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AustralianSuper vs Rest Super: Which super fund is right for you?

AustralianSuper and Rest are two popular industry super funds, but how do they compare on fees, performance and investment options?

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Alison Banney
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AustralianSuper vs Rest Super

Let's dive in and compare the two super funds side by side, so you can see which one might be right for you.

AustralianSuperRest Super
Type of fundIndustry super fund and Australia's largest super fundIndustry super fund aligned to the retail sector
Number of members2.3 million members1.7 million members
Funds under management$181 billion$54 billion
Default investment optionAustralianSuper Balanced

This is a pre-mixed, diversified fund that invests your super in a range of assets with a strong allocation towards Australian and international shares, direct property and infrastructure. Investment allocation is the same for all members in the Balanced fund, regardless of age. It's an authorised MySuper product.

Rest Super - Core Strategy

Similar to AustralianSuper Balanced, this is a ready-made investment portfolio with a strong focus on shares, bonds, private equity and infrastructure. Investment allocation is the same for all members in the Core Strategy, regardless of age. It's an authorised MySuper product.

PerformancePast performance of AustralianSuper Balanced as of June 2020:

  • 5 years: 8.98% p.a.
  • 3 years: 7.73% p.a.
Past performance of Rest Core Strategy as of June 2020:

  • 5 years: 6.91% p.a.
  • 3 years: 5.44% p.a.
FeesHere's how much you'd pay in fees for one year if you had the following amounts invested in AustralianSuper Balanced:

  • $5,000 balance: $165 in fees
  • $50,000 balance: $411.18 in fees
  • $100,000 balance: $684.71 in fees

 

Here's how much you'd pay in fees for one year if you had the following amounts invested in Rest Core Strategy:

  • $5,000 balance: $129.32 in fees
  • $50,000 balance: $467.36 in fees
  • $100,000 balance: $842.96 in fees

 

Additional diversified investment optionsIf you don't want to invest in the default option (AustralianSuper Balanced), you can choose to invest your super in one of the following pre-made investment options instead:

  • High Growth
  • Socially Aware
  • Indexed Diversified
  • Conservative Balanced
  • Stable
If you don't want to invest in the default option (Rest Core Strategy), you can choose to invest your super in one of the following pre-made investment options instead:

  • High Growth
  • Balanced
  • Balanced - Indexed
  • Diversified
  • Capital Stable
Single asset class investment optionsIf you want to design your own investment mix, you can invest your super in one or more of the following individual asset classes:

  • Australian Shares
  • International Shares
  • Property
  • Diversified Fixed Interest
  • Cash
If you want to design your own investment mix, you can invest your super in one or more of the following individual asset classes:

  • Australian Shares
  • Australian Shares - Indexed
  • Overseas Shares
  • Overseas Shares - Indexed
  • Property
  • Shares
  • Bonds
  • Cash
  • Basic Cash
Ethical investmentAustralianSuper offers a dedicated ethical investment option: AustralianSuper Socially Aware.

This investment option is a diversified fund that doesn't invest in Australian or international companies that directly own coal and fossil fuel reserves, produce tobacco or those that have single-gender boards. AustralianSuper lists all its fund holdings on its website.

Past performance of AustralianSuper Socially Aware as of June 2020:

  • 3 years: 4.83% p.a.
  • 5 years: 6.1% p.a.

If you had $50,000 invested in AustraliaSuper Socially Aware you'd pay annual fees of $472.

Rest doesn't offer a dedicated ethical or sustainable investment option. Instead, it says it considers ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors across all of its investment options.

Rest also says its investment managers factor in climate change risk and opportunities when making investment decisions, and has a climate change statement on its website.

Mobile appThe AustralianSuper app has a 3.6-star rating from users in Google Play and a 3-star rating in the Apple App Store.The Rest mobile app has a 4.1-star rating from users in Google Play and a 4-star rating in the Apple App Store.
Join noAustralianSuperRest Super

How do the default MySuper products compare?

Both funds are popular industry super funds, though AustralianSuper has significantly more members and more funds under management than Rest.

The two default MySuper options are AustralianSuper Balanced and Rest Core Strategy. These two products are very similar; both are MySuper products and both are pre-mixed, diversified funds.

Looking at their investment allocation, AustralianSuper Balanced has more exposure to international shares than Rest Core Strategy and is slightly higher risk overall. Rest Core Strategy has a greater allocation to lower-risk, defensive assets than AustralianSuper.

How do their fees and performance figures compare?

Looking at the default options, AustralianSuper has lower annual fees than Rest Core Strategy. AustralianSuper Balanced has also delivered higher returns than Rest Core Strategy over the short, medium and long terms.

How do the ethical investments compare?

AustralianSuper offers a dedicated ethical investment option, AustralianSuper Socially Aware, which you can choose instead of the default option. AustralianSuper Socially Aware is a diversified fund that invests in a range of different assets, but it avoids investments in fossil fuels, tobacco manufacturing and coal. It also avoids companies with single-gender boards and those which have been flagged as having human rights issues.

AustralianSuper is very transparent about the companies it invests in, listing all the funds investments publicly on its website. While it does offer one dedicated ethical investment option, AustralianSuper says it factors environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) into all its investments.

Rest does not offer a dedicated ethical investment option as a choice to members. Rest says it applies positive ESG standards towards all of its different investment options, and has a climate change statement on its website.

If you're interested in investing your super ethically, you can compare these funds with a range of additional ethical super funds in our guide.

How do the additional investment options compare?

AustralianSuper and Rest offer very similar additional, diversified investment options. Both offer a diversified, indexed balanced option which invests in index funds.

If you want to design your own investment mix using the single asset class options, you have a lot more choice with Rest than AustralianSuper. Rest offers nine individual asset class options, while AustralianSuper only offers five. The big difference here is that Rest offers indexed Australian shares and indexed overseas shares, while AustralianSuper offers no single indexed share options. Indexed shares are a popular choice for members looking to lower their investment costs, as indexed investments are generally much cheaper.

If you're unsure how these different options work with your super fund, here's a guide on superannuation investment options and how to choose between them.

Want to keep comparing?

If you're not yet convinced that either AustralianSuper or Rest is right for you, or you simply want to see how they compare to others in the market, you can compare super funds with our guide.

More guides on Finder

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