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AustralianSuper vs Australian Retirement Trust
They're two of the most popular super funds in Australia, but which is the right choice for you? Let's find out.
Key takeaways
- Australian Retirement Trust's default MySuper option is a lifestage fund which invests according to your age, while AustralianSuper's default MySuper option is a pre-mixed Balanced fund.
- Australian Retirement Trust's MySuper product has achieved higher performance returns compared to AustralianSupers.
- AustralianSuper's default product has lower fees than Australian Retirement Trusts.
AustralianSuper vs Australian Retirement Trust
| AustralianSuper | Australian Retirement Trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Type of fund | Industry super fund | Public-offer industry fund |
| Number of members | 3.4 million members | 2.4 million members |
| 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 Retirement Trust - Lifecycle This is a pre-mixed, diversified fund that invests in a range of assets with a strong allocation towards Australian and international shares and is an authorised MySuper product. This product is a lifecycle fund that will automatically reduce your exposure to high-risk assets like shares as you get closer to retirement. It's split into three different life stages. You'll be 100% invested in the High Growth option until you're 50. |
| Performance for default option | Past performance of AustralianSuper Balanced:
| Past performance of Australian Retirement Trust - Lifecycle High Growth:
|
| 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 Retirement Trust - High Growth:
|
| 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 (Lifecycle), 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:
|
| Ethical investment | The AustralianSuper Socially Aware option doesn't invest in Australian or international companies that directly own coal and fossil fuel reserves, produce tobacco or those which have single-gender boards. This fund is not certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia. Past performance:
| The Australian Retirement Trust Socially Conscious Balanced investment option avoids investment in companies that generate more than 5% of their revenue from alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography, coal or nuclear power manufacturing among other harmful industries. This fund is certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia. Past past performance:
|
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Read more | More Info | More Info |
Our expert says: Choosing a super fund
"Choosing super funds can feel overwhelming, but it gets easier once you've narrowed it down to a couple of options. If you can't decide between two similar funds, compare the fees and fund performance. Don't just look at the last year, but look at 5 and 10-year performance. And make sure you're comparing similar fund options. A high growth fund will have different performance to a balanced fund. "
How do the default MySuper products compare?
The Australian Retirement Trust Lifecycle product is a lifestage investment product, while AustralianSuper Balanced is not.
Both funds invest in a mix of both growth and defensive assets, but with AustralianSuper Balanced the investment mix is the same for all members invested in this option, regardless of age. With Australian Retirement Trust Lifecycle, you'll be 100% invested in a High Growth option until you're 50, then it'll gradually reduce your exposure to growth assets as you get older.
How do their fees and performance figures compare?
Looking at the default options, AustralianSuper has lower annual fees. However, both funds are relatively low-fee options compared to other MySuper products in the market.
Looking at performance, AustralianSuper Balanced has delivered higher returns over the short, medium and long term. Most of AustralianSuper's additional investment options have also performed better than those offered by Australian Retirement Trust over the past decade.
Australian Retirement Trust Lifecycle has achieved better returns than Australian Super Balanced, which is largely due to the fact it invests in a higher allocation of growth assets for members under 50 compared to AustralianSuper.
How do the ethical investment options compare?
Both AustrailanSuper Socially Aware and Australian Retirement Trust Socially Conscious Balanced avoid investments in fossil fuels, tobacco and gambling among many other harmful industries. Both funds lists their fund holdings on their website for you to see exactly which companies they invests in.
Australian Retirement Trust Socially Conscious Balanced is certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia, while AustralianSuper Socially Aware is not. However, AustralianSuper Socially Aware has achieved slightly better returns over the long term, and has lower annual fees.
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?
Australian Retirement Trust offers more superannuation investment options to choose between than AustralianSuper.
The main difference here is that Australian Retirement Trust offers indexed individual asset options, like Australian shares (indexed), while AustralianSuper does not. So if you're looking to build your own investment mix and want to keep investment fees to a minimum by using indexed products, this will be easier to achieve with Australian Retirement Trust.
Want to keep comparing?
If you're not yet convinced that either fund 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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