Worst super funds revealed: Is yours one of them?
Major retail funds including CommBank and Westpac are among the 13 worst-performing super funds named and shamed by the regulator.
Industry regulator APRA has this week published a list of the 13 worst-performing super funds, as part of the new legislation that will name and shame underperforming funds. The regulator has revealed which MySuper funds, the funds that are the default "no-frills" option for members, have failed their performance benchmark.
APRA analysed the performance returns on 76 MySuper products out of 80 in the market. It assessed the funds that had at least 5 years' worth of performance data, and excluded the few new funds that haven't yet had enough time to show medium to long-term returns.
While the majority of funds (84%) not only met but exceeded their benchmark performance objective, 13 funds failed to meet their benchmark and under-performed.
13 worst-performing super funds 2021
- AMG Super – MySuper
- ASGARD Independence Plan Division Two – Employee MySuper
- Australian Catholic Superannuation – LifetimeOne
- AvSuper – Growth (MySuper)
- BOC Gases Superannuation Fund – MySuper
- Christian Super – MyEthical Super
- Colonial First State – FirstChoice Superannuation Trust
- Commonwealth Bank Group Super – Accumulate Plus Balanced
- Energy Industries Superannuation Scheme – Balanced MySuper
- Labour Union Co-Operative Retirement Fund – MySuper Balanced
- Maritime Super – MySuper
- BT Super – MySuper
- The Victorian Independent Schools Superannuation Fund – Balanced
At the other end of the scale, the best-performing MySuper funds over the last decade include AustralianSuper Balanced, Hostplus Balanced, Cbus MySuper and UniSuper Balanced.
What to do if you're a member
Most of the funds to fail the performance test were retail funds, including Commonwealth Bank Group Super, Colonial First State FirstChoice Superannuation Trust (owned in part by CommBank) and BT Super (owned by Westpac Group).
If you're a member of one of these super funds you can expect to receive a notice from your fund by the end of September. Your fund is required to tell you it has under performed the benchmark, and offer you the opportunity to compare super funds and switch to another fund.
If you don't want to switch funds just yet, your fund has 1 year to turn itself around and achieve better returns. If it fails again, the fund will be required to transfer its members to another fund with better returns.
If you do want to switch, check out the best super funds over the last decade and our step-by-step guide on how to change super funds.
