The US Masters Residential Fund, or URF, was created in 2011 by Dixon Advisory and was intended to raise money from clients of the respected advisory firm.
It sought to take advantage of distressed residential property prices in New Jersey and a strong Australian dollar. But the fund took on more debt as it expanded its portfolio to $1.4 billion and embarked on an enormous renovation strategy that netted tens of millions of dollars of fees for Dixon Advisory.
Dixon Advisory had since merged with Evans & Partners to create Evans Dixon, which has since been rebranded at E&P Financial.
Eventually, the value of the URF plunged from a peak of around $2.25 in May 2016, inflicting significant losses on clients of Dixon Advisory that were advised to invest heavily in the units, preference shares and bonds of the fund.
That triggered allegations of conflict of interest, and led to court action from the regulator and class action firms, resulting in Dixon Advisory…
