Super funds of the year awards: Best super funds for 2024 (2024)

When comparing and selecting super funds, investment performance and low fees are necessary but not sufficient. You can find many articles onSuperGuideabout the top performing or cheapest super funds (see the list at the end of this article), but your search shouldn’t end there.

The major super research houses Chant West and SuperRatingshave long recognised this, so they use their annual awards to draw attention to the super and pension funds that deliver not only on investment performance and fees, but also go further in their ongoing focus on members.

This may be due to the education and advice services the super fund provides, or innovative investment options. It could be cost-effective insurance, good governance or top-notch customer support. What’s certain is it won’t be one thing, but a combination of factors that make one super fund stand out from the pack.

Even then, the overall winner of fund of the year may not be the one for you. For example, if you are looking for a pension fund then that subcategory will be of most interest. You should also be wary of making a decision about the right fund for you based on oneaward. If more than one research house gives a particular fund a gong for best in category, then it may be worth looking at more closely. If a fund has a track record of accolades over many years, even better.

Despite the bad press super funds sometimes get, ultimately they are legally obliged to act in the best interests of their members. The best super funds use that principle to continually improve their service.

In this article we report the funds of the year as chosen by Chant West and SuperRatings going back to 2013. For the latest year we’ll also list all the winners in other categories.

Funds of the year: 2023and 2024 winners

SuperRatingsis the first cab off the rank to announce its 2024awards for overall excellence.In its annual awards ceremonyon 25 October2023, SuperRatingsnamed UniSuper as its Super Fund of the Year.

In 2022, its first year as a public offer fund, UniSuper won the top all-rounder gong awarded by both Chant West and SuperRatings.Chant West also named UniSuper its fund of the year for 2023 inits annual awards ceremony in May 2023.

SuperRatings

With eight wins in a little over a decade, SuperRatings executive director Kirby Rappell says consistency is UniSuper’sstandout featurein an increasingly volatile investment environment. While there was a lot of variation in the top performing funds forannual returnsin the year to June 2023, Rappell says UniSuper was among the top performers last year and over 10 years.

UniSuper also took home three of the subcategory awards for MyChoice Fund of the Year, Choice insurance offering and Sustainable Fund of the Year for itsstandalone ESG option. UniSuper manages much of its investment portfolio internallyand engages with Australia’s top 100 companies on their ESG performance,reportingback to members on its website. Rappell says that at a time when greenwashing is prevalent, UniSuper stands out for its proactive approach and thequality of its disclosures.

Retirement (Pension) Fund of the Yearwent to AwareSuper for the first time. Rappell says Aware has done a lot of work on its pension product, from the launch of an innovativeretirement calculator to increased tailoring of its pension investment options.

While Aware was a finalist in the Innovator category, the winner was Mercer for its Care and Living with Mercer (CaLM) product. Rappell says this does two things: a huge body of information for members about aged care options and strategies;and CaLM consultants to address members’ specific aged care needs at a reasonable price.

Hostplus, which now has three index options, won the Low-cost award while Rest won the Best Digital Offeringcategory. Rappell says super funds have been late to the party with digitalservices, but Rest is catching up with the banks withanew digital appaimed at its younger member demographic.

Aware also won thenew Lifetime Return category for a product that balances risk and returns over the life of a member’s investment up toretirement.

Chant West

Chant West general manager Ian Fryer says UniSuper narrowly pipped Aware Super and Cbus at the post for the overall award in 2023, due largely to its strong ongoing investment performance. Fryer says investment accounts for 45% of the scoring for the overall winner.

Historically, UniSuper has taken a different investment approach to other large funds, with a strong focus on listed assets. However, in recent times it has made significant investments in unlisted assets that have grown from 6% of their Balanced option two years ago to 18%.Fryer says UniSuper’s more growth-oriented portfolios have been among the top performers over all periods.

It is also different in its approach to member services. Due to its large concentration of members on university campuses, it hasa network of consultants and advisers on-campus and in capital citiesand a personalised on-boarding program that has been effective in driving positive action.

“It has some of the highest rates of members receiving advice, making additional contributions and using Member Online,” says Fryer. Its member statements are online and clearly show projected retirement income. And its insurance offering has premiums about half the median fund, taking advantage of its largely white-collar membership.It offers an online portal for lodging claims and a range of wellness services.

Funds of the year: 2013 to 2024 winners

In the table below you can find the Fundof the Year over the past decade. As noted earlier, Chant West announced their 2023Fund of the Year in May 2023, while SuperRatings looks a year ahead and announced their 2024 winners in October 2023.

UniSuper has won eighttop gongs over the years, followed bySunsuper withsix.QSuper (which has merged with Sunsuper to form the Australian Retirement Trust) has won three times while AustralianSuper and REST have both won twice. TelstraSuper has had one overall win.

It’s notable that all funds are Industry funds, except for TelstraSuper which is a corporate fundfor Telstra employees, although retail funds are beginning to pop up more frequently in the category awards (below). UniSuper, Aware Super andQSuperbegan as Public Sector funds but are now available to the general public.

Sources: Chant West and SuperRatings

*now part of Australian Retirement Trust

Other award winners for 2023 and 2024

As previously mentioned, besides the Fund of the Year, each research house also awards funds for excelling in areassuch as pensions, sustainabilityand innovation.

SuperRatings2024

Source: SuperRatings

Chant West2023

Source: Chant West