Former financial adviser Shane Monte Silva has been banned from the financial services industry for five years after ASIC found he failed to act in certain clients' best interests when recommending they switch their superannuation funds to invest in schemes including the Shield Master Fund (Shield) and the First Guardian Master Fund (First Guardian).
Between July and August 2023, while an authorised representative of Financial Services Group Australia Pty Ltd (in liquidation) (FSGA), Mr Monte Silva provided advice to five clients to switch superannuation funds and invest in specific managed investment schemes, including Shield and First Guardian.
In a review of the advice provided by Mr Monte Silva, ASIC found that an adviser of his experience should have been aware that he was not acting in the client's best interests by providing them with a Statement of Advice (SOA) in his or another adviser's name, containing material misleading information, that recommended they roll over their entire superannuation savings into one or more high risk products, particularly in circumstances where the fact find had been carried out by an unlicensed third party referrer, where the SOA had been prepared by a paraplanner, and where he was only meeting the client for the first time during a phone call between the client and third party referrer.
The banning order took effect from 11 December 2025.
Mr Monte Silva has made an application to the Administrative Review Tribunal to review ASIC's decision. Mr Monte Silva had also brought a stay and confidentiality application and the stay application has been withdrawn and the confidentiality application dismissed.
Actions to consider if you are a client of FSGA (in liquidation)
If you are a client of FSGA 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.
FSGA remains a member of AFCA. Previous complaint deadlines no longer apply for now, but if you intend to lodge a complaint with AFCA in relation to advice received from FSGA it is still important to lodge a complaint with AFCA as soon as possible.
AFCA has published a page on its website in relation to FSGA (in liquidation). 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.
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.
Background
Mr Monte Silva was an authorised representative of FSGA (in liquidation) from 24 May 2023 to 10 March 2025 whilst employed as a financial adviser at AS Financial Planning Pty Ltd.
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.
The banning has been recorded on ASIC's publicly available Financial Advisers Register and the Banned and Disqualified register. ASIC's Moneysmart website has useful information for consumers whose advisers have been banned (see: Problems with a financial adviser).
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.
