Australia’s corporate regulator has banned Melbourne-based adviser Milutin Petrovic for six years after finding he failed key advice obligations when steering clients’ retirement savings into products linked to his licensee, United Global Capital Pty Ltd (UGC).
ASIC said Petrovic’s advice typically involved establishing self-managed superannuation funds and directing a large share of clients’ super into Global Capital Property Fund Limited (GCPF), a related-party property vehicle now in liquidation. The regulator found he characterised his service as limited or “execution only” while at the same time telling clients he owed them a best-interests duty and presenting side-by-side comparisons with their existing funds that purported to show they would be financially better off by switching.
ASIC concluded Petrovic failed to act in clients’ best interests, gave advice that was inappropriate, failed to put clients’ interests ahead of UGC’s, made statements likely to mislead and issued defective Statements of Advice. By purporting to restrict the scope of his advice, ASIC found he engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to the best-interests duty and representations about GCPF’s future returns.
Petrovic has sought a review of the banning decision in the Administrative Review Tribunal. A bid for stay and confidentiality orders was withdrawn. The substantive review was heard on 30 June and 1–2 July 2025, with judgment reserved.
The six-year ban took effect on 15 January 2025. It was stayed on an interim basis on 28 February 2025 and resumed on 26 March 2025 when the stay was dissolved. The order prevents Petrovic from providing financial services, controlling any entity that carries on a financial services business (alone or in concert) and performing any function involved in such a business.
ASIC urged UGC clients to seek independent advice unconnected to UGC, and reiterated recent warnings to be wary of high-pressure sales tactics and online promotions pushing inappropriate superannuation switching.
The action comes amid a wider crackdown on UGC and related entities. On 3 June 2024, ASIC banned UGC director and key person/responsible manager Joel Hewish for ten years and cancelled UGC’s Australian Financial Services licence. On 4 August 2025, the Administrative Review Tribunal upheld Hewish’s ten-year ban; he may seek to appeal.
The Federal Court froze the assets of UGC and GCPF on 20 June 2024. UGC entered voluntary administration on 5 July 2024 and creditors voted to wind up the company on 9 August 2024, appointing David Stimpson of SV Partners as liquidator. ASIC applied to wind up GCPF on 9 September 2024; on 3 October 2024 the Federal Court ordered the fund wound up and appointed Ross Blakely and Kelly-Anne Trenfield of FTI Consulting as liquidators.
UGC operated as an Australian financial services business in Melbourne and held AFS licence number 496179 from 18 August 2017. Hewish was a director from 8 November 2011, the key person on the licence from 18 August 2017 and an authorised representative between 21 August 2017 and 26 July 2024.
ASIC also issued interim stop orders in 2022 preventing offers and the issue of GCPF shares due to a deficient target market determination.
