Melissa Bain usually hangs up on cold callers, but this time she kept listening.

The caller offered to check the performance of her superannuation fund.

The pitch hit the mark for the Perth mum, who had taken time out of the workforce to care for her children.

That was her introduction to what authorities warn is an “industrial-scale business model” targeting Australian’s nest eggs.

The regulator said it began with a cold call or click-bait advertisement offering a free super review, after which consumers are pressured to switch to another fund.

They say after switching, some could have been charged excessive fees or have made risky and unsuitable investments.

The ABC can reveal the corporate watchdog the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has “deep concerns” and is investigating multiple companies for possible breaches of the law.

‘They kept calling … and kept pushing’

A sales representative from AGAT Business, a call centre on QLD’s Sunshine Coast that dubs itself the “superannuation detectives”, told Ms Bain they would check her industry fund’s performance.

She was then referred to Melbourne-based financial firm Venture Egg.

The firm recommended she shift to a Macquarie super fund and be classed as a high-growth investor, with advisers managing her investments.

It would come with more risk, but a higher reward. She was told she would be almost $900,000 better off.

Her super balance was about $110,000, and after a few weeks of consideration she went ahead.

But it came amid constant pressure from the call centre.

“They kept calling … and kept pushing,” Ms Bain said.

In one conversation she alleged the sales rep told her he would not make his commission.

“If I didn’t go across, you know, that he’s wasted all of his time, and he wouldn’t get his commission,” she said.

She was then charged almost $5,000 for Venture Egg’s financial services, advice she said was produced without speaking to her.

“I was hoping that I would have had more of a conversation with the financial adviser just to have that little bit more assurance of what they were investing my money in,” Ms Bain said.

In April 2023, her money was rolled out of her super account, but three months later Venture Egg had failed to invest her money.

Angry, she complained, which she said prompted the firm to act.

‘They’re a bunch of vultures’

Sahar Ghaly was also hooked by the promise of increasing her retirement savings, after escaping family violence.

The 56-year-old handed over her details and took a call from the “super detectives” before being referred to Venture Egg, where she felt pressured to move her super.

She recalled the call centre representative telling her: “‘You’re nearly 60 — time is, you know, of the essence.'” 

“It was always about pushing me to think quickly.”

But the problem did not end there.

Venture Egg invested almost $100,000 of her super into a product that was subsequently halted by ASIC.

Ms Ghaly’s money is now stuck in the managed investment scheme, called the Shield Master Fund, while a legal process continues.

“I’ve now become so obsessed that I check it every kind of, like, couple of hours and then I’m really disheartened,” she said.

ASIC investigation underway

ASIC is investigating instances where members of the public are being cold-called before investing in Shield.

Keystone Asset Management is the company responsible for the fund.

In a statement, Keystone Asset Management said, “as the matter is currently before the courts, it is not appropriate for KAM to comment in detail”.

Macquarie stopped accepting new applications for the Shield Master Fund on its investment platform, known as Macquarie Wrap, in June 2023.

Just one month later, in July 2023, it prevented Venture Egg from adding more clients to Macquarie Wrap.

Sahar Ghaly said she had parted ways with Venture Egg and the firm refunded her more than $5,000.

However, the dispute has left her without a financial adviser to manage her portfolio.

“They’re a bunch of vultures,” she said of her experiences of both Venture Egg and AGAT.

ASIC investigating ‘woeful tale of related businesses’

ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said a specialist team was now months into investigating AGAT Business and related companies, including Venture Egg.

Ms Court said she was “very keen” to add the cases of those interviewed by the ABC to its investigation.

At the centre of the investigation is what the ‘super detectives’ are telling people.

“Does it amount to advice, is there unlicensed conduct?” she said.

“We are working out whether there is anything … in that conduct that does breach the law; there’s a whole range of laws that potentially apply.”

Ms Court also confirmed other areas were under investigation, including property investment funds and the pressure put on people.

Asked about Macquarie, Ms Court would not comment.

“We are looking at the full suite of information here and Macquarie is at one end of that, of that model,” she said.

Ms Court said being cold called and offered a service that reviews the performance of a super fund was not illegal.

“I think it’s fair to say this business model exploits gaps in the law,” Ms Court said.

“It is against the law to ring up and sell a financial product, it is not against the law to ring up and offer a so-called service.”

In May, ASIC issued a public warning about cold-call operators engaging in high-pressure sales tactics and said it was leading to inappropriate advice to switch funds.

The ‘backdoor’ to commissions in financial services

Consumer advocates are alarmed and want ASIC to act quickly.

“An entire industry has basically popped up over the last few years,” said Xavier O’Halloran from Super Consumers Australia.

He said reviews being offered can take a matter of minutes and are not always comparing equal products.

He said people should seek third-party advice before switching, because the wrong choice could be costly.

“It could set people back hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement,” he said.

Peta Talbot considers herself lucky after receiving a cold call from AGAT Business and agreeing to a superannuation review.

The Sydney physiotherapist said she spoke to a financial adviser and was transferred back to the super detectives, but the tone of the conversation quickly changed when she refused to immediately go ahead with the advice.

“He raised his voice, he started being quite aggressive,” she said.

“[I said] ‘There is no way I will sign a 40-page document without reviewing it’ and he said, ‘well, I’ll sit here now, while you read through it’ and I said, ‘I don’t have time, I’m at work’.

“He said, ‘well, clearly you’re not serious, we’re making it null and void, this is just ridiculous’ and he hung up on me.”

Ms Talbot has no idea how they got her number.

“The people I spoke to definitely sounded like more in sales rather than finance,” she said.

“I don’t think it’s an area that should be cold called.

AGAT Business, Venture Egg and Macquarie all declined to be interviewed, despite requests from the ABC.

In a statement, AGAT Business said it “respects the privacy and rights of its clients and business partners, and respectfully declines to answer your questions”.

Venture Egg also did not respond to questions.

Macquarie said its superannuation plan was used by investors who received advice from a licensed financial adviser and it was the plan’s trustee.

In a statement, Macquarie said “Macquarie Wrap does not provide financial advice, nor does Macquarie have any involvement in the cold calling of individuals to review superannuation from unregulated call centres”.

It said it “does not pay any commissions to any financial advice firms whose clients have accounts on the Macquarie Wrap platform”.

Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said he was deeply concerned by practices “where they lead to consumer harm,” and supported strong enforcement by the regulator.

“If the laws are insufficient to provide proper protections for consumers, then the government will act,” Mr Jones said. 

He said the government was working on a financial advice reform package, had consulted on unfair trading practices and would have more to say on that soon. 

“People should not respond to unsolicited calls and only engage with trusted sources,” he said. 

“The regulators have identified concerns here, and we support their strong enforcement action where appropriate.”

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