Hostplus Indexed Balanced took the top spot in our super fund category this year in terms of fees at $122 p.a. on a $50,000 balance. The fund also delivered a strong long-term performance returning 9.21% p.a. for members over the past 10 years and 9.33% p.a. over the past 5 years.
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, where data is not available from SuperRatings for a product, the data is provided directly by the superannuation fund.
*Past performance data and fee data is for the period ending August 2024
Based on Hostplus super fund scores in Finder's 2024 Customer Satisfaction Awards.
Hostplus Conservative Balanced took the third spot among conservative balanced funds, with an annual fee of $459.16 on a $50,000 balance. The fund offers a conservative approach to investment and has provided an annual average return of 6.61% over the past 10 years and 4.74% over the past 5 years.
Hostplus Indexed Balanced claimed the second position in the high growth category, with an annual fee of $122 on a $50,000 balance. The fund has maintained strong performance in high-growth investments, returning 9.21% annually for members over the past 10 years and 9.33% over the past 5 years.
"I've been quite pleased with my returns from Host Plus Super. The onboarding process was very simple plus it allows you to easily consolidate all of your super funds that you have from other providers directly within its platform. This way you don't need to worry about managing multiple super funds, which all charge their own fees and can be costly. "
You can see the fees based on a $50,000 balance in the table above. If you've got a larger super balance, the table below shows the fees based on balanced between $50,000 and $1 million.
| Calculated Fees on $100,000 | Calculated Fees on $300,000 | Calculated Fees on $500,000 | Calculated Fees on $1,000,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostplus Australian Shares | $622.02 | $1,635.02 | $2,648.02 | $5,180.52 |
| Hostplus Balanced | $1,132.02 | $3,165.02 | $5,198.02 | $10,280.52 |
| Hostplus Capital Stable | $802.02 | $2,175.02 | $3,548.02 | $6,980.52 |
| Hostplus Conservative Balanced | $902.02 | $2,475.02 | $4,048.02 | $7,980.52 |
| Hostplus Diversified Fixed Interest | $432.02 | $1,065.02 | $1,698.02 | $3,280.52 |
| Hostplus International Shares | $672.02 | $1,785.02 | $2,898.02 | $5,680.52 |
| Hostplus Shares Plus | $1,022.02 | $2,835.02 | $4,648.02 | $9,180.52 |
You can choose from a range of pre-mixed investment portfolios, or build your own portfolio with the single sector options. After joining you're able to switch to another investment option at any time within the Hostplus app.
Choose between a range of ready-made diversified investment portfolios and let Hostplus take care of the rest. Each portfolio offers a different mix of high-risk growth assets and low-risk defensive assets. As such, each portfolio carries a different risk level. You can see what assets are classed as growth and defensive below:
If you don't want to make a choice, you'll be placed in the Balanced option, which is the authorised MySuper option.
| Portfolio | Risk level | Benchmark asset allocation* |
|---|---|---|
| Balanced (MySuper) This is the default option. It invests in more growth assets and aims to deliver consistent, high returns over the long term. | Medium to high | Growth assets: 76% Defensive assets: 24% |
| Capital Stable This is the lowest risk portfolio option, offering more reliable returns. | Low to medium | Growth assets: 38% Defensive assets: 62% |
| Conservative Balanced This portfolio invests in growth and defensive assets equally, offering some growth plus the safety of cash. | Medium | Growth assets: 57% Defensive assets: 43% |
| Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Balanced This portfolio invests in companies that make a positive social and environmental impact. | Medium to high | Growth assets: 71% Defensive assets: 29% |
| Indexed Balanced This portfolio invests in more growth assets than defensive assets, but unlike the Balanced option, it does not invest in property or infrastructure. | High | Growth assets: 75% Defensive assets: 25% |
| Shares Plus This option invests heavily in Australian and international shares. | High | Growth assets: 90% Defensive assets: 10% |
*Asset allocation is a guide and may change slightly from time to time.
Option 2: Hostplus Life
Hostplus Life is a pre-mixed fund that's managed for you, which changes your investment allocation according to your age. This fund will invest more heavily in growth assets while you're young, and introduce more defensive assets as you get older and closer to retirement.
Here's how the Hostplus Life product invests your money:
Option 3: Sector investment options
You can create your own portfolio using a mix of these single asset class options.
| Sector investment option | Risk | Benchmark asset allocation |
|---|---|---|
| Cash This option includes term deposits and savings accounts. | Very low | Cash: 100% |
| Diversified Fixed Interest This option includes corporate and government bonds (actively managed). | Medium | Fixed income: 100% |
| Australian Shares - Indexed This option includes only companies listed in Australia (passively managed). | Very high | Australian shares: 100% |
| International Shares - Emerging Markets This option includes companies listed on stock exchanges in emerging markets, and is actively managed. | High | International shares: 100% |
| Diversified Fixed Interest - Indexed This option includes corporate and government bonds (passively managed). | Medium | Fixed interest: 100% |
| Australian Shares This option includes only companies listed in Australia (actively managed). | High | Australian shares: 100% |
| International Shares This option includes companies listed on international exchanges in both emerging and developed markets (actively managed). | High | International shares: 100% |
| International shares - Indexed This option includes international shares via products like ETFs (passively managed). | High | International shares: 100% |
| International Shares (Hedged) - Indexed This option invests in shares hedged against currency price movements. | Very High | International shares: 100% |
If you want to be more hands on with your super, the Choiceplus option allows you to make direct investments in individual shares and ETFs yourself. There are a few requirements if you're planning to use this option:
You'll receive the following insurance automatically when you join Hostplus, provided you have no pre-existing conditions:
You can also add the following insurance cover if you wish to:
When you initially join the fund you'll automatically be eligible for the default insurance cover, unless you're in an excluded occupation or have a pre-existing condition. You'll receive a standard unitised level of cover, which is an amount of cover based on your age. If you'd prefer, you can choose to switch to a defined benefit limit level of cover instead.
You can also add specific life events cover for different stages of your life, such as starting a family.
You can increase, reduce or cancel your cover altogether at any time after joining Hostplus.
The cost of your insurance cover will depend on the type of cover you choose, your age and your occupation.
As an example, the standard level of Death and TPD cover for a member aged 31-35 will cost about $6.93 per week for a total combined cover of around $311,000. As you get older, your insurance cover will cost more and your cover payout amount will reduce.
You can join Hostplus online on the Hostplus website. The application process is simple and should take you less than 10 minutes to complete.
As well as your full name and date of birth, make sure you have the following details handy before you start the application:
Once your application has been completed successfully, you'll receive your membership details by email.
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Hi Hostplus, How easy would it be to consolidate my 3 other super funds to hostplus?
Thank you
Hi Andrew, It’s definitely a good idea to consolidate your super funds – otherwise you’re paying fees to multiple providers. If you want to consolidate with Hostplus, you can contact them to organise this on 1300 467 875.
I am 74 years old and I currently have a super fund in pension mode with a major bank. Is it possible for me to move this to Hostplus and set up a pension with the fund.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for contacting Finder.
Yes you can transfer your super over to Hostplus and have it set up as a pension account.
Thanks
Raj
Most industry funds advertise an annual fee of roughly $550-650 for, say a balanced fund, based on an investment of $50,000. Can I rightly assume that larger amounts have fee scales as direct multiples of the number of $50K aliquots in the investment or is there some other form of sliding scale relative to the larger amounts?
For instance, if an investment is $3M would the annual fee be automatically 60 times x the base figure (60×550=$33000)?
Hi Terencel,
Thanks for contacting Finder.
It is best to contact and confirm with HostPlus directly to find out what they are charging you. You can also check with them other important factors like the fee scales, returns, risk and the services the fund provides.
Kind Regards,
Faye