In the midst of the slow-motion car crash that is the Shield and First Guardian collapses, the unfortunately common natural instinct of people to shift the blame to everyone else and avoid responsibility for their own actions has reared its head.<\/p>\n
Whether or not any of the people involved truly believe they are blameless \u2013 or whether anyone actually is wholly blameless \u2013 is impossible to tell.<\/p>\n
For most sitting on the outside looking in, it\u2019s hard to rationalise how any link in the chain could sincerely believe they met the standard that was expected of them under their various professional obligations.<\/p>\n
However, we largely judge ourselves on our intentions and others on their actions, and an individual convincing themselves that they can skirt the rules and enrich themselves without hurting anyone is far more common than setting out with a desire to cause harm.<\/p>\n
If ASIC chair Joe Longo\u2019s rough range of impacted clients across the full range of funds it is currently investigating is anything to go by, that harm is set to hit as many as 30,000 Australians<\/a>.<\/p>\n The only party that has taken ownership of their role in failing consumers is Macquarie, with the financial giant’s super fund trustee reaching a deal with ASIC to cover the $321 million of investments in Shield from around 3,000 members<\/a>. <\/p>\n The fund managers are, rightfully, the first port of call for everyone else tied up in this mess looking to shift blame.<\/p>\n It\u2019s far from where the finger pointing ends.<\/p>\n Indeed, you would be hard pressed to find someone that hasn\u2019t been thrown under the bus, from the regulator to the auditors and everyone in between.<\/p>\n Last week, ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court summed it up well in a parliamentary committee hearing.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the challenges with these matters is that in a sense, everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else,\u201d Court said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, the financial advisers are saying to us, \u2018Well look, you can\u2019t hold us accountable for this ASIC, because the ratings house had rated these funds, or at least the Shield Master Fund, as of investment grade.\u2019 Super fund trustees are telling us the same thing, saying, \u2018Well we relied on the ratings houses\u2019 or \u2018We relied on the fact that these members had financial advice.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n