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When comparing and selecting super funds, investment performance and low fees are necessary but not sufficient. You can find many articles on SuperGuide about the top performing or cheapest super funds (see the list at the end of this article), but your search shouldn’t end there.
The major super research houses Chant West and SuperRatings have long recognised this, so they use their annual awards to draw attention to the super and pension funds that deliver not only on investment performance and fees, but also go further in their ongoing focus on members.
This may be due to the education and advice services the super fund provides, or innovative investment options. It could be cost-effective insurance, good governance or top-notch customer support. What’s certain is it won’t be one thing, but a combination of factors that make one super fund stand out from the pack.
Even then, the overall winner of fund of the year may not be the one for you. For example, if you are looking for a pension fund then that subcategory will be of most interest. You should also be wary of making a decision about the right fund for you based on one award. If more than one research house gives a particular fund a gong for best in category, then it may be worth looking at more closely. If a fund has a track record of accolades over many years, even better.
Despite the bad press super funds sometimes get, ultimately they are legally obliged to act in the best interests of their members. The best super funds use that principle to continually improve their service.
In this article we report the funds of the year as chosen by Chant West and SuperRatings going back to 2013. For the latest year we’ll also list all the winners in other categories.
Funds of the year: 2023 and 2024 winners
SuperRatings is the first cab off the rank to announce its 2024 awards for overall excellence. In its annual awards ceremony on 25 October 2023, SuperRatings named UniSuper as its Super Fund of the Year.
In 2022, its first year as a public offer fund, UniSuper won the top all-rounder gong awarded by both Chant West and SuperRatings. Chant West also named UniSuper its fund of the year for 2023 in its annual awards ceremony in May 2023.
UniSuper
SuperRatings
Super fund of the year 2024
UniSuper
Chant West
Super fund of the year 2023
SuperRatings
With eight wins in a little over a decade, SuperRatings executive director Kirby Rappell says consistency is UniSuper’s standout feature in an increasingly volatile investment environment. While there was a lot of variation in the top performing funds for annual returns in the year to June 2023, Rappell says UniSuper was among the top performers last year and over 10 years.
UniSuper also took home three of the subcategory awards for MyChoice Fund of the Year, Choice insurance offering and Sustainable Fund of the Year for its standalone ESG option. UniSuper manages much of its investment portfolio internally and engages with Australia’s top 100 companies on their ESG performance, reporting back to members on its website. Rappell says that at a time when greenwashing is prevalent, UniSuper stands out for its proactive approach and the quality of its disclosures.
Retirement (Pension) Fund of the Year went to Aware Super for the first time. Rappell says Aware has done a lot of work on its pension product, from the launch of an innovative retirement calculator to increased tailoring of its pension investment options.
While Aware was a finalist in the Innovator category, the winner was Mercer for its Care and Living with Mercer (CaLM) product. Rappell says this does two things: a huge body of information for members about aged care options and strategies; and CaLM consultants to address members’ specific aged care needs at a reasonable price.
Hostplus, which now has three index options, won the Low-cost award while Rest won the Best Digital Offering category. Rappell says super funds have been late to the party with digital services, but Rest is catching up with the banks with a new digital app aimed at its younger member demographic.
Aware also won the new Lifetime Return category for a product that balances risk and returns over the life of a member’s investment up to retirement.
Chant West
Chant West general manager Ian Fryer says UniSuper narrowly pipped Aware Super and Cbus at the post for the overall award in 2023, due largely to its strong ongoing investment performance. Fryer says investment accounts for 45% of the scoring for the overall winner.
Historically, UniSuper has taken a different investment approach to other large funds, with a strong focus on listed assets. However, in recent times it has made significant investments in unlisted assets that have grown from 6% of their Balanced option two years ago to 18%. Fryer says UniSuper’s more growth-oriented portfolios have been among the top performers over all periods.
It is also different in its approach to member services. Due to its large concentration of members on university campuses, it has a network of consultants and advisers on-campus and in capital cities and a personalised on-boarding program that has been effective in driving positive action.
“It has some of the highest rates of members receiving advice, making additional contributions and using Member Online,” says Fryer. Its member statements are online and clearly show projected retirement income. And its insurance offering has premiums about half the median fund, taking advantage of its largely white-collar membership. It offers an online portal for lodging claims and a range of wellness services.
Funds of the year: 2013 to 2024 winners
In the table below you can find the Fund of the Year over the past decade. As noted earlier, Chant West announced their 2023 Fund of the Year in May 2023, while SuperRatings looks a year ahead and announced their 2024 winners in October 2023.
UniSuper has won eight top gongs over the years, followed by Sunsuper with six. QSuper (which has merged with Sunsuper to form the Australian Retirement Trust) has won three times while AustralianSuper and REST have both won twice. TelstraSuper has had one overall win.
It’s notable that all funds are Industry funds, except for TelstraSuper which is a corporate fund for Telstra employees, although retail funds are beginning to pop up more frequently in the category awards (below). UniSuper, Aware Super and QSuper began as Public Sector funds but are now available to the general public.
Year | Chant West | SuperRatings |
---|---|---|
2024 | UniSuper | |
2023 | UniSuper | Hostplus |
2022 | UniSuper | UniSuper |
2021 | AustralianSuper | QSuper* |
2020 | Sunsuper* | Sunsuper* |
2019 | UniSuper | UniSuper |
2018 | Sunsuper* | Sunsuper* |
2017 | Sunsuper* | QSuper* |
2016 | UniSuper | QSuper* |
2015 | UniSuper | TelstraSuper |
2014 | REST | REST |
2013 | AustralianSuper | Sunsuper* |
Sources: Chant West and SuperRatings
*now part of Australian Retirement Trust
Other award winners for 2023 and 2024
As previously mentioned, besides the Fund of the Year, each research house also awards funds for excelling in areas such as pensions, sustainability and innovation.
SuperRatings 2024
Award | Winner |
---|---|
Retirement Offering of the Year | Aware Super |
MyChoice Super of the Year | UniSuper |
MySuper of the Year | HESTA |
Career Fund of the Year | TelstraSuper |
Momentum | AMP Super Fund |
Net Benefit | HESTA |
Smooth Ride | CSC |
Sustainable Fund of the Year | UniSuper |
Service Quality | Vision Super |
Accountability and Transparency | NGS Super |
Advice Offering | MLC Super Fund |
Best Digital Offering | Rest |
Best Low-cost Offering | Hostplus |
Choice Insurance Offering | UniSuper |
Default Insurance Offering | legalsuper |
Innovator | Mercer – Care and Living with Mercer (CaLM) |
Lifetime Return | Aware Super |
Member Education | Equip Super |
Source: SuperRatings
Chant West 2023
Award | Winner |
---|---|
Pension Fund of the Year | TelstraSuper |
Advised Product of the Year | HUB24 |
Corporate Solutions Fund of the Year | Australian Retirement Trust – Super Savings |
Specialist Fund of the Year | Cbus |
Best Fund: Investments | AustralianSuper |
Best Fund: Member Services | Cbus |
Best Fund: Insurance | MLC MasterKey Business Super |
Best Fund: Advice Services | Australian Retirement Trust – Super Savings |
Best Fund: Innovation | AMP MyNorth Lifetime |
Best Fund: Integrity | HESTA |
Best Fund: Longevity Product | Australian Retirement Trust Lifetime Pension |
Best Fund: Responsible Investment | Aware Super |
Source: Chant West
WD says
I switched to Unisuper … but one thing I note is how slow it takes fortnightly employer contributions to show up in my account. Employer sends funds to a clearing bureau who are allowed up to 5 working days to send to Unisuper … and then Unisuper has another 5 days to process? Apparently this is all APRA compliant … but I find it a bit annoying to have the contributions basically not invested for 2 weeks. When Australia now has NPP processing payments in near realtime, BPAY basically overnight … it seems odd that Super funds are still relying on what must be very outdated payment processes that take 2 weeks to process transferred funds. Time for APRA to step up?
jason says
The big picture is the best fund would be the fund that has made its members the most money. Who cares about the add ons, the phone service, insurances.
Realistically, we all want the best return to build for a comfortable retirement. It is all about living after working life, Retirement people.
Julia says
I did a quick analysis of my Super account and believe me I’m no Math Genius. I looked at my Company’s contribution to my super account + my Salary Sacrifice contribution, took that amount away from last years Super Balance and it appears my Care Super fund made me $10K for the year. Does this seem about right. How would I know what the other funds (True % of return) such as your article 2020 Winner of Best Super Fund award Supersun (or was it SunSuper!!) return for the exact same amount of money invested, be?
Without withdrawing every Dollar to check this exercise, you can look at the % of growth, but is that ‘Real’ in terms of actual $$ return. Im not complaining ( well maybe a little) I thought Super yearly returns on $120K Super Balance might be a little more than this? Am I being unrealistic. Panic mode Now age 60 and Female. !! Don’t want to have the mentality of NOT turning on the AC in Summer thinking about the $$$ !!