Senate questions APRA's role in Shield, FGMF

APRA's role as prudential regulator in the wake of the First Guardian Master Fund and Shield Master Fund collapses came under the spotlight at a recent parliamentary hearing.

- Karren Vergara

APRA chair John Lonsdale told the Senate Economics Legislation Committee that “trustees are the only part of the chain of involvement in the Shield and First Guardian situation that APRA has the power to regulate.”

“To be clear, APRA does not regulate and could not have regulated Shield and First Guardian, which were managed investment schemes subject to regulation by ASIC,” he said.

“APRA oversees around 56 superannuation trustees who collectively have 81 superannuation funds. Combined, they have over $3 trillion in APRA-regulated assets ($417 billion via platforms). This covers more than 23 million member accounts across 901 products with almost 27,000 investment options across the industry.”