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! !!

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!

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

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.

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.

My parents used this service for my sister and we recently signed up our daughter. The rep that visited us was friendly and very experienced and not too pushy, just laid out the benefits clearly. Have recommended this service to friends.