Which are Australia’s largest super funds?

Superannuation is now very much super-sized. In fact, Australia now boasts the fifth-largest pool of investable retirement savings in the world.

In December 2024, $4.2 trillion was invested in super, up 11.5% in just 12 months. That’s significantly more than the $3.1 trillion combined value of all the stocks on the ASX. The two largest super funds alone – AustralianSuper and Australian Retirement Trust – each have more than $300 billion in assets.

Super’s growth spurt was due in part to increases in compulsory employer contributions, with the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate increasing to 11% from July 2023, and again to 11.5% in July 2024, as well as a 3.5% increase in wages growth. As the SG rate increases again to 12% from July 2025, Australia’s superannuation system is only going to get bigger.

The funds themselves are also getting bigger, due to a combination of organic growth and mergers. In September 2024 there were 95 funds regulated by APRA (not including small APRA funds), down from 106 the previous year, but this number is predicted to fall further as the industry continues to consolidate.

Underperforming funds pressured to merge

The 2018 Productivity Commission inquiry into superannuation, and the banking Royal Commission that followed, put the spotlight on underperforming funds. As a result, APRA has published annual performance tests for MySuper and Choice super funds to put pressure on poor performers to merge or exit the industry.

Another consequence of the Royal Commission has been an outflow of members and their money from the retail superannuation sector to industry funds. This trend is highlighted in the latest list of 20 largest super funds.