Diversa drags Praemium into First Guardian lawsuit

Praemium and its subsidiaries are now caught up in the ASIC-led First Guardian legal saga, having been thrown in the mix by Diversa Trustees.

Praemium this morning announced, together with Powerwrap and One Vue Wealth Services (OVWS), it received notices of a cross-claim from Diversa Trustees relating to ASIC's proceedings taking action against Diversa for its involvement in First Guardian.

"The claims seek compensation from PAL, Powerwrap and OVWS relating to the onboarding and monitoring of the First Guardian investment products by each of them, if Diversa is ordered to pay compensation in the proceedings," Praemium told shareholders.

"These claims had not previously been foreshadowed by Diversa and the agreements in place with Diversa require it to undertake a dispute resolution process before commencing proceedings, which has not yet been done."

Praemium added no steps will be taken in the proceedings until that process has been completed, which is expected to be over the next four weeks.

ASIC is currently suing Diversa Trustees for its role in the collapse of the First Guardian Master Fund, in which $300 million of member money was invested.

ASIC alleges Diversa failed to conduct adequate due diligence before allowing its members to invest and adequate ongoing monitoring.

Members of the Powerwrap Fund, Praemium Fund, and MAP Master Superannuation Plan together with its sub-plans, YourChoice Super and AusPrac, were exposed to First Guardian between 2020 to 2024.

Diversa, as trustee of the super funds, failed to enforce a 50% holding limit it imposed for First Guardian, ASIC alleged, and failed to have systems and processes in place to ensure compliance with that holding limit.

ASIC questioned if Diversa had any regard to the apparent nature and characteristics of First Guardian and the "serious risks" of its investments, nor did it do enough to assess its performance, liquidity and stress tests, or independently enquire into information provided by responsible entity Falcon Capital.

Praemium's and OneVue's exposure to the First Guardian fund via Diversa came to about $286 million.

Diversa Trustees said it will be "vigorously defending" ASIC's allegations, arguing the managed investment scheme was "fraudulent."

ASIC has not made any claims against PAL, Powerwrap or OVWS to date.

Praemium said it will "will review the claim and take advice and update the market in due course."

APRA imposed additional licence conditions on Diversa in late 2025.

APRA said it has concerns relating to Diversa's investment governance frameworks and practices, including oversight of platform investment options made available to members.

Diversa acts as trustee for 10 registrable superannuation entities and has approximately 291,000 member accounts and over $15 billion in funds under management.