American Century Customer Reviews

by cdg, 4/21/2018

Pros: The CPFXX fund is unique. No one else offers the equivalent.

Cons: Time-wasting, inaccurate, inadequate and insulting.

ACI’s "customer service" is unable to provide simple information, and wastes hours of client time providing misinformation, because their agents can’t understand simple English and/or don't understand basic investment terminology. There is no longer any way of contacting "customer service" without wasting hours navigating their "FAQ" responses, only to be told to "telephone us". Their telephone system was designed by an idiot, and ensures an irate customer when/if a live agent ever comes on the line. Their website is riddled with inaccuracies in data and information, as well as the gross misuse of the English language. Their "statements" are inaccurate and incomplete. Their CEO's response to valid feedback and/or complaints about the website and/or customer service, is inaccurate, inadequate and insulting rhetoric, followed by "please take your business elsewhere".

by Steven, 10/19/2016

Pros:

Cons: The only one making money is American Investments

On 7/17/2000 I placed $5,000 into a gift trust for my 11-month-old daughter. As my daughter is 17 now and looking at colleges, we are looking at paying $30,000+ per year for an in-state college in Colo. After 16 years of having a group of highly educated professionals looking after my daughter's money, you would expect it to double maybe or even triple in value right? Surely, the professionals at ACI could outdo the S&P 500, right? Wrong. After almost 16 years of managing my young daughter's money, the value of the account as of 7/31/2016 is $5,510.86, or a total of 10% and way less than 1% per year (0.6%) per year. It turns out the only one that made money over the 16 years is American Century Investments who collected fees each year of more than the return on the account. So, what did the S%P 500 do in that time? On Aug. 31, 2000, the value was $1,517.68. On March 31, 2016, the value of the S&P was $2,059.74 which is about a 35.73% increase over the total period or about 2.23% per year. A 10% increase vs. a 35.73% increase. I wish the rating system had a negative 5 stars because that is what I would give them. When I talked to the customer service person about it, he was nice, but just snickered and said: "That's the way it goes sometime." Do yourself a favor; Open and Scottrade or similar account (Ed IRA), buy shares of the S&P, Dow Jones, or Nasdaq. It will cost you all of $7.00. And then in 16 years, your money will grow 3.5x more than it will with American Century Investments.

by Kathy, 6/25/2015

Pros:

Cons:

Back in 1988, I opened 2 gift trusts for my children with 500.00 each funding the acct. I opened them with only enough money that it was not a hardship to me, in case the investment did not do well. Today you must have 2,500.00 to open a gift trust. My son, who recently had his 40th birthday (2015) received his gift and it had matured to about 3,800.00. Did it dip when the market went down? Yes. Did it go up when the market went up? Yes. It was in the fund for around 26 or 27 years. I could choose the length of time. I believe now it must be at least 10 years. Keep in mind, it's important to open a gift trust when the market is down, then it will only go up.

This is an investment vehicle like playing the stock market. You don't want to jump in when everything is high. My grandmother had invested money into gift trust accounts for me and my siblings before she passed away in 1995 (20,000.00 each). These accounts came due in 10 years and we watched them all go down in value, only to barely reach the original investment made 10 years earlier. Yes, they did poorly, but my grandmother invested at a bad time, when the market was high. You need to do your homework and invest wisely. My daughter has not received her gift trust yet, but will in a few more years. I don't know if her investment will stay where it is right now or not, but if it goes down, it's nice to have the money transfer to another non-gift trust fund at maturity, and then she can decide if she'd like to keep it invested longer or withdraw the money right away.

by Yvonne, 6/17/2014

Pros:

Cons:

15 years ago, the attraction to AC Gift Trust was its promotion that the child will receive on his/her 18th birthday a check to his name and address in the amount of the monies gifted (now $4500). Well, just learned this is just not so. On his 18th birthday, the money will be shipped into another investment "vehicle". (Oh first, he will have to set up this new account online for access. However, this information to set up this new account will arrive after his 18th birthday). Then after all this is done can he access his money. So, no more mommy "surprise" because he has to first call AC to "red tape" his way to his last present mom can afford to give his before he leaves for college in two months.

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