AustralianSuper - What Investment Option to Choose?

DoctorCalculon on 06/04/2021 - 02:30
Last edited 06/04/2021 - 10:46 by 1 other user

In a panic last year, I switched my account balance & contributions to Stable (10%), Diversified Fixed Interest (15%), and Cash (75%) around COVID. Yes, I know it was a very dumb move.

I am not in a position to retire for another 30 or so years (if I am lucky).

Considering the fact that the markets have now improved a lot compared to last year, I am thinking of switching back to Balanced. At the same time, I am debating whether High Growth would be the best option considering I am so far away from retiring.

Those of you who are also in the same boat (and with AustralianSuper), what are your current super investment options / setup?

Financial Superannuation

Related Stores

AustralianSuper
AustralianSuper

Comments

  • brad1-8tsi on 06/04/2021 - 02:56
    +3

    You appear to have a low appetite for risk so with 30 years to retirement I'd go high growth for the next 20 then scale back to growth.

    I'm 59 and am invested a lot riskier than high growth and the returns this year have been quite acceptable

  • Donaldhump on 06/04/2021 - 03:24
    +1

    100% high growth
    Once you hit 50 move 1/10th back to balanced every year.

    Hope you don’t experience another crash ;( what day did you switch?

  • onetwothreefour on 06/04/2021 - 05:53
    +1

    75% international and 25% high growth. I'm about 25 years away from retirement.

    International has outperformed high growth slightly.

    • DoctorCalculon on 06/04/2021 - 17:22

      International has outperformed high growth slightly

      Just to confirm you are referring to the International Shares investment option.

  • poboy on 06/04/2021 - 06:37

    Look at the fees per option. Consider Aus index and international index options.

    • avoidfullprice on 06/04/2021 - 07:51

      Which ones are the index option? Link?

      • brad1-8tsi on 06/04/2021 - 09:38

        Index diversified is probably better and the fees are very low. Aus Super fees definitely aren't the lowest.

        https://www.australiansuper.com/compare-us/fees-and-costs

        https://www.australiansuper.com/investments/your-investment-…

        BTW: What's your balance? Are we talking $10k or $100k?

        • avoidfullprice on 06/04/2021 - 10:06

          Aus Super fees definitely aren't the lowest

          That leads me to believe they aren't portfolio of indexes. Unlike Hostplus Index Balanced with sub 0.1% investment fees.

          Their Members Direct option is the closest I find. OP will then have to decide whether buying different ETFs each month when SG gets deposited has lower fees than current premix option

          • brad1-8tsi on 06/04/2021 - 10:19
            +1

            @avoidfullprice: I do Aware Super and pay 0.11% for International Equities (this appears to have gone up 0.2%) and 0.07% for Australian Equities + $802 admin fees. Not the cheapest but competitive.

            My youngest daughter is in Q-Super because she has a low balance. She has a 50:50 Intl:Aus mix and pays 0.235% of her total balance. $23.50 a year on $10k balance.

        • DoctorCalculon on 06/04/2021 - 13:31

          Are we talking $10k or $100k

          > $100K

          • brad1-8tsi on 07/04/2021 - 10:36

            @DoctorCalculon: OK.
            Q-Super is great for low balances. I'm not sure where the nexus is but at 7 figures there isn't a great deal of difference between it and the others

            • DoctorCalculon on 07/04/2021 - 11:19

              @brad1-8tsi: I am not thinking of switching away from AustralianSuper right now.
              However, if I was looking at alternatives in the future would the Hostplus Indexed Balanced Investment Option be the OzBargain choice?

              https://hostplus.com.au/self-managed-invest/your-tailored-in…
              https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/10307730/redir

              • brad1-8tsi on 08/04/2021 - 08:42

                @DoctorCalculon: i wouldn't go in it at my age but I steered my GF into it when she had to change out of a corporate super plan in December. She has a medium appetite for risk and wants to just set & forget.

                My 23yo is in Aware Super INTL/Au shares.

                My 19yo is in Q-Super Intl/Au shares.

                I'm happy for them to stay their with their low balances and 40+years to needing the money.

                • DoctorCalculon on 12/04/2021 - 00:09

                  @brad1-8tsi:

                  i wouldn't go in it at my age

                  I guess the Hostplus plan is not the most optimal for those who are not far from retirement, right?

                  but I steered my GF into it when she had to change out of a corporate super plan in December. She has a medium appetite for risk and wants to just set & forget.

                  Would you say this would be a great plan as I am approaching mid-30s?
                  My appetite for risk is medium to low. I check in on my super once or twice a month these days. Otherwise, it would just be set and forget.

                  I was with AMP on an employer plan for many years. Only last year after COVID, there was a forced move to AustralianSuper once the employer plan was terminated (and I didn't want to move to a personal plan with AMP with even higher fees).

                  • brad1-8tsi on 13/04/2021 - 15:22

                    @DoctorCalculon: I can't tell you what would be good for you. I can only give advice of a general nature and what I have done in my situation.

  • Lunarboogie on 06/04/2021 - 08:15
    +3

    Gee wiz. 75 per cent Cash at your age. Do you also jump at shadows? Your jitters this far out from retirement has cost you dearly. At your age, go for broke. The odds are heavily in your favour. Don’t over egg it, switch it to high growth and don’t think about it again for another 20 years. KISS - you’re not Warren Buffett

    • Daniel Plainview on 06/04/2021 - 08:43
      +2

      +1 to the above advice. OP should do some basic reading on investment performance over time, instead of chopping and changing AND THEN coming and asking on OzB for advice. Time offsets risk for you and so you're invest off investing in the historically highest performing options available and as stated JUST LEAVE IT ALONE. Only other tip is to get in the habit of making voluntary pre-tax contributions yourself - you might get tax break on this or benefit for partner contribution etc (DYOR) but is a very good habit to get in and the trick with super is to get the balance up as early as you can and then let the investment returns compound to build the balance - so getting money in early, even if it's a small PITA to your lifestyle is well worth it i.e that $30 lunch you sacrificed to invest could well be worth $2000 in 20-30yrs of returns.

  • ihbh on 06/04/2021 - 08:43
    -2

    I don't know your individual situation, so this is not advice; just what I would do in my situation. I'd go with balanced or stay in cash. The next time the market tanks, I'd switch to growth and leave it there given your young age. A lot of the recent growth has occurred on the back of very low interest rates and Govt handouts - a one off situation which has been reflected in prices. The might be some more gains, but there is a pullback coming. Note as interest rates rise, fixed interest in a stable asset allocation will be hit as well.

    If you switch to growth now and there is a big crash, it won't just affect your financial capital, but probably your emotional capital as well (given your reaction during COVID) and could impact how you choose your asset allocation over the long term.

    Over the long term, if you're a long way off retirement, it should be 100% shares/growth.

    Re your high cash % - you switched to cash at exactly the wrong time - switch to cash in boom, not in gloom.

    • brad1-8tsi on 06/04/2021 - 09:32

      Current CPI inflation rate over the past 5 years has been ~1.9%. OPs investment mix has returned ~2% over the same period. Why would you even bother for a 0.1% uplift?

      Would the OP be able to pick when the market tanks and how long that will take?

      If nothing else, shift it all into AusSuper's "stable" pre-mix but even High Growth is low risk over a 20+ year period.

      • ihbh on 06/04/2021 - 09:39

        I completely agree except for the current situation we're in with historically low interest rates and huge govt handouts. I'm not suggesting he stay in cash/stable forever. Combine this with the state of his emotional capital and hence my recommendation.

        Note my ultimate recommendation: Over the long term, if you're a long way off retirement, it should be 100% shares/growth.

        PS: I'm not averse to shares and have large positions but sold down significantly to the end of 2019 when markets were very high and could take advantage of COVID lows.

        • brad1-8tsi on 06/04/2021 - 09:45

          Fair enough.

          Based on my group of friends, most of them think about their super twice a year when the statements come in. Good on the OP for asking what to do (even if a little too late) but I think he'd like to set and forget.

  • Autonomic on 06/04/2021 - 09:53
    +1

    Personally I use 25% Australian shares/75% international shares.

    But I have to stress that not being able to hold through a crash is going to hurt way, way more than not having some optimised portfolio. Commit now to never switching to cash until you actually need to withdraw it.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/04/2021 - 10:16

    For a while now, cash has been trash and savers have lost and debtors, investors and risk takers have mostly won since the 80's. However if we have a correction, then we all are royally fudged and you would've been right. Nobody can really tell what is the correct thing to do, all they can do is rely on past data and hope it remains the same, every decade that I've lived, we have seen things which I could not have believed in my wildest dreams to occur if I would've thought about it in the previous one. I expect the unexpected shall continue to happen whether we like it or not.

  • rambutann on 06/04/2021 - 10:20

    ~Insert flex about The Barefoot Investor // the Hostplus index balanced portfolio with the lowest fees because it will yield the best return in the long run~

    • deme on 06/04/2021 - 23:32

      +ve you because I think you like the hostplus option and so do I

    • brad1-8tsi on 07/04/2021 - 10:41

      The HostPlus index balance is where I pointed my GF to. Her risk appetite is mid range and she has 10-15 years before retirement. She was in an MLC fund which was low fee when employed but went high fee when she took a redundancy.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/04/2021 - 13:12
    -6

    I switched to cash, too, and made a net loss for the year.

    It doesn't matter what you choose. The cowboys at Super funds have absolutely no idea what they're doing and are entirely reliant on the whims of the market.

    They charge you a fee for doing nothing. They charge you a fee for losing your money. And they pat themselves on the back of the market happens to go up.

    Whatever you do, you lose. And they win by charging a fee.

    If you store in cash then you lose less but you don't make anything when the US government decides to pump the market with moral hazard.

    If you go for high growth then you're set for a fall when the incredible sharemarket bubble bursts.

    So relax. There's no right answer. Investment, like life, is 100% gamble.

    • deme on 06/04/2021 - 23:33
      +4

      This is by far the dumbest thing I've read on OzBargain.

    • brad1-8tsi on 07/04/2021 - 10:37

      infy. That hasn't been my experience but perception is reality so you do what you do.

  • capslock janitor on 08/04/2021 - 11:28

    i'm currently unemployed, so must i make any changes to my AusSuper?

  • jv on 08/04/2021 - 11:31

    Considering the fact that the markets have now improved a lot compared to last year, I am thinking of switching back to Balanced. At the same time, I am debating whether High Growth would be the best option considering I am so far away from retiring.

    What does your adviser say? The one that is getting paid to give you financial advice.

    • El-Rhi on 12/04/2021 - 13:19

      I’m guessing there is no adviser involved, otherwise they wouldn’t be asking OzBargain

      • jv on 12/04/2021 - 13:21
        -1

        Maybe I can sell them some swamp land…

  • Whomastadon on 13/04/2021 - 16:54

    What's the highest risk and potentially highest reward you can choose? High Growth?

  • yabol on 14/04/2021 - 22:14

    I am ~30 years before retirement and considering three options now:

    HostPlus - indexed balanced
    AustralianSuper - balanced
    AustralianSuper - DIY 75% int. shares + 25% Aus. shares

    Any suggestions?

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join