Exclusive: Ariel Mack's vanishing superannuation fund has destroyed her plans for retirement.
The former teacher and single mother from Melbourne, 48, said she is terrified the past three decades of work have been "for nothing" after losing the majority of her retirement nest egg overnight.
Ariel Mack lost $168,000 in super after the collapse of First Guardian. Ariel Mack
Mack's $173,000 superannuation fund depleted to just over $5000 after the catastrophic collapse of investment scheme First Guardian in 2025, which impacted about 5800 investors.
"I panicked and went through all the emotions, I was really upset… just bawling my eyes out," Mack told nine.com.au.
"I couldn't go to work that day. I had to take that day off.
"What's the point of working and getting your super if it's now all gone? What am I working for?"
Mack's unwitting pathway to First Guardian is a devastatingly familiar one.
After using an online comparison tool, she was contacted by a financial advisor who convinced her to roll her super into an investment fund called AusPrac in October 2023.
The former teacher now needs to rethink when she might retire. Ariel Mack
"I was just looking for something that would work better for my money, thinking I had about 20 years to retire," Mack explained.
"I didn't want it to be high-risk, just low to medium was fine, because I didn't want to lose money."
Mack claims she was assured her fund would generate healthy returns in "five to 10 years".
She paid a hefty advice fee, which cost some investors in the realm of $2000 to $4000, and her super was switched over.
Mack paid dearly for trusting the process, along with nearly 6000 other Australians who discovered their superannuation fund had been funnelled into the First Guardian scheme.
Around $168,000 was wiped out from her nest egg when First Guardian entered liquidation.
Her retirement fund included a sum of money from her separation settlement, which is now "also gone".
ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Diversa Trustees Limited, the trustee for Ausprac, alleging failures relating to the First Guardian Master Fund.
ASIC alleges that Diversa breached its duties "by failing to warn each member of the risk of illiquidity of the First Guardian Master fund," leaving members exposed when the fund ultimately froze withdrawals and entered liquidation.
It is seeking orders for compensation, including possibly a remediation program, to recoup losses for investors like Mack.
Diversa previously said it would "vigorously defend" the claims.
ASIC is not pursuing any action against Ausprac.
Mack said she was "slow" to learn about First Guardian's collapse as she was moving her mother into a nursing home and struggled to find the time to check her balance.
"I'd contacted [AusPrac] previously with no response and thought it was a bit 'suss' but it wasn't a priority," Mack added.
"I had it on my list to sort this year. Maybe transfer it back to my old account which has 10,000 in it in Hostplus.
"I wasn't diligent enough and should have acted. I knew something wasn't right and now I've paid the ultimate price."
The collapse of the First Guardian and Shield superannuation funds has devastated the lives of thousands of Australians. Nine
Mack found solace in connecting with thousands of other financial victims in the Facebook group SOS - Save Our Super, led by fellow investor Melinda Kee.
It was then she was urged to lodge a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
She is now awaiting the result of an investigation into her complaint.
AFCA has fielded over 1319 complaints regarding First Guardian.
Another 6000 Australian investors lost money in the collapse of Shield Master Fund in 2025. AFCA has received over 840 complaints regarding this fund.
'Thirty years of hard work gone'
As Mack awaits a resolution from ASIC and AFCA, she is concerned her retirement is slowly slipping away.
She had planned to stop working permanently in 20 years.
This feels like a pipe dream now.
Mack's missing retirement fund haunts almost every financial decision she now makes.
"I'll never earn all that money back," she explained.
"I don't want to have to work for another 30 years… but I'd have to work so much to get it all back.
"I can't even imagine being the poor people in retirement or who were just about to retire."
Mack had stepped out of the industry after suffering burnout, but knows she has little option other than to work again – and soon.
Postcodes in Melbourne hit the hardest by twin collapse
Mack lives in Werribee, one of the suburbs in Melbourne most impacted by First Guardian and Master Shield's $1.1 billion collapse.
Data released by ASIC listed four Melbourne postcodes as among the ten most impacted areas.
These included the suburbs of Cranbourne, Cranbourne East, Cranbourne North, Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Truganina and Craigieburn
Victorian suburbs with the most lost superannuation
Source: ASIC
Fellow investor and advocate Melinda Kee warned many investors "still don't even know they've been affected".
Laverton MP Sarah Connolly, whose electorate serves Werribee and Hoppers Crossing, told nine.com.au that her "heart goes out to anyone who's had their superannuation affected by this collapse".
"I encourage those especially in Wyndham who are with First Guardian or Master Shield to urgently check their super balance immediately and visit the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) webpage relevant to their superannuation fund," Connolly said.
Nine.com.au has contacted the state MPs for the other impacted postcodes, Ros Spence, John Lister and Pauline Richards, for comment.
