A former teacher says she has been left shattered after losing $168,000 from her superannuation in the wake of First Guardian’s collapse.
Ariel Mack, a 48-year-old single mother from Melbourne, is one of thousands of investors affected by the dramatic failure of the fund, which unravelled in 2025.
Ms Mack’s retirement balance reportedly plunged from $173,000 to just $5,000 in a single night, prompting her to question whether three decades in the workforce had amounted to “nothing”.
“I panicked and went through all the emotions. I was really upset, just bawling my eyes out,” she told nine.com.au.
“I couldn’t go to work that day.
“What’s the point of working and getting your super if it’s now all gone? What am I working for?”
Ms Mack had expected to retire in about 20 years and had already left teaching after suffering burnout, but she now fears she may be forced to keep working indefinitely.
Her route into First Guardian mirrors the experience of many other investors who have since been left reeling.
Werribee single mum Ariel Mack (pictured) is among thousands of investors caught up in the spectacular downfall of the fund
The fund attracted investors through superannuation platforms and financial advisers, promising stronger returns and a more comfortable retirement.
Looking to boost her retirement savings, Ms Mack turned to an online comparison website and was soon contacted by a financial adviser who persuaded her to move her super into investment fund AusPrac in October 2023.
‘I was just looking for something that would work better for my money,’ she said.
Wanting to avoid high-risk investments, Ms Mack said she was assured the fund would produce healthy returns within five to 10 years.
She paid thousands in advice fees before her super was rolled into the fund.
ASIC has launched Federal Court action against Diversa Trustees Limited, the trustee for Ausprac, accusing it of failing to protect investors in the troubled First Guardian Master Fund.
The corporate watchdog alleges Diversa breached its duties by failing to warn members about the fund’s illiquidity risks, leaving investors exposed when withdrawals were frozen and the fund later entered liquidation.
ASIC is seeking compensation orders, including the possibility of a remediation program, aimed at recovering losses suffered by investors such as Ms Mack.
First Guardian director David Anderson (pictured) is accused by ASIC of siphoning millions of dollars from the fund into his personal ANZ bank account and transferring money overseas
Diversa has denied wrongdoing and filed a defence in the Federal Court, arguing the losses were caused by alleged fraud and the actions of First Guardian’s trustee, directors, financial advisers and platform operators, while maintaining it acted in members’ best interests at all times.
Managing director Andrew Peterson said it had been a ‘very hard time’ for members caught up in the First Guardian collapse.
‘We are committed to making sure that the fraud committed against them is rectified, and that those responsible for it are held to account,’ he said in a statement.
Mr Peterson said Diversa had also applied to the Federal Government for financial assistance for affected members and believed ‘the case for a grant of financial assistance is compelling’
Save our Super advocate Melinda Kee is among the 12,000 ordinary Australians who lost their retirement savings to the tune of $1.2billion with many now facing destitution in retirement.
‘Regulators, trustees, platforms, and advisers all failed us at every step,’ she said.
‘ASIC is now taking legal action, but any money they recover will go into government revenue, not back to the people who lost everything. That is unfair, and we cannot accept it.’
Ms Kee said there are ‘deep flaws’ in the system meant to protect compulsory superannuation.
Save our Super advocate Melinda Kee (pictured) is among the 12,000 ordinary Australians who lost their retirement savings to the tune of $1.2billion
‘Many investors now find themselves in a position where significant losses have occurred, and avenues for redress are uncertain, with limited options,’ she said.
‘For many affected investors, the point at which they became aware of potential loss, or of the basis for a complaint, arose after the licensee had ceased to exist.
‘Unable to make AFCA complaints, unable to apply to the CSLR. That is not a consumer protection framework. That is a structural gap.’
ASIC is conducting multiple investigations into the fund and its directors and alleges First Guardian director David Anderson, 46, siphoned millions of dollars from the fund into his personal ANZ bank account.
The regulator also alleges Anderson transferred $274million offshore after learning he was under investigation. None of those funds have been recovered.
Before the fund collapsed, he purchased a $9million mansion in Melbourne’s Hawthorn.
Fellow director Simon Selimaj, 63, had a $548,000 Lamborghini Urus registered in his name, which ASIC alleges was bought using money from the fund.
ASIC’s investigations into the fund and its directors are ongoing.
