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
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).
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 July 2019 Important: Superannuation is a long-term investment. While ... Read more
Super fund performance: Monthly returns to July 2019
In this article you can discover the latest monthly performance for super funds over 5 investment options. 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 over 27 financial years (to ... Read more
Member direct vs SMSFs
The self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) sector has been one of the fastest growing sectors of the superannuation industry over recent decades. So much so that some parts of the industry and retail superannuation fund segments have looked to it for ideas and have been offering members a growing capacity to choose ... Read more
How to select a retirement income calculator
Anyone who’s ever spent a few minutes popping numbers into their super fund’s online retirement calculator to find out if their retirement savings are on track knows it’s a confusing process.Calculators ask lots of questions and produce some great charts, but they’re only as good as the information you put into them, ... Read more
How reliable are retirement income calculators?
Nowadays you can expect just about every super fund website to provide an online retirement calculator, which can help members track how much money they are likely to have in their super account at retirement, and how long these retirement savings will last.If the calculator’s figures look good, most super fund ... Read more
Asset sector performance: Returns over 1 to 15 financial years (to June 2019)
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
Super fund performance over 27 financial years (to June 2019)
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. See also Super fund performance over 26 calendar years (to December 2018) The 2018/19 financial year was a year of two halves. Concerns about the escalating ... 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
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 - containing returns for the last 4 financial years and 4 calendar years respectively. We’re grateful to Chant West for providing the statistics in this ... Read more
Best performing super funds over the last financial year (to June 2019)
It was a bumpy ride, but super funds finished the 2018/19 financial year with the median growth fund up 7%, marking a decade of positive returns. The result is even more remarkable given that growth funds typically suggest members could expect a negative return every five years on average. Chant West senior investment ... 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
How to make your super more socially aware
Gone are the days when ethical investing existed on the periphery of investment management and the debate centred around whether or not environmental, social and governance (ESG) focussed funds could actually perform as well as mainstream funds.Now, assisted by the (almost) universal acceptance that some form of ... Read more
What are average super fund fees?
Super fund fees are unavoidable, but not all super accounts are created equal. Fees vary greatly by fund and investment type, but one thing they all have in common is they can be, according to the Productivity Commission (PC), “the biggest drain on net returns”. The PC report concluded that “fees can have a substantial ... Read more
Risk profiling and your investment choice
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