ASIC has banned Milutin Petrovic for six years from providing financial services, controlling (whether alone or in concert with one or more other entities) an entity that carries on a financial services business and performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business.
ASIC found that Mr. Petrovic failed key advice obligations when recommending clients to invest their retirement savings into financial products related to his licensee, United Global Capital Pty Ltd (UGC).
Mr. Petrovic provided advice to his clients which involved setting up a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) and then investing a significant portion of their retirement savings in the Global Capital Property Fund Limited (GCPF), a related property investment company now in liquidation.
ASIC found that Mr. Petrovic asserted to clients that he was only providing limited advice as they sought 'execution only advice', despite telling clients he was required to act in their best interests and providing comparisons to the client regarding their individual existing superannuation fund/s and the recommended SMSF and GCPF investment. The comparison included demonstrating to clients that they would be so many dollars better off by switching superannuation investment.
Mr. Petrovic was found to have:
- not acted in his clients' best interests
- not provided advice that was appropriate
- not prioritised his clients' interests ahead of UGC, his licensee's, interests
- made statements that were likely to be misleading, and
- gave defective Statements of Advice.
ASIC also found that by purporting to limit the advice in the manner he did, Mr. Petrovic provided clients with Statements of Advice that were defective and therefore engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct regarding acting in clients' best interests and estimates of future return representations of GCPF.
Mr Petrovic has applied to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision. Mr Petrovic had also applied for stay and confidentiality orders and that application has been withdrawn. The substantive review application was heard on 30 June and 1 and 2 July 2025. The decision has been reserved.
The banning took effect from 15 January 2025, was stayed on an interim basis on 28 February 2025, and resumed on 26 March 2025 when that stay was dissolved.
UGC clients should consider seeking independent advice (with no connection to UGC) in relation to their own circumstances.
ASIC has issued warnings to consumers to be wary of high pressure sales tactics and online advertisements to lure consumers into receiving inappropriate superannuation switching advice (25-120MR).
Background
On 3 June 2024, ASIC banned UGC's director and key person/responsible manager Joel Hewish for ten years and cancelled UGC's Australian financial services licence. Mr Hewish sought a review of ASIC's decision to ban him in the Administrative Review Tribunal. On 4 August 2025, the Administrative Review Tribunal upheld ASIC's decision to ban Mr Hewish for ten years. Mr Hewish may seek to appeal that decision (25-160MR).
On 20 June 2024, ASIC obtained interim orders from the Federal Court freezing the assets of UGC and GCPF (24-135MR).
On 5 July 2024, UGC entered into voluntary administration and on 9 August 2024 UGC's creditors resolved to wind-up the company and appoint David Stimpson of SV Partners as liquidator. The United Global Capital Pty Ltd (in liquidation) page contains information on this matter.
On 9 September 2024, ASIC applied to appoint provisional liquidators and to wind-up GCPF. On 3 October 2024, the Federal Court made orders to wind-up GCPF and appoint Ross Blakely and Kelly-Anne Trenfield of FTI Consulting as liquidators (24-221MR).
UGC operated as an Australian financial services business based in Melbourne which has held AFS licence no. 496179 since 18 August 2017.
Mr Hewish became a director of UGC on 8 November 2011 and had been the key person on the licence since 18 August 2017.
Mr Hewish was an authorised representative of UGC from 21 August 2017 to 26 July 2024.
ASIC made interim stop orders on 5 and 21 July 2022 (respectively), preventing the offer of shares under GCPF's prospectus as well as further interim stop orders on 29 August and 13 September 2022 (respectively) preventing the issue of shares due to a deficient target market determination (23-002MR).
