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 advising them to switch their superannuation and invest in high-risk products tied to the collapsed Shield and First Guardian schemes.
The corporate regulator said Monte Silva, while an authorised representative of Financial Services Group Australia Pty Ltd (in liquidation) (FSGA), provided advice to five clients between July and August 2023 to switch super funds and invest in specific managed investment schemes, including the Shield Master Fund and the First Guardian Master Fund.
Monte Silva was an authorised representative of FSGA from 24 May 2023 to 10 March 2025 while employed as a financial adviser at AS Financial Planning Pty Ltd.
According to ASIC, the advice involved clients rolling over their entire superannuation savings into one or more high-risk products.
In its review, ASIC found an adviser of Monte Silva’s experience should have recognised he was not acting in clients’ best interests when providing Statements of Advice containing “material misleading information”, including documents issued in his own name or another adviser’s name.
The regulator said those circumstances were particularly concerning because the fact find had been completed by an unlicensed third-party referrer, the Statement of Advice had been prepared by a paraplanner, and Monte Silva was meeting the client for the first time during a phone call involving the client and the third-party referrer.
ASIC said: “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).”
The banning order took effect from 11 December 2025, although ASIC published details of the action on 10 April 2026.
Monte Silva has applied to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) to review ASIC’s decision. ASIC said he had also lodged a stay and confidentiality application, but the stay application had since been withdrawn and the confidentiality application dismissed.
The latest enforcement action adds to the growing fallout from the collapses of Shield and First Guardian, which ASIC said drew in around 11,800 investors, including people’s superannuation retirement savings.
“In many cases, this happened after people were contacted by lead generators and referred to financial advisers,” ASIC said.
“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 regulator also pointed affected consumers towards the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, noting FSGA remains a member of AFCA despite being in liquidation.
ASIC said previous complaint deadlines no longer apply for now, but urged anyone intending to lodge a complaint about advice received from FSGA to do so as soon as possible.
AFCA has published a webpage specifically related to FSGA in liquidation, while separate information is also available for consumers impacted by the collapse of Shield and First Guardian, including guidance on preparing complaints and the documents that may be needed.
ASIC also highlighted takeyoursuperback.com, a dedicated support website for Shield and First Guardian investors operated by Super Consumers Australia.
The regulator said it funded Super Consumers Australia to develop the website and help people who invested in Shield understand their options.
