Fiducian Group Limited (ASX: FID) has announced that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has commenced civil proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court against its subsidiary, Fiducian Investment Management Services Limited (FIMS). Fiducian Group is a financial services firm providing investment management, financial planning, and platform administration services. The proceedings concern the Fiducian Diversified Social Aspirations Fund (Fund).
ASIC’s claim alleges that the product disclosure statement for the Fund, issued by FIMS as the responsible entity, contained misleading statements. Further, ASIC alleges that FIMS failed to comply with the Fund’s compliance plan and did not act with due care and diligence in its duties as responsible entity. FIMS has stated that it is closely reviewing the court documents and ASIC’s allegations and will cooperate fully.
FIMS has cooperated fully with ASIC’s investigations to date. Neither FIMS nor Fiducian Group will be making any further comments at this time, as the matter is now before the Court. The Fund, which invested client monies in two underlying funds, ceased operations in May 2024 due to a lack of scale.
At the time of closure, the Fund had $15.57 million in Funds Under Management and 158 underlying investors. Investors holding two-thirds of the funds elected to transfer their investments to the underlying funds, with FIMS covering the buy/sell differential costs. The Fund delivered an annualised return of 7.62% per annum over nine years, achieving a total return of 86.61% since its inception. Fiducian Group has committed to keeping the market informed of any material developments in accordance with its disclosure requirements.
