The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned former United Global Capital (UGC) adviser Milutin Petrovic for six years for his role in providing advice to clients to establish self-managed super funds (SMSF) and investing in the Global Capital Property Fund Limited (GCPF), which is now in liquidation.
Petrovic has been banned 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 he failed key advice obligations when recommending clients to invest their retirement savings into financial products related to his licensee, UGC.
The regulator found that 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 their superannuation investment.
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.
- Gave defective statements of advice.
ASIC also found that by purporting to limit the advice in the manner he did, 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.
Petrovic has applied to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) for a review of ASIC’s decision. He had also applied for stay and confidentiality orders and that application has been withdrawn.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.
On 3 June 2024, ASIC banned UGC’s director and key person/responsible manager Joel Hewish for 10 years and cancelled UGC’s Australian Financial Services Licence. Hewish sought a review of ASIC’s decision to ban him in the ART. On 4 August 2025, the tribunal upheld ASIC’s decision to ban Hewish for 10 years. He may seek to appeal that decision.
On 20 June 2024, ASIC obtained interim orders from the Federal Court freezing the assets of UGC and GCPF.
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.
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.
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.
