If it’s too good to be true, it generally is…
While it’s often overlooked and always undervalued, the lessons from the past few years should have ingrained in investors that it pays to read the fine print in all offerings, understand the risk and opportunity costs associated with the investment and don’t always look at projected returns as the sole factor in investment decisions.
A growing number of financial service providers, banks and even fund managers have advertised “headline grabbing” product offerings over recent months, enticing investors with interest rates and returns. As we look around the financial landscape we see advertisements for term deposits and savings accounts that entice you and your hard earned dollars into opening an account “near you”. Some of these offers may look like the opportunity that you have been waiting for, as many investors seek to rejuvenate their returns after a tumultuous eighteen months.
However, many are not what they would seem.
For example, some term deposits on offer by the banks have seen customers sign up at attractive rates, only to find that rates diminish greatly in the next term. Many investors take a ‘set and forget’ approach, leaving their investments to automatically roll into the next term without re-evaluating it, so some investors are finding later that their net position is not as improved as they would like - or need - it to be.
This is where it is important to read the detail. Some investors are committing their funds to new offers based upon their understanding of the different terms and conditions from another product at the same bank, not reading the details before they sign.
At Uniting Financial Services, we keep it pretty simple. Terms and conditions for our special interest rate offers are the same as our usual, or it’s spelt out in big letters. Simple.
The documents that include our terms and conditions have recently been updated however, as you will see when your copies arrive by mail in the next few weeks or by viewing them now on our website, very little has changed in our terms and conditions. Our updates predominantly relate to our new products and services including BPay®.
Most importantly, our commitment to providing service and benefits to our investors remains the same. Our At Call and Fixed Term investments continue to provide a good return and still have no transaction or maintenance fees. Every investment with us still supports the work of the Uniting Church in Australia, funding mission, education and more in church communities within the Synod of NSW and the ACT.
After eighty years of service to what is now The Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of NSW and the ACT, as well as our many other investors, our plan is simple and sincere: keep working hard to support you, your families and the greater church family and to do it ethically, sustainably and with a clear conscience.
That’s what we call investing in higher values.
Tony DiMauro
Chief Executive Officer
Past comments from the Chief Executive Officer
