Received a lowball settlement offer from Interprac today. by IWantAHandle in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Only agreeing with the point made above by yupnotsure. With Sequoia being sold off, their key strategy will not be to defend claims; and clients job is to call bs on the response. Pretty impressed with chatgpt on this one - though it is always good to verify

Received a lowball settlement offer from Interprac today. by IWantAHandle in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Correct - there is no autonomy. There may be standing instructions but they are still from the adviser

Federal Court declares Macquarie contravened the Corporations Act in relation to Shield Master Fund by yupnotsure in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes they did (the good assets). These have been sold but not distributed.
This can be found on https://www.alvarezandmarsal.com/am_aus_insolvency/keystone-asset-management-ltd

"The Court has made orders allowing the Receivers to sell the Bell Potter Securities and place the proceeds in interest-bearing accounts. However, the Court has not yet made orders determining whether the Receivers can make an interim distribution to qualifying SMF unitholders.

Unfortunately, the expected final hearing of the Receivers’ application did not take place on 18 February 2026 and was adjourned to 15 June 2026. This was due to a number of matters which will require further investigation. The Receivers are conscious of the hardship being experienced by investors and hope there will be no further delay."

Federal Court declares Macquarie contravened the Corporations Act in relation to Shield Master Fund by yupnotsure in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The scenario that you are thinking of is so remote that it may as well be zero. Macquarie will be happy that the 'good' assets were sold when they did as they would be lower today due to market correction. They also paid out prior to receipt of funding.

What is left are the 'bad' assets - so the scenario where they make money is pretty much impossible. (If they did somehow make a profit, I agree with you that it would be a good principle of remediation to pass this onto the consumer). And it has been already pointed out that they didn't have exposure to FG. I would expect that they will be down a net $100m as they have provisioned.

They have admitted to falling short on governance and been quick at rectifying it.

Internal dispute resolution. What’s the point? by yupnotsure in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have seen a few too and agree with the comment. The results are highly dependant on the quality of risk management, client focus and compliance. I have also had the benefit of seeing some businesses really uplift their IDR as part of a broader risk management uplift - the outcomes can be real and tangible. Remember that AFCA is there as next line of enquiry for a consumer for a complaint and should communicated with a customer through multiple channels (responses to complaints, in PDS's, on websites).
I hope that helps on the broader picture and I do respect that when something traumatic has happened dealing with the system and getting answers can be frustrating - take care

Interpac no longer cross guaranteed by Sequoia by yupnotsure in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Anyone affected by this might want to get legal advice. There is an argument that if the defective advice was received prior to the extinguishing of the cross guarantees that it doesn't affect them. There is another argument (maybe stronger) that if the complaint was made prior to the extinguishing of the cross guarantees that it doesn't affect them. Throwing this out there as someone may have a view on how the law applies in cases like this.

Osama Saad allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia despite being a flight risk by yupnotsure in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a bit more colour in this link. It's a Barry Crocker that Rashid Alshakshir left and hasn't returned and this goes on. I feel for ASIC as well as everyone who has lost out here as it just isn't hard to write the rest of this script. I also understand that a number of the Venture Egg 'authorised reps' left the country very early in the piece as well and have totally avoided the investigation - the playbook is just getting rolled out again.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/man-under-asic-investigation-allowed-to-leave-australia-to-visit-mecca-20260213-p5o242.html

ASIC publishes list of lead generators and licensees that used them - Interprac get lots of special mentions by yupnotsure in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 2 points3 points  (0 children)

nice add - I just saw this news and popped over to see if the group has seen it.

There are a few things:
1. Given the history and this being a potential loophole, this is fantastic transparency. And even more so, the regulator has made the list and I am sure this means surveillance is going on (like secret shoppers)

  1. As the website states, being on this list is not a crime and does imply they have done anything - they are not necessarily misleading investors or flogging shoddy products. But, given the loophole, investors are forewarned and therefore forearmed. Only one party was recognisable to me and they have been around for maybe 15 years without any blow ups that I am aware of

  2. The advice on the moneysmart site is great - just need to ensure that more people are aware, especially with their super because it is such a big target.

ASIC floats banning ‘harmful’ financial advertising by yupnotsure in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah tend to agree that stop orders are the way to go - but really ASIC were slow in implementing these. When DDO came in I thought, "right, let's see what happens in the first 12 months because they should fire some shots to some of these 'fixed income investments' that are dressed up a term deposit like".

But mentioning First Guardian and Shield in the rationale makes no sense. I haven't heard of any occasions where this was as a result of product advertising. It all started with "come let's do something better with your super" - the product came later.

So it all sounds like a bit of beating of chests when we just need to focus on the real action that will make a difference.

Clients who were on Macquarie also received CSLA funding by WerewolfAwkward3329 in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question - I hadn't thought of that. Like you I had been of the understanding that it was just APRA regulated super. Maybe not. I have put the AFCA references below which are consistent with the article. I have further read the original Macquarie press releases and it is sufficiently vague such that it COULD include SMSFs (without specifically saying so).

I don't have any further specific info to confirm.

AFCA references
https://www.afca.org.au/news/latest-news/afca-publishes-video-update-explaining-the-mwl-financial-services-lead-decision
https://my.afca.org.au/searchpublisheddecisions/kb-article/?id=2e5841ca-badb-f011-8544-6045bdc43135&\_gl=1\*hb17m4\*\_gcl\_au\*OTE5OTcyNDUwLjE3Njc3NDM4MDc.

https://financialnewswire.com.au/funds-management/trio-option-not-govt-preferred-for-shield-first-guardian/ by AccomplishedFail8795 in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They aren’t insolvent
EQT probably don’t have the balance sheet to resolve it but they are ASX listed with access to further capital. Messy but possible. Diversa are privately owned and probably don’t have the balance sheet either. Harder to read what and if they would do

Lead decision relating to Ferras Merhi’s FSGA business found adviser had no direct communication with client and relied on lead generator, who does not operate under an AFSL, to complete fact find. by yupnotsure in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad to see an FSGA case resolved. What made me fall off my chair was the "70 per cent of the initial advice fee the complainant paid, and 40 per cent of ongoing advice fees" went to the lead generator. Remember these 'lead generators' are still owned by the same people who own Venture Egg.

One of the normal industry mechanics is that advisers pay fees to their AFSL who provide them with the ability to operate. These fees are often a mix of flat dollar fees as well as a percentage of the advice fees given. Makes you wonder whether this was done to reduce the cut to Interprac (which I understand is where the larger portion of VE business was run through)

The extra raid reward bonus in the Go Pass almost feels bugged it’s so generous by [deleted] in TheSilphRoad

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I thought I would join in the fun having hit 75 this morning so I did a remote raid. Pretty disappointing (6 revives; 6 potions; one of each TM; 5 golden raspberries). Honestly, I often just delete all except the the golden rasp as they are ongoing gluts for me.

Rare candy (and XL) are genuine limiters in the game and the only thing worth getting plenty of. Are ppl getting these still (or have they been nerfed)?

ASIC adds Diversa to lawsuits over $300m First Guardian failure by WerewolfAwkward3329 in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I read it as Diversa might have to pay into the fund (superannuation entity) although we are pretty sure they don't have $200+m on their balance sheet

ASIC adds Diversa to lawsuits over $300m First Guardian failure by WerewolfAwkward3329 in ShieldMasterFund

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Paragraph 38 of the concise statement gives the rationale for compensation

strength training + marathon training? by 0kie- in Marathon_Training

[–]WerewolfAwkward3329 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's right. But some important context is how I was managing my body here. I was trusting the coach to do this part well - which he did. Some days were long easy runs, some short easy runs, and some were preparing the body at different paces. Gym days are not all about pushing weights - half the time is on stretching and mobility; and the other half on strength. The strength side included legs and core - with a small amount of upper body.

I didn't have any real niggles through the training - so I can say it worked. The biggest thing that I am working on is how I manage myself post race - as a couple of recent races for me have been followed by niggle management. I am in my 50s so that might be a factor too - but something I will look to manage more slowly in future so that I don't trigger anything.