Check your superannuation now: Urgent warning issued to thousands after Aussie loses life savings after fund collapses

By SARAH BROOKES - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 05:22, 6 April 2026 | Updated: 05:28, 6 April 2026 The owner of a boutique wedding dress store who watched her superannuation vanish following advice from a dodgy adviser is sounding the alarm, warning up to 10,000 Australians could face the same financial disaster.  Alyssa Jackson said she was first contacted by the advice firm Venture Egg through a cold call offering a free super valuation and a review of her existing fund.  It has since emerged that Venture Egg was one of the main firms steering Australians into the now‑collapsed, high‑risk managed investment schemes First Guardian Master Fund and Shield Master Fund. According to ASIC, Venture Egg, run by Ferras Merhi and authorised by InterPrac, funnelled nearly 6,000 clients and $415million of their retirement savings into the two failed schemes. Ms Jackson, who owns Brides First Forever on the Sunshine Coast, told the Daily Mail she made it clear she wanted a low‑to‑medium risk investment strategy and did not seek speculative returns.  'I was in my early 30s and trying to take my finances more seriously,' she said.  'Around that time, I received a cold call from someone at Venture Egg offering a free, no-obligation super valuation to see whether they could improve my current setup.  'I was cautious, but I was also open to understanding whether my super could be working harder for me, so I agreed to have the conversation.'  Alyssa Jackson (pictured left) said she lost her retirement nest egg just after she opened Brides First Forever with her mother Gianna Jackson (pictured right) The mother and daughter are pictured in their boutique store on the Sunshine Coast Ms Jackson said that after six months of phone meetings, disclosures about her financial position, discussions about her risk tolerance and her own due diligence, she approved the rollover. She said Venture Egg promised ongoing support, including annual reviews and regular check‑ins.  'Everything I found suggested they were legitimate,' she said. 'Compared to my previous super fund, where I often felt like just another number, this sounded like a more personalised service with ongoing guidance.'  But just eighteen months later, most of her $57,000 balance had been frozen and a significant portion wiped out entirely (FIND EXACT FIGURE).  'It represented years of savings and could have grown significantly by the time I retired,' she said. 'I have never worked in a particularly high-earning industry and, like many women my age, I was already aware my super balance was behind where it ideally should be.'  Ms Jackson said the loss came after she left full‑time employment open her boutique where she earns only a small, irregular income, making it difficult to rebuild.  Venture Egg principal Ferras Merhi (pictured) used cold callers to drum up new business and invest client money into First Guardian ASIC Chair Sarah Court (pictured) accused InterPrac of 'industrial-scale misconduct' Although Shield investors are expected to get at least 50 per cent of their money back, investors in First Guardian face little prospect of recovery.  Liquidators in December said just $1.6million of $446million had been recovered. ASIC on Monday slapped a four‑year industry ban on former Venture Egg adviser Nicholas Hogan after it found he had impersonated other advisers, relied on statements of advice prepared by others, and misled his clients. Hogan also pushed template advice steering clients into Netwealth, while recommending they leave $10,000 in their existing super funds for insurance. Despite the surge of client money flowing into Venture Egg from 2022, ASIC alleges InterPrac Financial Planning - the licensee for the advice firm - took little action, even after its own audits flagged multiple red flags. ASIC also alleges the company failed to act on advisers' use of lead generators funnelling clients into the funds. InterPrac's parent company Sequoia Financial has denied the allegations, saying it would defend itself against them in court.  Macquarie and Netwealth, have repaid investors $422million that had been placed in the two funds through their platforms.  Scott Pape (pictured) said it's likely the missing 10,000 victims have no idea it happened The Australian Financial Complaints Authority has delayed expelling collapsed firms tied to Shield and First Guardian amid fears investors remain unaware of their losses. The authority said about 12,000 Australians were impacted, yet only around 2,000 complaints have been lodged, and removing the firms from its jurisdiction would unfairly cut off people's ability to seek redress.  Barefoot Investor Scott Pape said it was likely the 10,000 victims had no idea their money had gone 'poof'.  'A smooth-talking spiv convinced them to move their super into a dog-turd super fund,' he said. Super Consumers Australia chief Xavier O'Halloran urged the federal government to shut down predatory super switching schemes after he was almost duped.  'The advisers built up my trust over several weeks. They seemed knowledgeable and were highly complimentary about the interest I was taking in my super,' he said. 'It is a very convincing sales pitch. If I hadn't worked in superannuation for the last decade I wouldn't have known the red flags.'  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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