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Liljamin
- 2 reviews
Worst customer experience to date
The horrendously slow and outdated platform, lack of transparency (investments and holdings) and poor customer service are pale in comparison to the even worse experience I had when exiting the fund.
When all other funds I've been with simply reject money if it's received after exiting (in my case it was an employer contribution), Australian Ethical re-open your account without your knowledge or explicit consent - charging fees and insurance premiums for insurance you never consented to (and that they don't know whether you are eligible for)....Read more
I dealt with the same customer support representative on many occasions and found them to lack compassion, empathy or understanding of the issue at hand. This was definitely my worst super fund experience to date (and I've been with 6 different funds so far).1 comment
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customer
- 3 reviews
Disappointed
Wanting to get a lump sum payment from my super. In the past I have supplied certified identification which has remained valid for 12 months. Apparently the rules have changed and each time I apply for a payment I have to recertify my ID. This would not be so bad but given the covid situation it requires a trip to officeworks to print my ID and then a trip to a post office. Given a member of my household has preexisting health concerns this new requirement poses a risk. I supplied certified ID three months ago, why cant this still be valid as it used to be.
1 comment
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi, we're sorry to hear you're having this experience. Could you please send us a private email with your name to [email protected] so we can investigate this properly.
In these unce... Read more
rtain and difficult times we have seen an increase in scams associated with COVID-19. Victims are typically targeted via phone, email and social media. Because of this increased activity, we are continuing to require identification documentation to be appropriately witnessed to ensure the integrity of the information provided. However, we have changed our process to allow certified documents to be submitted electronically by enabling members to upload forms and documents through their member portal login.
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MokkaSydney, NSW
Very poor customer service. Outdated platforms
Australian Ethical started off good but over the last 12 months something changed. Still no mobile app but ok, platform shows very limited information on performance of your super with only a 3 year historical chart - no days, weeks or months. Customer service 1/10 - no response to requests / feedback. When changing investments it takes over 10 days to switch so you can lose a lot. Finally no break down of investment gains & loses in account activity or chart for daily, weekly, monthly and yearly timeframes. Also no detailed information on investments i.e specific companies, types of shares and markets. Australian Ethical does have potential. For platform ideas check Xpress Super, Guild Super and Future Super. Will review again later
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Find out how Australian Ethical compares to other Retail Superannuation Funds
Know better, choose better.
happySydney, NSW
- 3 reviews
Don't waste your time or money
I had moved my super over to these people. And the fees were extraordinary, my account earned nearly no interest, and was just getting eaten away by combined fees of nearly $100 per month.
I then rolled it over to another super fund. I received a letter from them indicating I had a small amount left in the account that I was eligible to withdraw. The process was horrendous, and took over three weeks. I had to supply the same documents to them repeatedly via post, email and website upload, as they were unable to locate or verify them on severa...Read more
l occasions. What should have taken a week, took over three weeks and if had not have followed it up daily I would have never have received the funds. They didn't return calls. The amount continued to reduce as I waited for the payment.3 comments
Australian E.Australian Ethical
We're really sorry to hear you've had such a terrible experience. We'll be investigating what went wrong as this is not the kind of customer experience we want you to have.
Fees are important but an... Read more
y discussion on fees must be put in context with performance and it’s more important to look at net benefit i.e. performance minus fees and taxes. Ultimately, it’s what goes into members’ accounts that matters and our focus is on delivering value to our members through strong risk-adjusted performance after fees, while ensuring no investment breaches our stringent ethical criteria.Thanks for letting me know that you "give 10% of our profits (after tax and bonus) to charitable organisations working to combat climate change through our Australian Ethical foundation."
I'm just wo... Read more
ndering how that is relevant to my complaint? And how does this reflect on your treatment of customers? Are you aware that I still have not received the funds to my account and it's been a month now. No one has returned my call. Your staff are the rudest and most unprofessional people I have ever experienced within a financial institution. Buyer beware of these people, take your business elsewhere.Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi there,
Again, we're sorry to hear that you're not happy with us. We'd like to investigate this further. Can you please send us your name and details to [email protected].
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Ralphsydney
- 8 reviews
NO ONE HOME?
Have tried to access my super online which I need to do to change my insurance cannot do over phone, my super is showing 0, nadda nothing, it is incorrect, I know the super is not nil they know it is not nil but can they fix it, can they heck, have advanced computer skills have done everything they told me to do twice, even logged on to site with another computer so its not just my laptop, this is so disappointing if they cannot do the simple things what are they doing with our super I changed because of the social conscience theme they promote but am struggling with the lack service and results
1 comment
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi Ralph, gee, that does not sound good! We're sorry to hear this. Can you please send us a private message so we can have someone get in touch with you as a matter of urgency to figure out what is go... Read more
ing on? Again we're sorry you've had this experience with us.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Peter AllanGreater Melbourne (Metropolitan), VIC
A very satisfied customer
I've been with AE for a decade and I am impressed with the investment profile and the returns. I love that our money is achieving medical, educational and environmental benefit.
1 comment
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Thank you Peter. This makes us very happy to hear!
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JTAustralian Capital Territory
- 3 reviews
Great fund, performs well, communicates well and it's ethical
I have super with AE and have been for a few years. I picked them for ethical reasons but their communication & financial performance is great too. I'm now buying some of their managed fund products.
1 comment
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Thank you for the review JT. We're so pleased you're happy with us.
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Look at what they support. Look at what they stay clear of.
I have read their Annual Report and they are actually doing what we all need to enjoy a sustainable less troublesome future. Nothing is perfect but they are truely making a great effort and growing well.
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Heather
- 2 reviews
Super happy to have made the switch!
Really good customer service! It was very easy to switch and consolidate my funds. I'm happy knowing that my money is going into organisations and causes that I actually care about.
1 comment
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Thank you Heather. It makes us happy that you're happy.
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Find out how Australian Ethical compares to other Retail Superannuation Funds
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Superior Super
Ive been with Australian Ethical for 2 years now and Im not changing for anything.
Changing over was extremely easy, and fast.
When Ive help Ive received excellent customer service.
I can trust that my money isnt supporting dodgy industries that are destroying our beautiful planet.
1 comment
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Thank you for your review. We're so pleased to hear you're happy with us!
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Andrew G.South East Queensland, QLD
- 7 reviews
- Verified customer
Be conscious of where you put your super investment
I've been with Australian Ethical Super since 2015 and have been more than satisfied with their offering. So long as their performance is above average I'm more than happy to put my money where I know it's going to ethical companies and those trying to do the right thing for the environment, humanity and the world.
Super pleased to hear recently that they won the Inifinity Award 2022 from Super Ratings for leading the industry in sustainable behaviour and responsible investment principles. In addition, their growth fund has actually been the t...Read more
op performer over a 1yr period in the Super Ratings. That just goes to show the ethical investing can perform just as well and better than other funds that don't apply ethical factors to their investment choices. Well done Australian Ethical and keep building a strong company for the future.1 comment
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Thank you Andrew for your feedback. It's great to hear you're happy with our performance and recent awards.
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Review womanSouth East Queensland, QLD
- 3 reviews
Do not choose this super fund
I have been with this Super for over a year
I regret switching over to them and I will be switching to try another
They do not reply to emails
They are not at all helpful
I am so disappointed
I tried to do the right thing by the planet but unfortunately this super is not good at all
They are not fair or caring
Dont waste your time
2 comments
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi there
We're so sorry to hear that you regret joining our super fund. Excellent customer service is really important to us, so we will be investigating this to understand why your emails weren't res... Read more
Hi there you dont reply to emails so theres no point me writing to that email address.
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GingerSA
- 2 reviews
Not 100% cruelty Free
Australian Ethical Super is very misleading.
Unfortunately if you want to make sure a super is 100% cruelty free, you will need to go to a GOOD financial advisor, who will look into things and ask questions and even make phone calls, as my last advisor, told me Australian Ethical Super was good for my needs, but was not. My new advisor is setting me up with Net wealth. I am getting out of Australian Ethical Super as it is NOT 100% cruelty free, but rather 95% as my advisor really did his homework, and finding me the correct fund.
It is also cheaper in fees and returns better and have so many more choices on where to invest your money.
2 comments
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi there
Were sorry to hear that you haven't been happy with us. ... Read more
Animal protection is an important issue for us. We seek to have a positive impact through our investments, our advocacy work and our community grants program. We do not invest in animal agriculture because of the impact on animals (and the environment) and we do not invest in any companies that test on animals for cosmetic purposes. Where you might be concerned about us not being 100% cruelty-free is because we have some investments in health companies that test (or commission testing) on animals where we assess the research is for a purpose that will make a substantial contribution to human or animal health. This page summarises our position on key animal protection issues (live export, factory farming and testing) and the advocacy work we have done in these areas. https://www.australianethical.com.au/animal-wellbeing/. You can also read about our 2022 animal community grant recipients here: https://www.australianethical.com.au/community-grants/. Were sorry you haven't been happy with our positions, but we hope this helps to explain our approach.Don't get me wrong, as I have been happy with Australian Ethical Super, but I preferred to go through a advisor who can take care of my needs concerning animals and the environment. If I have any co... Read more
ncerns, or things needs changing, we touch base. He took 9 months to research things for me, and along the track somewhere there was questionable things that I was not in favour off. Basically I want my money invested in 100% cruelty free not 95% not even 99.9%.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Simpletown W.Gippsland, VIC
ZILCH ZIP NADA ZERO
I was an Ethical Super member from day dot when super first came in. I persisted and persisted but they literally gained me ZERO dollars. Bad customer service. Increasing fees with nothing to show for it. My records were always unable to be found because they had changed admin companies. Not ethical in their treatment of long stand members at all. Rolled into a new fund 7 months ago and have now made more in that time THAN LITERALLY YEARS with Australian Ethical
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OneofthemanySydney, NSW
- 2 reviews
Terrible performance they always find excuses to increase fees out of the blue, life insurance premiums are hefty.
Four years, they have a bad performance fees >investment returns, loose money instead of making it. I was charged 688 fees on a 6500 account made 50 dollars from investment.
1 comment
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi there - we're sorry to hear this has been your experience with us. We have some questions about the amount you say you've been charged in fees. Would you like to get in touch with us directly, as t... Read more
hese don't add up with our annual fees, which are a lot less than stated. You might be interested to know that we've reduced significantly as we have grown. Our MySuper fees, for example, have reduced by 50% since 2013. This article explains our fees a bit more here: https://www.australianethical.com.au/super/performance-and-returns/Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Find out how Australian Ethical compares to other Retail Superannuation Funds
Know better, choose better.
Cameron P.Northeast, VIC
- 2 reviews
A super fund that feels good!!!
A super fund that is clear and honest in it's goals and fees. Is very easy to change your investment options and provides the tools through it's website to make doing so easy and hassle free.
I joined in 2015 and unfortunately have only had minimal work since then, yet my investment has increased by 49.4053% with the contributions I have been able to make, and by 42.4089% excluding my contributions. That's over 10% per annum excluding contributions!!! This is a much better return than I ever received with the industry super funds I have been wi...Read more
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Chris G
- 8 reviews
Mismanagement at customer expense
Last year Australian Ethical changed its fund manager. Despite the availability of technical solutions that would have prevented the need, it decided to change every members membership number. This resulted in the predictable confusion, inability to access fund information, and repeated phone calls to resolve problems during the changeover period. The worst was, however, yet to come. Due to each member now having an old and a new membership number, when AE reported contributions to the ATO it double reported member contributions leading to ...Read more
my (and no doubt many other members) receiving letters from the ATO demanding money with menaces as it appearing that we were over cap. More calls. More time wasted. To compound the error I was advised by AE to ignore the letters from the ATO. When I ignored their advice and contacted ATO, the ATO advised that had I not contacted them my file would have been sent to a debt recovery agent. Thus had I followed AEs advice I would have ended up with an adverse credit rating. All of this could and should have been anticipated by a competent project manager. That it was not and that AE thought it was OK to outsource the problem to their clients tells us what we need to know about AEs management competence. Their response to a formal complaint was effectively to blame the ATO even though the error was clearly AEs. I suggest you look elsewhere for an ethical fund. I currently am.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
VladPerth
- 2 reviews
- Verified customer
Australian Unethical Super
Early in 2018 I found out that I was getting charged adviser fees when I have never received or requested any financial advice from Australian Ethical or any other company. When I complained, AE assured me I had authorized deductions some time ago however they were never able to provide any evidence of this 'authorisation'. Despite my complaint they continued to deduct adviser fees on a monthly basis while I still did not receive any service. After a number of calls over +6 months and lodging a complaint they washed their hands and sent me contact details of a financial advisor for me to liaise with to get a refund!!!
My advice to anyone considering joining this super fund is stay away!!!
1 comment
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi Vlad
We're sorry you've had this experience. A member from our team is getting in touch with you today with a resolution to this.
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Annie-BeeAU
- 16 reviews
- 9 likes
- Verified customer
The customer service is really terrible, so disappointed
I wanted to do the right thing and change to an ethical fund, but in the process of trying to transfer my account and my insurance I was just met with really bad and condescending customer service. They simply don't care about their customers. I have changed my husband into this fund and made our business fund of choice, but will now change it all over again to a different fund, probably future super which was the other one I was considering. I asked to put in a complain and the person advised me that they will get back to me in 30 days and I can expect up to 90 days for the resolution. I suppose that says a lot about the company.
1 comment
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi Annie
We're really sorry to hear about your bad experience. We want to look into this for you immediately. Could you please email us your full name to [email protected] or call our Client Services team on 1800 021 227. ... Read more
Thanks, Australian Ethical teamSimilar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
NickSouth Hobart
What about AMP?
It hasn’t escaped my attention that AE holds investments in AMP and other institutions being investigated by the Royal Commission. I understand that I pay higher fees for a more rigorous screening process. Two questions arise:
1. How effective is the screening if we are investing in so called ethical company’s that admit to breaking the law and behaving unethically towards regulators and customers.
2. How effective is the so called advocacy strategy of buying shares in these big unethical banks to influence behaviour as a shareholder? No very effective it would seem.
I want to believe in AE approach but this undermines my confidence.
3 comments
BethanyAustralian Ethical
Hi Nick, thanks for your question.
By applying our Ethical Charter, which has guided investment decisions for more than 30-years, and its positive and negative screening process, we have decided AM... Read more
P’s actions are in breach of its ethical standards and therefore have decided to divest.Thanks for such a comprehensive reply about your approach.
Your recent response to AMP notes some of the challenges that directors of boards have faced when balancing the needs of customers with the i... Read more
BethanyAustralian Ethical
Thanks for your question, Nick. We are a for-profit organisation. But one that believes financial outcomes should be achieved while being conscious of their impact on the world around us. Like any for... Read more
-profit, listed company we continually balance the needs of our stakeholder groups, including our members and shareholders. In fact, since 2013 our super fees have more than halved. This is because as we have grown and achieved greater scale, we have been able to defray our costs across a larger member base and have shared this benefit with members by reducing our fees. This decision has had an impact on the dividends for shareholders. Like any company, the Board oversees the development and implementation of the strategy and fees are a key part of the strategy. We hope this helps explain our approach.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Questions & Answers
krizelle anne n.asked
hi i would like to do investing but im not sure of what and how/ can you help me? thanks
1 answer
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi there - thanks for getting in touch.
We offer Superannuation (https://www.australianethical.com.au/super/) and Managed Funds (https://www.australianethical.com.au/managed-funds/).
Is there an area of investment you're particularly interested in? You're welcome to give us a call to discuss in more detail:1300 134 337
We hope that helps get you started.
Jimbobaloobopasked
I have super with AE and I'm now considering putting money into one of the AE managed funds. So far I like the approach AE takes. The fees are pretty high though. How can you justify this?
2 answers
Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi Jimbobaloobop,
It's always nice to hear that one of our Super members is considering one of our Managed Funds as well! We're glad you like our ethical approach to investing - and you would already be aware of our competitive performance returns.
Fees are about many things, including the level of engagement of the fund managers, and a matter of scale. Australian Ethical has a particularly high level of engagement, because of both our ethical screening, and our active investment style. Despite this, since 2013 we’ve more than halved our fees. It’s just one of the ways that as we grow, we’re making sure to share the benefits with our investors. You might also be interested to know that we are one of the best valued ethical investment funds in Australia when you take into account what our product offers. You may also find that other ‘ethical funds’ may not offer a comprehensive ethical screening process, for example only screening certain negative industries, or best of industry.
You may be interested in some of our wholesale funds, which offer the funds at a substantially reduced fee. You can find more information on our wholesale funds here: https://www.australianethical.com.au/managed-funds/fees/.
You can find more on the performance of our managed funds here: https://www.australianethical.com.au/managed-funds/performance-and-returns/
If you want to discuss our investment options, don't hesitate to call us on 1800 021 227.
- Julian at Australian Ethical.
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Norbuasked
I would like to know if Australian Ethical discloses 100% of their assets and also if there is any investments linked to Wilson, Broadspectrum or any other torture providers be it onshore or offshore, directly or indirectly? Thanks
1 answer
SherinAustralian Ethical
Hi Norbu
I am so sorry for not being able to respond to you earlier. Transparency is a key priority at Australian Ethical. That’s why we list the companies we invest in across our investments. To view the companies we invest in, please visit https://www.australianethical.com.au/companies-we-invest-in/.
Thank you
Sherin at Australian Ethical
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Australian E.Australian Ethical
Hi there,
This does not sound like a good experience. We're sorry you've had so much trouble. ... Read more
We'd like to investigate this further, if that's ok? Can you please email us at [email protected]?