Investments exist on a risk spectrum. The higher the return, the higher the risk. So, your comfort with different levels of risk is crucial in determining what kind of assets you can, and should, invest in. You might already have a reasonable idea of whether or not you’re aggressive or conservative when it comes to ... Read more
Choosing an investment option (Investment choice)
Choosing an investment option in your super fund is an important decision, though it’s one that many Australians neglect. Around 80% of Australians with superannuation accounts have their money invested in the default option, which is where you’re placed if you don’t choose an investment option.
Default options are usually ‘balanced’ or ‘growth’ investments and normally have around 60%-80% of their funds invested in growth assets such as shares and property. These options are designed as an appropriate investment strategy for a large number of members across the many years they will be saving for their retirement.
However, your fund’s default option may not be best for your particular circumstances and risk profile. It’s important to understand that different types of investments have different levels of risk. In general, the higher potential investment return, the higher the risk, and vice versa.
It’s important to regularly assess your investment option over time as your circumstances change and to make a switch if necessary. For example, you may want to choose a different investment option in retirement if you’re receiving a pension.
See also the SuperGuide section on SMSF investment.
To learn about the key aspects of choosing a super investment option, see the following SuperGuide articles:
Set out below are all SuperGuide articles that relate to Choosing an investment option (Investment choice).
What are lifecycle super funds, and how do they perform?
Click here to jump to the latest returns for lifecycle super funds. Close to 70% of Australians with super in one of the major funds are invested in their fund’s MySuper option, the default option for employees who don’t choose a super fund. If you are a member of a retail fund, this is most likely a lifecycle product ... Read more
Monthly super fund performance Reckoner: Monthly returns for 5 investment categories
In our reckoner below you can view the median monthly investment returns for 5 superannuation investment options. We’re grateful to Chant West for providing the statistics that power the reckoner. See also: Super fund performance: Monthly returns to April 2019 Important: Superannuation is a long-term investment. While ... Read more
Super fund performance: Monthly returns to April 2019
In this article you can learn the monthly performance for super funds over 5 investment options going back to July 2015. We’re grateful to Chant West for providing the statistics in this article. For annual and long-term super fund performance see the following SuperGuide articles: Super fund performance: Financial ... Read more
Asset Sector Performance Reckoner
SuperGuide’s Asset Sector Performance reckoner allows you to compare the investment performance of various asset classes over the short, medium and long term. The reckoner covers 12 asset classes over 1, 3 and 5 years and, where available, also over 7, 10 and 15 years. The asset classes and maximum performance ... Read more
Asset sector performance: Returns over 1 to 15 financial years (to June 2018)
In this article you can discover the investment performance for 12 different asset classes over various timeframes. For all asset classes there is data for 1, 3 and 5 financial years, and for most asset classes there is also data over 7, 10 and 15 financial years. Note: A financial year covers 1 July to 30 June the ... Read more
Which are the largest super funds?
Superannuation is now very much super-sized. At December 2018 there was $2.6 trillion invested in super. That’s significantly more than the $1.8 trillion that could buy you Australia’s top 200 companies on the ASX. And with 9.5% of everyone’s wages being added each year, it’s projected to grow to $4.8 trillion by ... Read more
Asset sector performance: Returns over 1 to 15 calendar years (to December 2018)
In this article you can discover the investment performance for 12 asset classes over various timeframes. For all asset classes there is data for 1, 3 and 5 calendar years, and for most asset classes there is also data over 7, 10 and 15 calendar years. Note: A calendar year covers 1 January to 31 December, whereas a ... Read more
Super fund performance: Calendar years (to December 2018)
In this article you can find super fund performance for 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years, up to the latest calendar year and across five different investment options. We’re grateful to Chant West for providing the statistics in this article. See also Super fund performance: Financial years (to June 2018) The last quarter of ... Read more
Super fund performance: Financial years (to June 2018)
In this article you can find super fund performance for 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years, up to the latest financial year and across five different investment options. We’re grateful to Chant West for providing the statistics in this article. See also Super fund performance: Calendar years (to December 2018) The 2017/2018 ... Read more
Annual super fund performance Reckoner: Annual returns for 5 investment categories
In the reckoners below you can view the median super fund returns for 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years across five different investment options. There are two reckoners – one contains returns for the last 4 calendar years and the other contains returns for the last 3 financial years. We’re grateful to Chant West for ... Read more
Best performing super funds over 15 calendar years
Superannuation is a long-term investment. Those starting in the workforce today at 18 will have 47 years of superannuation contributions and investment returns ahead of them if they retire at 65. We often hear about the super returns for the latest month, or the top performing funds for the last year, but when looking ... Read more
Best performing super funds over 1 calendar year (to December 2018)
Super funds finished the 2018 calendar year with an average return of 0.8%. This was the lowest return since 2011, and well below the average of 9% over the last nine years. Chant West senior investment manager Mano Mohankumar says: “The power of diversification was clearly evident in 2018. When you consider that the ... Read more
Best performing super funds over 1 financial year (to June 2018)
Super funds finished the 2017/2018 financial year with an average return of 9.2% making it the ninth consecutive year of positive returns. Chant West senior investment manager, Mano Mohankumar says: “The only other time we’ve seen such a long sequence of positive returns was from 1992/93 to 2000/01. This year’s 9.2% is ... Read more
Best performing super funds over 10 financial years
Superannuation is a long-term investment. Those starting in the workforce today at 18 will have 47 years of superannuation contributions and investment returns ahead of them if they retire at 65. We often hear about the super returns for the latest month, or the top performing funds for the last year, but when looking ... Read more