5-Star Super Funds Revealed for 2018

After researching and rating 63 superannuation products, Canstar has revealed seven 5-Star recipients for Outstanding Value in its 2018 Superannuation Star Ratings.

Canstar’s Superannuation Star Ratings use a sophisticated and unique rating methodology that considers investment performance, fees and product features across superannuation products. Ratings range from one to five stars, with five star-rated products being assessed by Canstar as offering outstanding value to consumers.

After crunching the numbers across 25 consumer profiles (for the full list please see the methodology document), Canstar has announced seven superannuation products that received a 5-Star rating for Outstanding Value in its 2018 Superannuation Star Ratings.

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5-Star super funds – 2018

The following table displays the seven 5-Star recipients rated by Canstar. This table has been sorted by fund name (alphabetically).

These 5-Star recipients have demonstrated robust net investment returns across the previous five years, as well as competitive product offerings, specifically when it comes to financial advice, tools and education, member access, contribution methods and beneficiary options.

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How are Canstar’s 2018 Superannuation Star Ratings calculated?

Canstar’s 2018 Superannuation Star Ratings consist of individual profile star ratings and the overall star rating:

• The individual star ratings evaluate how a product compares to others at each of the five ages and each of the five superannuation balances considered.
• The overall star rating recognises a product’s cumulative score on a weighted basis across the individual profiles.

When rating superannuation products, the Canstar Research team awarded points for net performance and features.  Canstar applies an equal weight against the net performance score and the feature score to arrive at the total score.

Net benefit

The net benefit score takes into account a product’s annual investment returns net of fees, investment-related tax and default insurance premiums. These fees are inclusive of administration fees, investment management fees, performance fees and other indirect costs where applicable.

The period of consideration for this score is five years, with each year compared separately and weighted equally.

• Top Performing Super Funds On Canstar’s Database
• Lowest Fee Super Funds

Feature score

The feature score considers features from six categories:

• Financial advice and education (including educational tools and general advice, as well as scaled and comprehensive advice)
• Insurance (including death cover, TPD cover and income protection)
• Member access (such as online and phone access and account set up)
• Investment options
• Other fees and charges
• Beneficiary options and death benefit

The product with the highest feature score is allocated the maximum score, with all remaining products within the profile scored against it.

What are Canstar’s eligibility requirements for super?

In order to be eligible for Canstar’s 2018 Superannuation Star Ratings, a super account must:

• belong to a fund open to the public, not restricted solely to members of a specific organisation (i.e. corporate products and funds closed to new members are ineligible)
• be available directly to consumers without an intermediary (such as a financial planner)
• not be a wrap only product. Wrap platforms are typically only accessible through a broker and can entail wrap fees in addition to fees associated with the superannuation product itself
• for comparison purposes, have five years of performance data available to receive a star rating (products with three or four years of performance data will receive an indicative rating)
• belong to a provider with funds under management (FUM) of at least $100m (superannuation and pension assets combined)

For more information, read our methodology document.

For help finding a good value super fund that meets your needs and preferences, visit Canstar’s comparison tables. The comparison table below displays some of the products currently available on Canstar’s database for Australians aged 30-39 with a balance of up to $55,000, sorted by Star Rating (highest to lowest), followed by company name (alphabetical). Use Canstar’s superannuation comparison selector to view a wider range of super funds.

Fee, performance and asset allocation information shown in the table above have been determined according to the investment profile in the Canstar Superannuation Star Ratings methodology that matches the age group you selected.

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