The information in this table is based on data provided by SuperRatings Pty Limited ABN 95 100 192 283, a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR No.1309956) of Lonsec Research Pty Ltd ABN 11 151 658 561, Australian Financial Services Licence No. 421445. In limited instances, data for a small number of products is provided directly by the individual super fund.
*Past performance data and fee data is for the period ending July 2024
When looking for the right super fund you need to look at a range of factors, not just the current year's returns.
Generally, a top performing super fund has the following features:
There's no one super fund that is 'best' because we all want different things with our super. To help you narrow down your search, here are some of Finder's best super fund picks based on different features.
Best industry super fund
AustralianSuper - Balanced
+9.25%
1 year performance
+4.82%
3 year performance
+8.1%
10 year performance
AustralianSuper is an award-winning industry super fund and the largest super fund in Australia. The Balanced fund invests in a mix of different assets like shares, property and cash and is one of the best-performing funds over the long term.
We only looked at the industry super funds in our database that are part of Industry Super Australia. We compared the default investment option offered by each, and did not compare any alternative investment options. Of the funds compared, we looked at the annual fees charged on a $50,000 balance as well as the past 1, 3, 5 and 10-year performance returns. More weighting was applied to the 5- and 10-year performance returns than to the 1- and 3-year returns.
Superfund
AustralianSuper - Balanced
Fees on $5k balance (p.a.)
$85.50
Fees on $50k balance (p.a.)
$387
Fees on $100k balance (p.a.)
$722
What we like about AustralianSuper:
Best ethical super fund
Australian Ethical Super Balanced
+8.6%
1 year performance
+3.46%
3 year performance
+7.1%
10 year performance
Australian Ethical seeks to invest in companies that have a positive impact on the planet, people and animals, such as renewable energy and healthcare while avoiding investments in coal, oil, tobacco and gambling.
This product is selected as part of Finder's annual Green Awards. This award looked at each fund's current environmental performance, environmental targets and reporting and accreditation. It also analysed the fund's sustainable investment approach and the environmental performance of its portfolio.
Superfund
Australian Ethical Super Balanced
Fees on $5k balance (p.a.)
$121.50
Fees on $50k balance (p.a.)
$603
Fees on $100k balance (p.a.)
$1,138
What we like about Australian Ethical Super Balanced:
Best low-fee super fund
UniSuper - Balanced
+10.04%
1 year performance
+4.8%
3 year performance
+7.93%
10 year performance
UniSuper is an industry super fund with more than 620,000 members. Its Balanced option invests in a mix of different asset classes and charges some of the lowest fees of all default super products.
For this category, we looked at the default growth super funds in our database and filtered for the fund with the lowest annual fees based on a $50,000 balance. Single asset options and indexed options were excluded - we only looked at diversified, growth products.
Superfund
UniSuper - Balanced
Fees on $5k balance (p.a.)
$121.50
Fees on $50k balance (p.a.)
$351
Fees on $100k balance (p.a.)
$606
What we like about UniSuper:
Best life-stage or age-based super fund
Virgin Money Super - LifeStage Tracker
+13.87%
1 year performance
+6.55%
3 year performance
N/A
10 year performance
Virgin Money Super LifeStage Tracker is a lifestage super product, so your mix of investments will be continually readjusted in line with your age. This means you'll be invested in more growth assets while you're young, and more defensive assets as you near retirement.
For this category, we only considered super funds that offered a life-stage investment option as its default option. Of the funds compared, we looked at the annual fees charged on a $5,000, $50,000 and $100,000 balance as well as the past 1, 3 and 5-year performance returns.
We also looked at the number of different life stages the product offered. Funds that offered more life stages were ranked stronger than those with fewer life stages.
Superfund
Virgin Money Super - LifeStage Tracker
Fees on $5k balance (p.a.)
$88.50
Fees on $50k balance (p.a.)
$363
Fees on $100k balance (p.a.)
$668
What we like about Virgin Money Super LifeStage Tracker:
Best-performing super fund
Hostplus Balanced
+7.79%
1 year performance
+5.95%
3 year performance
+8.38%
10 year performance
Hostplus is an award-winning industry super fund open to all Australians with a focus on the hospitality and retail sector. The Balanced fund invests your super in a broad range of assets and is designed for high long-term growth.
We looked at the default growth super funds in our database and compared the 10-year performance of each. If two funds had the same performance, preference was given to the fund with lower fees. We only looked at default growth options as this is where the majority of people have their super invested. We did not look at alternative investment options, such as high growth options, for this category. The investment period we used was the past 10 years up to June 2022.
Superfund
Hostplus Balanced
Fees on $5k balance (p.a.)
$166.34
Fees on $50k balance (p.a.)
$623.77
Fees on $100k balance (p.a.)
$1,132.02
What we like about Hostplus:
Based on extensive user testing and many super fund comparisons, we've evaluated funds based on the top criteria people care about and narrowed it down into a few main categories.
However, keep in mind that our top picks may not always be best for you. Based on your situation, you may find certain features to be more or less important, so compare your options before you apply.
While we've compared the default product offered by more than 50 superannuation funds, we did not look at every superannuation product available in the market. We have largely excluded the additional super investment products offered by funds outside of their default product. The default product is where the majority of Australians have their super invested. The performance, fees and investment data for these products are supplied to Finder by leading super research group Chant West
Each year the regulator APRA analyses the market and identifies the worst super funds, which are underperforming for members. According to APRA data, in 2022 there were 350,000 fewer people in default super products with terrible investment performance compared to 2021, which is great news.
However, APRA data also shows that 800,000 people still have their super invested with an underperforming fund. If you haven't checked your fund in a few years, you could be one of them.
High returns will help your super balance grow bigger (and quicker!) than it would with lower returns.
However, performance isn't the only thing to think about when choosing a fund. You might decide the right fund for you is one that invests ethically, even though it may not be a top-performing fund.
There's no one super fund that is best for everyone (sorry!). Look for a fund with low fees and strong investment returns but also consider the following:
The table below shows the top 10 growth super funds based on 10-year return, per annum to December 2022.
| Super fund | 10-year return |
|---|---|
| Hostplus Balanced | 9.1% |
| AustralianSuper Balanced | 8.8% |
| Australian Retirement Trust Balanced Balanced | 8.6% |
| Cbus MySuper | 8.4% |
| UniSuper Balanced | 8.4% |
| CareSuper Balanced | 8.3% |
| HESTA Balanced Growth | 8.1% |
| Legal Super MySuper Balanced | 8.0% |
| Vision Super Balanced Growth | 8.0% |
| Aware Super Growth | 8.0% |
The table above looks at growth super funds only using data from Chant West. Growth funds have 60-80% allocation to growth assets and are where the majority of Australians have their super invested.
Chant West senior investment research manager, Mano Mohankumar, said that even though super funds have seen a slight loss over the past year, it's important to look at the strong long-term returns. "Over the 30½ years since the introduction of compulsory super in July 1992, the median growth fund has delivered an annualised return of 7.8%, which is 1.7% p.a. ahead of the typical return objective of CPI +3.5% p.a."
"This [2022] was the first negative calendar year since 2011 and only the fifth in the full 30 years of compulsory super," Mohankumar said.
"Investing in more growth assets means you'll have more of your super invested in Australian and international shares. Shares are one of the most volatile asset classes, meaning they rise and fall a lot, but they also tend to out-perform other assets in the long term. When you're young you have plenty of time for your super to recover after short-term market falls and the most to gain for long-term growth."
While you're young (under 45-50) it's generally recommended you have your super in a Growth or High-Growth fund. These funds have more exposure to growth assets including shares, private equity and property, and less exposure to defensive assets like cash.
Some top-performing High Growth super funds include:
When you're a bit older (50+) you could consider moving your super from a High Growth fund to a Balanced or Conservative fund, to reduce your exposure to shares as you get closer to retirement.
Some super funds offer a life-cycle or life-stage investment strategy. These products invest your super in a mix of asset classes in line with your age, and continually adjust your investments as you get older so you don't have to switch between options.
Some life-stage super funds include:
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