The case involved retired vet Neil Armitage, who sued Moneyworks adviser Carey Church after his investments in a handful of finance companies lost money.

He was partly successful, with High Court Justice Robert Dobson awarding him over $60,000 out of an original claim for more than $300,000.

The judge ruled Church had recommended too large an exposure to finance companies.

He also found her to be negligent in recommending the ING credit opportunities fund (COF) as a fixed interest component of the investment, ruling that it was not a fixed interest investment, despite documentation to suggest it was.

However, Justice Dobson also ruled that there was only a low probability Armitage would have followed prudent advice, and reduced the award accordingly.

Both sides were unhappy with the judgment and the case was going to an appeal, where Church was to argue her advice met industry standards at the time.

However, she has "decided that to continue with the appeal is personally and professionally counter-productive," she told Good Returns yesterday.

"There has been a confidential settlement and the matter is now closed."

The settlement means there won't be a court test of Justice Dobson's decision, which has been questioned by IFA president Nigel Tate.

"I think the Judge made a determination based on retrospective knowledge of the risks involved in the COF.

"The Judge has applied his current knowledge to a previous situation and said these funds created some problems and now, when I look at them, they actually look more like an equity type fund than a fixed interest fund."