Most Australians think their super is being quietly looked after by sensible people with neat hair and steady hands. You picture a team in a glass building making smart moves on your behalf.
Let me translate this imagination.
No. Absolutely not.
Behind the scenes there is a lot of money moving around and not all of it is moving toward your retirement. Some of it is moving toward other people’s pockets. Some of it moves even when your balance goes backwards. And sometimes the people selling you the dream are the same people getting paid even when the dream burns down.
Let us walk through one of the more alarming moments in recent years because it shows exactly how the system can get away from you without you even noticing.
The Collapse That Exposed The Truth
In 2024 and 2025 two investment schemes called Shield Master Fund and First Guardian Master Fund blew up. More than 12,000 Australians were caught in the mess and more than $1.2 billion of retirement savings were suddenly at risk.
That is billion with a ‘B’.
Here is what the regulator said and I am quoting this directly:
“Superannuation trustees need to improve the way they protect members from harmful advice charges.”
*ASIC, REP 781 (2024)*
https://download.asic.gov.au/media/5grl32bb/rep781-published-9-may-2024.pdf
Let me translate.
People were being charged for advice that did nothing for them. In some cases it actually hurt them.
ABC News reported that some of the investors were older Australians who trusted the advice they received and are now facing the possibility of getting only a small slice of their money back or maybe nothing at all.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-10/first-guardian-investors-lose-millions-superannuation-liquidator/105512626
Daily Mail Australia called it a grim update for thousands left in the lurch. Liquidators have basically said the recovery may be little to none.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15354367/Grim-update-thousands-Aussies-left-lurch-Guardian-superannuation-company-collapsed.html
This is not bad luck. It is a system problem. And it happens because someone always gets paid on the way in.
Meet Mister X. The bloke you would believe even if he told you he was lying to you.
This is not one person. This is a type of operator that keeps appearing in these stories. For safety I’ll call him Mister X. But you will recognise the pattern.
This is his red flag resume.
WARNING: This is satire but based on publicly reported behaviour.
Name:
Mister X
Industry:
Financial advice
Experience:
Long enough to collect commissions. Short enough to avoid responsibility
Highlights:
Recommends high fee illiquid products that look shiny on the outside and confusing on the inside.
Gets paid marketing fees or commissions regardless of whether the investment ever works for you.
Pushes products that regulators later describe as inappropriate for retirement savings.
Uses pressure tactics. Urgency. Cold calls. Friendly chats that are not really friendly.
Shows confidence that is not backed by any real long term performance history.
Clients lose money. Mister X gets paid.
Reality Check
If this bloke handed you this resume at a job interview you would not let him organise the office tea bags. Yet somehow he ends up influencing the future of people’s retirement.
Let me ask you something.
Would you buy a used pushbike from Mister X
No.
So why would you let someone like him steer your super?
The Real Problem Your Super Makes Other People Richer Before It Makes You Richer
Even when a super fund collapses there are people standing around with their hands out. Advisers. Platform providers. Product issuers. Most of them have already collected their fees long before you realise something has gone wrong.
And this is not just fringe characters.
AustralianSuper was fined $27 million for charging duplicate fees across 48,000 accounts.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/australiansuper-fined-27m-for-charging-duplicate-fees-on-48000-accounts/news-story/6b695e6c8dad33fd69d3087720000f25
Here is another direct quote worth reading slowly:
“Superannuation fees are often complex opaque and can significantly erode retirement balances.”
*Productivity Commission (2019)*
https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/superannuation/assessment/report
Let me translate that.
Your money can disappear into layers of fees so complicated you would need a map, a ladder and a miner’s helmet to follow where it all goes.
The Fee Drain That No One Wants You To Look At
Here is the quiet part no one says out loud.
Fees keep coming out of your account whether your investments are winning or losing.
Platform fees.
Investment fees.
Performance fees.
Switching costs.
Indirect costs.
Transaction spreads.
Advice fees.
Some people lose money while someone else earns a bonus.
If that does not make you angry it should.
Where Super Equity Link Fits Into All of This
Super Equity Link was built because ordinary people were telling the same story again and again. They did not understand their super. They did not trust the system. And they wanted something real and simple and understandable.
We are not about pushing products.
It is not about putting you into anything that hides behind fine print.
It is about one thing.
Helping you own an asset you actually understand so the compounding finally works for you and not for Mister X and his friends.
You can stand in front of a property.
You can see it.
You can understand how it earns income.
There is no mystery.
There is no magic trick.
What You Should Take Away
Your super is profitable for someone.
But unless you take control it may not be profitable for you.
The industry has people who get paid before you do.
Sometimes they get paid even when you lose.
If you would not buy a pushbike from Mister X
Why would you trust him with your future
References
ABC News. (2025). First Guardian investors face losses as liquidators warn of limited recovery.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-10/first-guardian-investors-lose-millions-superannuation-liquidator/105512626
Australian Securities and Investments Commission. (2024). Review of super trustee practices: REP 781.
https://download.asic.gov.au/media/5grl32bb/rep781-published-9-may-2024.pdf
AustralianSuper penalty reporting. (2024). The Australian.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/australiansuper-fined-27m-for-charging-duplicate-fees-on-48000-accounts/news-story/6b695e6c8dad33fd69d3087720000f25
Daily Mail Australia. (2025). Grim update for Aussies left in the lurch as Guardian collapses.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15354367/Grim-update-thousands-Aussies-left-lurch-Guardian-superannuation-company-collapsed.html
Productivity Commission. (2019). Superannuation: Assessing efficiency and competitiveness.
https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/superannuation/assessment/report
Super Consumers Australia. (2025). What you need to know about Shield and First Guardian.
https://superconsumers.com.au/journalism/what-you-need-to-know-about-shield-and-first-guardian-master-funds
The Guardian. (2025). Investment fund collapse linked to superannuation platforms.
https://www.theguardian.com/