Scott,
As a mid-life woman, I have been impacted by predatory behaviour in the workplace and I identify strongly with the women who were treated as prey in Epstein’s network. I am really disturbed to read about the links of this network to Vanguard. Are you able to recommend some alternative low-cost ETFs that are more ethical about how they do business, like Future Group, which holds Future Super?
Matilda
Hi Matilda,
Your question made me sweat like Bill Gates.
Jeffrey Epstein is linked to Vanguard?
I couldn’t believe it. This is one of the most boring companies in finance. Its founder, Jack Bogle, was so tight he kept a penny jar by the photocopier.
He must be rolling in his grave right now.
So I took a deep breath, held my nose and googled.
Nothing.
I asked ChatGPT.
Nothing.
So I called Vanguard and asked them point blank.
“Is it true you have links to Jeffrey Epstein?”
“I don’t think so”, came the confused response. “Have you heard otherwise?”
“Well, I got a tip-off from a reader who’d obviously done some serious research … though it doesn’t appear to be on the internet, or in any newspapers, or anywhere else that I could find.”
And as I said that, I realised something.
Research isn’t really your thing, is it Matilda?
Because if it were, you would have also googled the ‘ethical’ alternative you recommended to me, Future Super.
Here’s what I found when I did:
It seems Future Super has its own problems: greenwashing allegations, high fees – and ASIC fined them for misleading marketing in 2023. So your ‘ethical’ alternative has about as much credibility as Elon Musk’s email to Epstein on Christmas morning asking for an invite to one of his parties (google it).
Matilda, the whole Epstein tragedy is about innocent young women giving their trust to people who hadn’t earned it, and didn’t deserve it. Don’t make the same mistake with your money.