly continued to govern and control Conexus, ASIC had reason to believe Conexus was likely to contravene its obligations under section 912A of the Act.
The suspension will remain in place until 31 July 2026 to enable Conexus to sever its relationship with Mr Reilly and to update its license arrangements.
ASIC considered that the banning of Mr Reilly and the suspension of Conexus's licence were necessary to protect consumers, promote confidence in the financial system and deter similar misconduct by others.
The banning order and license suspension took effect from 8 April 2026.
Mr Reilly has the right to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decisions.
ASIC's investigation into Mr Reilly is ongoing.
Actions to consider if you are a client of Interprac
If you are a client of Interprac and have concerns about the conduct of your adviser or the advice you received, you should consider lodging a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA is the external dispute resolution scheme for financial complaints in Australia and must deal with complaints independently and fairly. AFCA's service is free for consumers.
AFCA can be contacted by:
- calling 1800 931 678 for free (9am - 5pm Melbourne time), or
- lodging a complaint online on AFCA's website.
AFCA will consider your complaint if it meets the eligibility criteria.
If you are an investor in Shield or First Guardian, there is a dedicated website to help you access support: Visit takeyoursuperback.com.
This website is operated by Super Consumers Australia, an independent consumer advocacy organisation that is helping people impacted by the collapse of Shield understand what they can do. ASIC funded Super Consumers Australia to develop this website and support people who invested in Shield.
AFCA has dedicated information on its website for consumers impacted by the collapses of Shield and First Guardian. This includes guidance on how to prepare your complaint and examples of documents you may need to support your complaint.
Background
Mr Reilly was an authorised representative of Interprac under the corporate authorised representative of Rhys Reilly Pty Ltd from 29 March 2017 to 20 May 2025. He was also authorised directly by Interprac from 21 May 2025 to 15 August 2025.
Mr Reilly became a Director of Conexus on 5 March 2024 and an authorised representative of Conexus from 5 August 2025.
Around 11,800 people invested their money, including their superannuation retirement savings, into the Shield and First Guardian managed investments. In many cases, this happened after people were contacted by lead generators and referred to financial advisers. These advisers often told investors to roll over their existing superannuation balances into a choice superannuation fund available on a platform or to set up a self-managed super fund (SMSF) to facilitate investment into Shield and First Guardian products.
ASIC's MoneySmart website has useful information for consumers whose advisers have been banned: (see: Problems with a financial adviser).
The banning has been recorded on ASIC's publicly available Financial Advisers Register and the Banned and Disqualified register.
Stay Updated: ASIC will post important updates about the Shield Master Fund and First Guardian Master Fund on its dedicated webpages: Shield Master Fund, First Guardian Master Fund.
More information
- Super switching advice - complying with your obligations (INFO 182) provides general information and compliance tips for financial advisers who provide super switching advice. This information sheet also provides specific examples of inadequate conduct in some of those areas where we frequently encounter compliance issues.
- ASIC has issued a consumer alert warning amid increasing concerns that people are being enticed to invest their retirement savings into complex and risky schemes: 25-120MR Consumer alert - ASIC warns about pushy sales tactics urging people to make quick superannuation switches. Be super smart, visit ASIC's Moneysmart campaign page.
