Every year, I update my analysis of how to choose the best super fund in Australia. This year I have restructured it, and I think it is the most useful version yet.
The guide is no longer just a list of returns. It is built around a simple idea I think most people get backwards. Most people start with investment returns and asset allocation, comparing which fund topped last year’s table. That is the wrong starting point. The right starting point is structure, because the vehicle that holds your super determines how much control you have over your investments, how much tax you pay over time, and what your fees look like as your balance grows. Investment decisions can be revisited at any time within that structure. Get the structure right first, and everything else becomes far easier to get right too.
The full guide works through the four factors that should decide your structure, before you even think about asset allocation: transparency, tax effectiveness, cost, and flexibility. Only once those are settled does the guide turn to the investment decision itself, growth allocation, the Australian versus international split, and how your shares are constructed. Getting this order right matters more than people expect, because changing structure later can trigger tax consequences, while adjusting your investment option within a good structure costs you nothing.
Along the way, it covers some things most comparison sites will not tell you, including the lack of transparency around unlisted assets in some industry funds, why that matters more than it might seem, and how insurance can quietly get overlooked when people switch funds chasing a better return.
The guide also includes a free downloadable report with the current year’s fund comparisons and a step-by-step framework you can work through for your own circumstances.
You can read the full guide and download the report here: How to choose the best super fund in Australia.
