ASIC seeks to appoint receivers to MIS with $160m in retail investments

On Monday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that it had applied to the Federal Court, seeking asset preservation orders and the appointment of receivers to Australian Fiduciaries Ltd and numerous related entities.

ASIC said its application seeks to “preserve the assets of the scheme and obtain a clearer picture of the financial position of Australian Fiduciaries and its schemes while ASIC continues its investigation”.

“ASIC understands that around 600 Australian retail investors have invested approximately $160 million into managed investment schemes offered by Australian Fiduciaries since February 2020, predominantly through their self-managed super funds (SMSFs). Australian Fiduciaries ceased distributing units in the schemes in September 2023,” ASIC said.

The regulator added that Australian Fiduciaries has failed to lodge audited financial statements or audited compliance plan reports for its registered managed investment schemes for FY2024 or the first half of FY2025.

It has also failed to keep investors updated on the status of their investments since May 2024, according to ASIC.

ASIC is investigating concerns around:

• inadequate management of conflicts of interest;
• the ways investors were sold units in the schemes and how their funds were ultimately invested into a complex group of entities controlled by related parties;
• suspected failure by Australian Fiduciaries to conduct regular valuations of its schemes; and
• loss of value in the underlying assets.

The regulator said investors can find a full list of the entities ASIC is seeking orders against on the Australian Fiduciaries webpage on ASIC’s website.

The Federal Court has not yet set a date for the matter to be heard.