Shares of Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) and EQT Holdings (ASX:EQT) were marginally lower Thursday after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) deputy chair Sarah Court said in a media briefing that the regulator is mulling actions against Macquarie Group and Equity Trustees for what the regulator considers "failures" in their roles in collapsed managed investment schemes.

Macquarie and Equity Trustees, part of the EQT Holdings, hosted the Shield Master Fund on their platforms, which is being wound up, while the First Guardian Master Fund, which is also being wound up amid allegations it mishandled over AU$500 million of investor funds, was hosted by Equity Trustees.

ASIC alleges the funds were mismanaged, with large portions of the money misallocated to related entities, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday.

The platform hosting these funds has an obligation to ensure that what is being offered "is fit for purpose and appropriate for investors," Court said.

The regulator plans to potentially argue that a super trustee has an obligation to look at the flow of funds that are coming through its platform. It plans to finalize its investigations and make a decision on whether it will take action against the super trustees in August. It is also expected to issue banning orders on a number of the advisers who guided consumers into these funds.