Let's dive in and compare the two super funds side by side, so you can see which one might be right for you.
| AustralianSuper | Australian Ethical Super | |
|---|---|---|
| Type of fund | Industry super fund | Retail fund |
| Number of members | 2.3 million members | 59,000 members |
| Funds under management | $181 billion | $4.3 billion |
| Default investment option | AustralianSuper 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. | Australian Ethical Super Balanced Similar to AustralianSuper Balanced, Australian Ethical Super Balanced is a ready-made investment portfolio, but it has a strong focus on ethical investments. This fund invests in a mix of local and international shares, property and alternative assets. Investment allocation is the same for all members in the Balanced fund, regardless of age. It's an authorised MySuper product. |
| Performance | Past performance of AustralianSuper Balanced as of June 2020:
| Past performance of Australian Ethical Super Balanced as of June 2020:
|
| Fees | Here's how much you'd pay in fees for one year if you had the following amounts invested in AustralianSuper Balanced:
| Here's how much you'd pay in fees for one year if you had the following amounts invested in Australian Ethical Super Balanced:
|
| Additional diversified investment options | If 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:
| If you don't want to invest in the default option (Australian Ethical Balanced), you can choose to invest your super in one of the following pre-made investment options instead:
|
| Single-asset class investment options | If you want to design your own investment mix, you can invest your super in one or more of the following individual asset classes:
| If you want to design your own investment mix, you can invest your super in one or more of the following individual asset classes:
Both these single asset class shares options also have a very small allocation towards cash (only about 5% of your balance). | Mobile app | The AustralianSuper app has a 3.6-star rating from users in the Google Play Store and a 3-star rating in the Apple App Store. | Australian Ethical Super does not have a mobile app, but you can manage your super online using the desktop platform. |
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The two default MySuper options are AustralianSuper Balanced and Australian Ethical Super Balanced. Both are MySuper products and both are pre-mixed, diversified funds. They both have a very similar level of risk and have a similar level of exposure to international shares.
However, where they do differ is with Australian Ethical Super's complete focus on ethical and sustainable investing. Therefore, while both funds may have similar levels of exposure to shares, the individual companies each invests in are quite different.
| Response | 75+ yrs | 65-74 yrs | 55-64 yrs | 45-54 yrs | 35-44 yrs | 25-34 yrs | 18-24 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very confident | 4.26% | 1.21% | 1.91% | 2.98% | 2.17% | 2.11% | 1.9% |
| Not confident | 2.13% | 1.21% | 3.18% | 2.38% | 0.54% | 2.11% | 0.95% |
| Somewhat confident | 9.09% | 6.37% | 4.76% | 7.61% | 13.16% | 11.43% | |
| I don't know | 1.21% | 1.91% | 2.38% | 1.63% | 2.11% | 0.95% |
AustralianSuper Balanced and Australian Ethical Super Balanced have similar fees for smaller balances. However, for larger balances of $50,000 or higher Australian Ethical Super has higher fees than AustralianSuper. One reason for Australian Ethical Super charging higher fees could be because its investment managers need to do a high level of research into each company it considers investing it, to ensure the company aligns with its strict and specific ethical standards.
These funds have achieved very similar returns over the past three-year period, but AustralianSuper Balanced has slightly outperformed Australian Ethical Super Balanced over the past five-year period.
If you're looking for an ethical super fund above all else, Australian Ethical Super will likely come out on top for you when compared with AustralianSuper. While Australian Super does offer one dedicated ethical investment option (AustralianSuper Socially Aware), Australian Ethical Super is an ethical fund in its entirety.
Australian Ethical Super has a strict and specific list of investment principals, including what is does and does not invest in and the reasons for this. As well as excluding investment in fossil fuels and coal, it also excludes companies that harm animals in the form of live exports or traditional agriculture and farming which it deems unsustainable. Instead, it actively includes investments in plant-based meat alternatives and other sustainable products.
However, the AustralianSuper Socially Aware investment option does charge lower fees than Australian Ethical Super. So this could be something to consider if you're concerned about investing ethically but also want to keep your costs to a minimum.
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.
AustralianSuper offers five additional pre-mixed super investment options instead of the default Balanced option, including an indexed option. Australian Ethical Super offers four additional pre-mixed investment options and does not offer an indexed option.
If you want to design your own investment mix using the single asset class options, you have a lot more choice with AustralianSuper. AustralianSuper offers five individual asset class options, including local and international shares, property, fixed interest and cash. Australian Ethical Super only offers two individual asset class options: Australian and New Zealand shares and International Shares.
If you're not yet convinced that either AustralianSuper or Australian Ethical Super 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.
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