Note: SuperGuide updates this article periodically with the latest performance and super fund data. Latest update was 25 September 2010.
Asking experts and rating agencies for the answer to what super fund is Australia’s best-performing fund can be compared to the vain stepmother in the fairy tale Snow White asking the magical mirror: ‘Mirror mirror on the wall, who in the land is the fairest of all?”. The answer on one day may be: “You, my queen, are fairest of all” while another day it is likely to be: “Queen, you are full fair, ’tis true, but Snow White is fairer than you.”
The dilemma when seeking out ‘the best’ is that the answer also depends on who you’re asking, what you’re asking, and even when you’re asking such a question. Do you want to know the top performer for the past month, three months, 12 months, or the top fund over a period of 3 years, 5 years or 10 years? Are you seeking the best performer before fees, or after fees? Do you want to know the best performer after taxes have been deducted, or after both fees and taxes have been deducted?
Are you comparing like with like? For instance, a super fund
Alternatively, when you’re thinking of the best fund, you may be seeking a fund that provides the cheapest fees, or the best value life
Every month, and each quarter, the daily newspapers report the top-performing super funds for the month or quarter. The data is usually sourced from one of the rating agencies, including:
- SuperRatings
- SelectingSuper
- MorningStar
You then need to differentiate the top-performing funds from what rating agencies consider to be the ‘best’ super funds. The ‘best’ super fund tag applied by a rating agency is not necessarily the super fund with the highest performance in a particular year or month, and what is ‘best’ can vary depending on what is used as a measurement.
How did your super fund perform?
In this article we publish some exciting data for those readers interested in hard data on the top all-rounder super funds, and the winners in the investment performance stakes, courtesy of rating company, SuperRatings. Continue reading to discover the following information:
- Top 10 super funds in Australia (based on 400 criteria including investment, fees, insurance, service delivery )
- Top 10 pension funds in Australia
- Top 10 super fund performers (balanced investment option) for 10 years to June 2010
- Top 10 super fund performers for 12 months to June 2010 for following
- Growth option (77 to 90%
- Capital Stable option (20 to 40% growth assets)
- Cash option (100% in cash)
- Australian Share option (100% in shares)
- International Share option (100% in international shares)
- Growth option (77 to 90%
Note: You can also read about the latest performance figures over 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years for the different investment options available, and the latest data on the top-performing super funds in the article Investment performance: We’re the best super fund. No we’re the best…
Tip: If you run a self-managed super fund (SMSF) you can use the investment returns of the large super funds as a benchmark for your own fund’s investment performance. Are you outperforming the large super funds with your
And the award goes to…
On 21 September 2010, ratings agency SuperRatings, announced the top 10 super funds and the top 10 pension funds for 2010.
SuperRatings evaluated hundreds of super funds based on based on 400 different criteria (including investments; fees; insurance; service delivery; member education; financial planning facilities; employer support; and fund governance).
Top 10 superannuation funds: In alphabetical order, the top 10 super funds for 2010 are:
- AustralianSuper
- CareSuper
- Catholic Super
- ESSSuper
- First State Super
- GESB Super
- HOSTPLUS
- REST
- Sunsuper
- Telstra Super
Top 10 pension funds: In alphabetical order, the top ten pension funds for 2010 are:
- AMP SignatureSuper Allocated Pension
- AustralianSuper Pension
- AUSCOAL Super Account Based Pension
- BUSS(Q) Standard Allocated Pension
- Catholic Super Pension
- First State Super Retirement Income Stream
- GESB Retirement Income Allocated Pension
- QSuper Pension Account
- Russell Private Active Pension
- Sunsuper Retirement Pension
Taking a balanced approach – investment performance
If you’re looking solely at investment performance, then the ‘best’ fund award depends on what type of investment option is involved, and whether you are looking at performance over 12 months, 3 years, 5 years or even 10 years.
More than 80% of Australians have their super money invested in a balanced (sometimes described as ‘growth’) investment option, which generally involves between 60% and 80% of growth-style assets, such as shares and
For example, SuperRatings classifies a ‘balanced’ investment option to be holding 60% to 76% in growth investments while another rating agency, ChantWest, classifies ‘Balanced’ to be an investment option with 41-60% of assets in growth investments. Chant West considers an allocation of 61 to 80% in growth assets to be a ‘growth’ option.
In short, the terms ‘balanced’ and ‘growth’ are sometimes interchangeable, and you should always check the asset mix of any investment option that you’re considering or that you currently use. Your super fund’s default investment option is likely to be a balanced or growth allocation.
Top 10 balanced options over 10-year period (for super funds open to anyone)
According to SuperRatings, the top 10 balanced investment options for public offer super funds (super funds open to anyone) over the 10-year period to 30 June 2010 are listed in the table below.
Note: No public offer super fund offering a balanced investment option ranks in the top 10 for all periods – 10 years, 5 years and 1 year, according to the SuperRatings data. The closest super fund to deliver top ranking for the three timeframes is REST. Industry super fund, REST, ranks number one over the 10-year and 5-year periods and ranks number 12 over the past 12 months to 30 June 2010.
| Top 10 public offer BALANCED* investment options over 10 YEAR period | |||||||
| Fund & Option Description | 10 yr (% pa) | Rank/35 | 5 yr (% pa) | Rank/57 | 1 yr (% pa) | Rank/57 | |
| REST – Core Strategy | 7.0% | 1 | 5.5% | 1 | 11.4% | 12 | |
| Buss (Q) – Balanced Growth | 6.3% | 2 | 5.3% | 3 | 9.4% | 36 | |
| Equipsuper Corp – Balanced Growth | 5.9% | 3 | 4.1% | 10 | 8.6% | 48 | |
| HOSTPLUS – Balanced | 5.8% | 4 | 4.1% | 11 | 8.1% | 55 | |
| AustralianSuper – Balanced Option | 5.7% | 5 | 4.5% | 9 | 10.1% | 25 | |
| AMIST – Balanced | 5.6% | 6 | 3.7% | 20 | 8.6% | 49 | |
| NGS Super – Diversified | 5.5% | 7 | 4.8% | 5 | 10.0% | 26 | |
| Cbus – Core Strategy | 5.4% | 8 | 4.5% | 8 | 8.9% | 43 | |
| Intrust Core Super – Balanced | 5.4% | 9 | 4.0% | 12 | 10.3% | 22 | |
| SunSuper Solutions – Balanced | 5.4% | 10 | 4.0% | 14 | 8.9% | 34 | |
*Based on public offer fund investment options that hold between 60% and 76% in growth-style assets (such as shares and property investments). All results are net f fees and taxes.
Source: SuperRatings (www.superratings.com.au)
Top 10 growth options over 12 months ending 30 June 2010
According to SuperRatings, the top 10 growth investment options (77 to 90% in growth assets) for super funds for the 12 months ending 30 June 2010 are listed in the table below. The 3-year returns in the fourth column of the table are negative returns (investment losses).
Note: Two super funds feature in the top 10 growth options over the three timeframes – 12 months, 3 years and 5 years, according to the SuperRatings data. The super fund investment options that belong to this exclusive club are: ESI (Growth Option) and OSF Super (Mix 90). A third investment option – ARIA PSSap (Aggressive) is close behind ranking in the top 10 for 12 months and 5 years, and ranking at 15 for the 3-year period.
| Top 10 GROWTH* investment options over PAST 12 MONTHS (to 30 June 2010) | |||||||
| Fund & Option Description | 1 yr (%) | Rank | 3 yr (% pa) | Rank | 5 yr (% pa) | Rank | |
| GESB Super – Growth Plan | 13.5% | 1 | -5.6% | 20 | n/a | n/a | |
| Local Government Super Accum – High Growth | 13.1% | 2 | -7.5% | 39 | 1.7% | 31 | |
| SSRF Pers – Growth Fund | 12.8% | 3 | -6.6% | 34 | 1.6% | 32 | |
| Plum – MLC Growth Portfolio | 12.5% | 4 | -4.9% | 17 | 3.0% | 18 | |
| AXA SD Bus – Multi-manager Growth | 12.4% | 5 | -7.9% | 42 | 1.0% | 41 | |
| ARIA PSSap – Aggressive | 12.4% | 6 | -4.4% | 15 | 4.1% | 8 | |
| ING Corp – Optimix Growth | 12.3% | 7 | -6.0% | 28 | 2.4% | 26 | |
| ESI Super – Growth Option | 12.2% | 8 | -2.8% | 6 | 4.6% | 6 | |
| OSF Super | 12.1% | 9 | -2.2% | 5 | 5.8% | 1 | |
| CFS FC Emp – FirstChoice Growth | 12.1% | 10 | -7.0% | 37 | 1.3% | 37 | |
*Based on super fund investment options that hold between 77% and 90% in growth-style assets (such as shares and property investments). All results are net of fees and taxes.
Source: SuperRatings (www.superratings.com.au)
Top 10 capital stable options over 12 months ending 30 June 2010
According to SuperRatings, the top 10 capital stable investment options (20 to 40% in growth assets) for super funds for the 12 months ending 30 June 2010 are listed in the table below. The 3-year returns in the fourth column of the table contain some negative returns (investment losses).
Note: Only one super fund features in the top 10 capital stable options over the three timeframes – 12 months, 3 years and 5 years, according to the SuperRatings data. The OSF Super (Mix 30) option ranked fifth for 12 months, second for three years and first over 5 years. Two other super funds ranked in the top 10 for two of the timeframes and just outside the top 10 for a third timeframe. These super fund investment options are NGS Super (Defensive) and ESI Super (Stable).
| Top 10 CAPITAL STABLE* investment options over PAST 12 MONTHS (to 30 June 2010) | |||||||
| Fund & Option Description | 1 yr (%) | Rank | 3 yr (% pa) | Rank | 5 yr (% pa) | Rank | |
| Local Government Super Accum – Conservative | 11.7% | 1 | -0.4% | 40 | 2.6% | 39 | |
| NGS Super – Defensive | 11.7% | 2 | 1.9% | 19 | 5.4% | 2 | |
| VISSF- Conservative | 10.9% | 3 | 2.3% | 17 | - | - | |
| Local Super – Conservative Option | 10.8% | 4 | 1.4% | 25 | 4.3% | 22 | |
| OSF Super – Mix 30 | 10.3% | 5 | 3.7% | 2 | 5.6% | 1 | |
| ESI Super – Stable Option | 10.3% | 6 | 1.5% | 23 | 5.0% | 8 | |
| BT Lifetime Super Emp – BT Multi-manager Conservative | 10.3% | 7 | -1.8% | 46 | 1.3% | 45 | |
| EISS Accum – Capital Guarded | 10.2% | 8 | 0.7% | 30 | 3.3% | 30 | |
| Intrust Core Super – Stable | 10.% | 9 | 2.4% | 13 | 4.6% | 18 | |
| AXA SD Bus – Multi-manager Secure | 9.7% | 10 | -0.5% | 41 | 2.4% | 41 | |
*Based on super fund investment options that hold between 20% and 40% in growth-style assets (such as shares and property investments). All results are net of fees and taxes.
Source: SuperRatings (www.superratings.com.au)
Top 10 cash options over 12 months ending 30 June 2010
Cash investment options are not necessarily pure cash investments. You can often expect bond investments and certain types of fixed interest products within a ‘cash’ option. Do your research on the underlying investments of a cash option before investing your super money.
According to SuperRatings, the top 10 cash investment options (100% in cash and short-term fixed interest) for super funds for the 12 months ending 30 June 2010 are listed in the table below.
Note: Four super funds feature in the top 10 cash investment options over the three timeframes – 12 months, 3 years and 5 years, according to the SuperRatings data. The four super funds are EISS Accum (Cash), FuturePlus Super (Cash), AustralianSuper (Cash), and Vision SS (Cash). Two super funds rank in the top 10 for the cash investment option for two timeframes and slip outside the top 10 for a third timeframe: Local Government Super Accum (Cash) is ranked number 1 for one year, but ranked 12 for the 3-year period, while Maritime Stevedores AccumPlus (Cash Enhanced) is ranked 21 for the 5-year period, but ranked number 1 for 3-year investment timeframe.
| Top 10 CASH* investment options over PAST 12 MONTHS (to 30 June 2010) | |||||||
| Fund & Option Description | 1 yr (%) | Rank | 3 yr (% pa) | Rank | 5 yr (% pa) | Rank | |
| Local Government Super Accum – Cash | 4.9% | 1 | 4.8% | 12 | 5.2% | 5 | |
| ESI Super – Cash Enhanced Option | 4.9% | 2 | 4.3% | 22 | 4.6% | 24 | |
| REST – Cash | 4.6% | 3 | 3.8% | 35 | 4.5% | 25 | |
| Local Super – Cash Option | 4.5% | 4 | 3.9% | 31 | 4.4% | 29 | |
| EISS Accum – Cash | 4.5% | 5 | 4.9% | 8 | 5.1% | 6 | |
| FuturePlus Super – Cash | 4.5% | 6 | 5.1% | 3 | 5.2% | 4 | |
| Maritime Stevedores AccumPlus – Cash Enhanced | 4.5% | 7 | 8.0% | 1 | 4.7% | 21 | |
| AustralianSuper – Cash | 4.2% | 8 | 5.1% | 5 | 5.3% | 2 | |
| Vision SS – Cash | 4.2% | 9 | 5.2% | 2 | 5.2% | 3 | |
| Asset Super – Cash | 4.0% | 10 | 3.7% | 40 | 4.2% | 35 | |
*Based on super fund investment options that hold 100% in cash or cash-like investments. All results are net of fees and taxes.
Source: SuperRatings (www.superratings.com.au)
Top 10 Australian share options over 12 months ending 30 June 2010
According to SuperRatings, the top 10 Australian share investment options (100% in
Note: Three super funds feature in the top 10 Australian share options over the three timeframes – 12 months, 3 years and 5 years, according to the SuperRatings data. The three super funds are Perpetual Wealth Focus SP (Perpetual Aust. Share Fund), NGS Super (Australian Shares) and REST (Australian Shares). A fourth super fund’s investment option GESB Super (Australian Shares) is in the top 10 for 1 year and 3 years but was not in existence 5 years ago. Another super fund, Statewide (Australian Equities) ranked in the top 10 for 12 months and 5 years but slipped outside the top 20 performers over 3 years.
| Top 10 AUSTRALIAN SHARES* investment options over PAST 12 MONTHS (to 30 June 2010) | |||||||
| Fund & Option Description | 1 yr (%) | Rank | 3 yr (% pa) | Rank | 5 yr (% pa) | Rank | |
| Perpetual WealthFocus SP – Perpetual Aust. Share Fund | 19.2% | 1 | -4.1% | 4 | 5.5% | 8 | |
| NGS Super – Australian Shares | 17.7% | 2 | -4.8% | 8 | 6.2% | 4 | |
| ESI – Australian Shares | 17.6% | 3 | -6.4% | 26 | 5.0% | 17 | |
| Legalsuper – Australian Shares | 16.1% | 4 | -7.6% | 42 | n/a | n/a | |
| LUCRF Super – Australian Shares | 15.2% | 5 | -5.7% | 17 | n/a | n/a | |
| Westscheme – Australian Shares | 14.3% | 6 | -6.9% | 33 | 5.3% | 12 | |
| REST – Australian Shares | 14.2% | 7 | -4.4% | 5 | 6.6% | 3 | |
| GESB Super – Australian Shares | 14.0% | 8 | -4.6% | 6 | n/a | n/a | |
| Statewide – Australian Equities | 13.6% | 9 | -6.0% | 21 | 5.5% | 9 | |
| QSuper – Australian Shares | 13.6% | 10 | -6.6% | 30 | 4.8% | 22 | |
*Based on super fund investment options that hold 100% in Australian shares. All results are net of fees and taxes.
Source: SuperRatings (www.superratings.com.au)
Top 10 international share options over 12 months ending 30 June 2010
According to SuperRatings, the top 10 international share investment options (100% in international shares) for super funds for the 12 months ending 30 June 2010 are listed in the table below. The 3-year and 5-year returns in the fourth and sixth columns of the table contain negative returns (investment losses). The performance record for international shares options is abysmal over the 3-year period with many of the top 20 delivering double-digit negative returns, although over the past 12 months, the top 10 funds delivered positive double-digit returns.
Note: An option offering 100% investment in international shares is a relatively new development for super funds, and consequently four of the top 10 international share investment options have operated for less than 5 years. Of the remaining six super funds that have offered an international share option for more than 5 years, only one super fund features in the top 10 for the three time frames – 12 months, 3 years and 5 years, according to the SuperRatings data. The super fund is Telstra Super Corp Plus (International Shares) ranking first over 5 years, second over 3 years and ranking 9 over the past 12 months. Four super funds have ranked in the top 10 for two timeframes. These super funds are: MasterSuper (International Shares), OSF Super (International Shares), AUSCOAL Super (International Shares) and Local Super (International Shares).
| Top 10 INTERNATIONAL SHARES* investment options over PAST 12 MONTHS (to 30 June 2010) | |||||||
| Fund & Option Description | 1 yr (%) | Rank | 3 yr (% pa) | Rank | 5 yr (% pa) | Rank | |
| Legalsuper – Overseas Shares | 15.0% | 1 | -9.3% | 13 | n/a | n/a | |
| MasterSuper – International Shares | 13.5% | 2 | -10.3% | 19 | -0.6% | 9 | |
| OSF Super – International Shares | 13.3% | 3 | -8.7% | 7 | n/a | n/a | |
| AGEST – International Shares | 12.3% | 4 | -11.1% | 25 | n/a | n/a | |
| AUSCOAL Super – International Shares | 12.0% | 5 | -10.6% | 22 | -0.3% | 8 | |
| Intrust Core Super – International Shares | 11.2% | 6 | -12.2% | 39 | -1.5% | 16 | |
| Combined Fund – International Shares | 10.9% | 7 | -11.1% | 26 | -1.6% | 18 | |
| ING Integra – Optimix Global Shares | 10.5% | 8 | -11.3% | 31 | -2.4% | 22 | |
| Telstra Super Corp Plus – International Shares | 10.3% | 9 | -7.0% | 2 | 2.6% | 1 | |
| Local Super – International Shares Option | 9.9% | 10 | -7.8% | 5 | n/a | n/a | |
*Based on super fund investment options that hold 100% in international shares. All results are net of fees and taxes.
Source: SuperRatings (www.superratings.com.au)
See also
- Top 10 performing super funds for 2010/2011 year
- Top 10 performing super funds for 2011 calendar year
- Super for beginners, part 20: Comparing your super fund’s performance
- Investment performance: We’re the best super fund. No, we’re the best…
- THE SOAPBOX: Is your super fund gambling with your retirement savings?
Hi Trish
Im in the process of doing a investment switch. Im currently with Perpetual and im wondering are they a good company to be dealing with. I feel that their fees are a bit high. based on an investment amount of $302,372 the MER amount is $6,569 plus a monthly admin fee of $8.44. What are you thoughts on this matter.
Regards
Doug.
Hi Doug – I’ve answered your question here:
http://www.superguide.com.au/superannuation-basics/super-for-beginners-part-11-is-my-super-fund-good-enough
Regards, Trish
Hi Trish
You have the best superannuation content, website & writing style found on the internet (by me)!
Not a glib comment considered I’ve been online since ’96 – so congratulations.
Suggestion – when ranking super funds and reading super tables – may I suggest we start with the greater period 5, 7 or 10 years in the column closest to the left ie
10 7 5 3 2 1 etc and rank performance by the greatest period.
I believe there is a psychological benefit in that you’ll be educating your readership that long term performance is superior to short term performance.
Hi Stephen
Many thanks for awarding SuperGuide ‘your best superannuation content’ award. We accept with pleasure!
I agree with your comments about focusing on the long-term returns when creating performance tables and ranking super funds. When we next update these articles, or write news ones on this topic, we will ensure that we show the longest period first and ranking.
Regards
Trish
great site –very informative,thank you
Finally!!! Fantastic site!!!! After searching and searching the internet for superannuation information/advise I have finally stumbled onto your very informative site, thank you so much.
Hi Simone
Many thanks for your kind feedback. We are very proud of our site and chuffed that you find SuperGuide helpful.
Regards
Trish