Yahoo Finance Australia’s top 6 super funds: revealed
2018 was a tough year for superannuation funds, the average fund made negative returns and the Royal Commission exposed dodgy behaviour within the $2.7 trillion sector.
It means Australian workers are wondering whether they’re really getting the best deal, Canstar group executive of financial services, Steve Mickenbecker said.
Canstar analysed 67 superannuation products from 59 providers to find the strongest-performing fund, considering how the funds perform across different balances and age groups.
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“The six top funds performed strongest in our review across a broad range of consumer groups when it came to their combination of investment returns, fees, insurance options and access to advice and information.”
Mickenbecker noted that Canstar’s rating comes as the government mulls a recommendation from the Productivity Commission to instate a “best in show” list of the top 10 superannuation funds, from which new workforce entrants will choose.
While workers will be able to switch funds throughout their career, the recommendation is meant to curb the sheer volume of funds set up by different employers as workers advance through their careers, and which trigger unnecessary sets of duplicate fees and insurance.
Here are the six super funds which came out on top (in alphabetical order):
AustralianSuper – AustralianSuper
“AustralianSuper has displayed consistently strong performance returns over the past five years. The Canstar Research Team found that from 2014-2018, AustralianSuper’s returns were 1.75 per cent higher than the market average,” Canstar said.
Catholic Super – Catholic Super Employer Sponsored
“Unlike the other award winners, Catholic Super Employer Sponsored now applies age-based asset allocation. This means younger members in their 20s, 30s and 40s have an aggressive asset allocation and older members in their 50s and 60s have a balanced allocation,” Canstar explained.
Catholic Super’s returns largely came down to the value it delivered to its younger members, compared to other funds.
Hostplus Super – Hostplus Personal Super
Hostplus Personal Super returned an average 1.87 per cent more than the market average and scored well for member access.
InTrust Super – InTrust Super Executive Super
This is the first time InTrust Super scored five stars, after it improved performance. It delivered an average annual return that was 2.04 per cent higher than the market average.
Statewide Super – Statewide Super Employer Sponsored
“While it had strong performance across all feature categories, Canstar Research found that it truly excelled relative to its peers in making financial advice and education available to its members. It offers personal advice through a range of mediums as well as calculators and educational content,” Canstar said.
Sunsuper – Sunsuper for Life
Sunsuper excelled when it comes to financial advice and education, Canstar said, as well as delivering returns 1.12 per cent above the market average.
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