The best place to start this post-mortem of the collapsed Shield Master Fund is SQM Research, the research house that gave the fund a “favourable” rating thanks to its potential to outperform over the medium to long term.

Research houses are arguably the first line of defence against inappropriate or poor-quality investment decisions. They are the gatekeepers, who, when things go bad, are accused by financial planners and superannuation trustees of leading everyone up the garden path.