Started when baby was born, paid $<10,500
Negative return.
They blame everyone, other themselves.
ASIC needs to look into this.
Any questions email me [email protected]
Approximate cost: $10500
NO NO NO NO NO - DO NOT USE ASG
I signed up the year my daughter was born. Agent promised the fund will grow to cover all uni expenses.
6 years later I am at approx $200 loss without accounting for inflation.
Put your money in mortgage, at least you are guaranteed to get certain percentage.
This is a scam. Save your money and put it on your mortgage instead..
Do not trust them. If you can fork out $180 month pay that extra money in to your mortgage then re-draw when you need the money for kids not wasting time with this company. I have wasted my money and not gaining any interest also paying interest on my mortgage. Miss leading and un-regulated business.
I would not recommend investing in ASG. We started when my son was a baby with the tertiary option. Now, after 18 years all I am looking to get back is my contributions, without interest and with no account of inflation. If my son does decide to go to uni the payments look way too small to cover costs. Maybe he could buy books, but definately not living costs or the HECS debt. He's not looking like going to uni, so we have probably lost that anyway, and they say we only have 2 years before losing any chance to get the small benefit, even if he does eventually go to uni. (I don't remember that condition at sign up)
Am faced with the same issue here - why pay out for a kid going to uni for 8 hours a week doing arts but not for those doing an apprenticeship working 4 days a week plus going to TAFE for 8 hours and getting a baseline wage - they have alot of expenses with starting an apprenticeship - tools etc.
Do your research & read the info provided. We went the Tertiary option with our daughter when she was born & ended up "just" getting $10k back when she didn't go onto uni. The extra money goes back to fund other kids - and that is what we signed up for.
Signed god-daughter up when she was born for the secondary pack & her mum loves getting the money each year. Forced savings is what we need, and what ASG deliver.
Beware, while Im sure it works for some, it can be a nightmare for couples that separate or divorce. My ex and I have been divorced for several years, and he has not worked for a few years. I have been paying all the kids expenses including school fees and ASG fees. ASG have a policy that only one member has access to the website and mailed statements. That is the first named member on the policy, generally the highest earner. Usually they are targetting women on maternity leave so this will usually be the husband. My ex found out he was the 'primary member' so he changed the website access and mailing address so now I cant access the ASG account. He has also prevented me getting payouts to help fund the kids high school. ASG are so backward that they say they cant possibly grant me my own website access or send me statements. In my opinion they are completely sexist, behind the times and actively condone the financial abuse of women.
I have joined the fund when my daugher is 5yrs.Later she diagnosed with intellectual disability and wont be able to learn in uni.I requested to refund the money with interest,but they are not willing to give interest.So we decided to lodge complaint to financial ombudsman
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES TRUST THIS COMPANY WITH YOUR MONEY.
Not only are they incompetent investors, they are grotesquely inadequate administrators as well. I am taking legal action against them for mismanaging my fund and depriving me of access to my own money put aside put aside for my son's education. It is also my intention to report them to the financial ombudsman. Through this I hope to warm off as many unsuspecting folk as I can. I implore anyone else on this site who has reason, to make a complaint with the financial ombudsman as well.
Do not sign up. My daughter got back less than the amount that we paid in after over twelve years. Run and put the money under your mattress
We singed up to ASG when our son was a toddler. My son is now 19 years old. He deferred uni after leaving school before deciding that he wanted to become a property valuer. He found himself a job as a cadet and studies part-time. ASG advised me that he is not eligible for scholarship payments as to qualify he MUST study full time! I was aware that if he didn't go to uni that he would not be eligible but I cannot recall this ever being disclosed back when I signed him up.
BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE the tertiary fund is not worth it at all. In fact I have lost money. When I signed up 19 years ago, my son was one week old. The nice ASG man convinced us to take out the tertiary fund and after discussing further we decided to go ahead. I have no issues with the secondary education fund - that all went hassle free and did what it was meant to do.
However, at one week old, who knows what your child will be doing once they leave school?? It is all based on assumptions. My son has now decided to do an apprenticeship and because of that, he is not entitled to any funding. I have received back only what I contributed - but lost an equal amount as we are not entitled to the interest. If I had put that money into the bank or off my mortgage, I would now be in a better position.
My money is now going to fund other children. This was never my intention. Beware people. [redacted inflammatory comment] Put your money into a managed bank fund or into your mortgage, but definitely not into ASG.
It is disappointing that they don't pay out to kids doing apprenticeships - it's a much harder road for them than some uni degrees and they incur expenses for tools and cars etc along the way.
I surrendered my older funds and transferred them into the new Pathway Education Fund. It's more flexible and has few of the rules associated with the former products. I'm happy to invest $209 a month and have experienced no problems.
I have put four children through ASG commencing 1996. Two children are now at University and two children now at High School.
ASG has never missed a payment and the fund pays about 80% of their total education costs each year. None of my kids will end up with a HECS debt. I do not have to stress when the school fees arrive as I know the money is already in a separate account waiting for the bill.
Yes you have to be be disciplined for twenty years or so and the returns are slightly below what was originally projected (probably due to the GFC) but it has certainly done what was expected.
I encountered a lot of negativity about ASG from smart investors 20 years ago when I first joined but ASG are still here and paying out every year without fuss.
The irony was that due to the negative publicity 20 years ago I also opened a managed fund at the same time just in case. (The Money Show's Advance International Fund). The fund went backwards for about 10 years and when it finally broke even I used the funds to pay for an unexpected bill. It was too easy to pull the money out. I couldn't do that with ASG so the funds went where they were supposed to and my children are now benefitting.
I have no direct association with ASG only 20 years experience of using their product.
I've been a member for long enough to have my children reap the rewards of us saving for their education. The scholarship payments paid for their Uni books and we gave them our members benefit, the money we invested, to help pay their HECS.
Interesting reading. I have found ASG extremely pushy and secretive.
We have one child with a fund set up by a grandparent, no information is available to us and we have not received any money despite my daughter reaching the eligible age for an annual payment. The grandparent now has Alziemers and not much help. ASG happy to give the run around and won't speak to us at all about the account.
Yet when we were considering creating an account for our other children, we were bombarded with pushy phone calls for several months, then for several weeks around the time of their birthdays.
I still do not know what the Education Fund Secondary School annual member benefit amount was for this year, which we should have received last December. ASG will not even give rough average return figure. Our daughters fund was commenced 13 years ago with a one off payment. Anybody have any ideas?
BTW did I mention that they are extremely rude upon my inquiries, despite my unwavering polite patience. Makes me worry they are going under.
I have two children signed up for tertiary and secondary funds and we receive about $1800-$2000 each December per child. You get these payments for 6 years through the high school years. It was a forced saving for us and I am sure we would not have accumulated this money without using ASG (or a similar product). Unfortunately with regard to the tertiary fund, it seems the salesperson exaggerated the projections and the payments are likely to not even cover the uni fees, let alone books or 'living allowances'.
The worst company to deal with. If you need to cancel your membership, ASG have the worst policies. ASG need signed letter by both parents, copy of driver licence, copy of DOB, FK you can't be serious !!! Stay clear from this shonky company.
I am completely over the non existent customer service and delay in making scholarship payments. Further the projections were unrealistic and each year I need to go through an inquisition just to get what is owed. Today I was told that they cannot open pdf files containing my childrens uni results that I sent 2 montgs ago! I seriously regret signing up my three children some 20 years ago. If you are considering ASG..dont do it
my friend's hubby works for ASG as a sales agent.. they are not doing good financially and that's the only reason they are delaying to pay your own money back !
Yup. The ASG saga goes on and on. I looked at ASG as a potential employer last month. I asked some pointed questions about their Balance Sheet and was told not to worry about that. I know a thing or 2 about Balance Sheets...boring for some, but not me. The Group did not make a profit last year and actually paid out more than it earned. Good business? From my research they have a history of being SLLLLLOW with things...except taking your money...that happens in a flash. ASIC did have a look at them a few years ago. They don't employ financial type people as agents...if you can talk, leverage off the emotion of funding a childs education and stuff like that...they will employ you. Then...you have to sell their ''product''. Been around 40 years....supposedly 1.4Billion in assets, yet the negative comments here raise a lot of questions......
Woeful customer service and I don't know what systems they use but I think they were designed in the 1930s.
After endless difficulties with them - they miss payments every year and I have to chase and chase and chase to get them reissued - by cheque as for some reason they can't pay directly into a bank account like everyone else in the 21st century - I have decided to withdraw.
Talked to the service rep and she said she would mail me the withdrawal form (no, it's not on their website).
Me: Can you email it?
She: Well I could arrange for it to be emailed, but that's done by another department, and I know they're pretty backed up. I think you would receive it sooner if I posted it.
OMG!!!
The company may fold soon ! they are in financial problem- people may loose all their savings as it is a member based company !!
Would not recommend there customer service. I had 3 differenT people tell me different things.
Never Trust ASG ! full of lies conning people !! I wonder how come still they operate in Australia !!!
Joined ASG 3 months ago. Was told the following by the rep who visited us at home
1. 100 percent guarantee for working experience placement according to the course my children would choose at uni. I rang the member services who told me "i cannot comment on that, i will send you fact sheet and information and you can have a read". I guess it is AT YOUR OWN RISK APPROACH
2. Full scholarship for 3 years uni degree provided that my chosen meet the eligibility. Member services told me, the money i received will be the contribution made plus interest plus earnings from the pool of the fund. If you don't contribute enough or the market is bad then you might not get what you were expecting
3. Tax free investment. This is not true. The money goes to a pool of fund and earnings are taxed at 30 percent company rate. When you get the earnings that has been taxed you don't have to pay for the tax. Might as well invest on super being taxed at 15 percent and withdraw as tax free pension if you are at the right age bracket
I am putting $300 a month. Have been going on for 3 months now. Just found out the truth today. Will cancel the membership tomorrow.
Cannot find a form to cancel it. You have to ring their member service.
Beware of the term SCHOLARSHIP BENEFIT that they use all the time. I was told that all accounts of ASG qualify for this. What it means is actually it qualifies for a tax treatment of scholarship benefit. It doesn't pay for a scholarship where people would think that your children's education will be paid off. If there is no guarantee you might as well set up a direct debit to your savings account.
The rep told me to open 2 accounts per child. I have 3 children. You have to pay a set up fees of approx $149 for TEF and $89 for SEP (check the web to clarify this ) then annual fee of $36 and $24 deducted in advanced per year. And $10 per month per account for the first 24 months. Total spent for the scam $676.
Before joining i have told the rep that the reason I'm joining is because of the guarantee my children uni will be paid off. Otherwise i wouldn't be joining.
Avoid at any cost! !!
Agree ! I recommend you to take out all your money before the company Broke !
I actually worked as a rep with ASG for a short while. I signed up for 5 grand children (Tertiary) While they have not all gone on to University, one started then changed her mind, and one did an apprenticeship, I really appreciated getting my money back. One has, and really found the money very helpful, a new lap top, and other essentials he needed, plus a little fun money! He has done 3 years so far.
There are still two to go, but they are still in primary school.
I think it is fantastic. Looking forward to maybe a holiday when they finally reach 18!
positive comments are all from ASG employees !!! they are not real !
I signed up to this because the lady was very clever and made me feel guilty about what I can afford to give my son when he's older. But then realised they had charged me over $300 for the privilege! This is before a cent went into my son's account!!! I also realised later that there were about $100 payable every year to them! I told them to cancel my account and return my money which they refused to do until I threatened them with legal action! My advice is be very careful with this company, they're 100% in it for the money! don't be fooled by the $1000's they will promise your kids! you only get your money back minus $1000's of fees!
Approximate cost: $300
We have been with ASG for a number of years and are now reaping the benefits. We get a cheque every year to put into our sons education. We opted for the secondary option not tertiary. It has really helped us out. The fellow who saw us (many years ago) was very nice and helpful. I didnt feel any pressure to join. We havent had any complaints at all.
They are definitely in it for the money. Very disappointing contact when you are looking to leave, send forms on date you have to have them in by. Just Bad Business Practice. I am surprised they are still in business.
Approximate cost: $60
For anyone whom has joined this group be mindful that if you pull out of your contract early you are entitled to claim a taxation rebate at 30% as this is the company tax that ASG are paying from your money to the ATO every year. People think that they are getting a lump sum payment tax free but the tax has been paid out of your fees at the before mentioned rate of 30%. I find it hard to explain but a quick call to a financial advisor will set you straight on this.
I had a policy for my boy when he was only few months old but finally stoped that policy after two years. Instead of putting monthly fund into ASG. It was better off using that money to pay off my mortage quickly and put into other funds which would have a better return and most importantly we have control over the fund. I looked at the yearly statement from ASG and noted that there were also a lot money being paid to its management or adminstration fees. What would happen to my fund with ASG if my child could not make it to college? And it appears that there are no clear regulations governing this type of funds.
Great review!
I looked into ASG 18 years ago & my financial planner advised me it wasn't a good option & I was better off paying extra off mortgage. Then as funds required draw on the 'redraw'. I also found (depending on area) the public school system to be on a par with private so we went down that path. Couldn't be happier with opportunities & results from local govt schools. Especially when I hear of friend's issues with their kids private school experiences.
I had a lady come out and explain everything to me which was all well and fine. I said that I would speak to my partner about it, and get back to her. I got back to her and said that we couldn't really afford it, and that I would give it a miss. Boy was that a mistake, she went on to say that its not that much to pay a month, and think of my childrens future, and made me feel really guilty. Then every week I would get a phone call from her asking if I had changed my mind, and that if i signed up in a specific month, then I would save a certain amount. This went on for about 3 months, until she must have finally got it in her head that I was not interested.
We have two children that have funds with ASG. When we originally took it out we were a bit concerned that the once of payment to be in the fund was a bit high as we had to pay for both kids.
We have to make sure that there is enough money in our account for the money to come out each month. A few times of the years we have been caught out and had to pay the bank a nasty fine as our account was over the limit.
In a year and a half times we will reap the benefits for our eldest son who will be in Secondary School by then. This money will help to pay the school fees as well as text books etc.
We found the representatives that we have dealt with to be very professional and not pushy. Very direct and explained everything and happy to let you call them back if you were unsure about anything. We now have 4 children who have a scholarship fund since birth and we believe in the long run it will be a real benefit for our children's education. We wouldn't be able to achieve the same if we were to save on our own doing it this way means we budget for it to come out as if it were a utility bill.