Australia’s superannuation system is one of the world’s largest pension schemes. The super industry now has $2.9 trillion in assets under management as of September 2020. There are also currently over a hundred different industry, retail, corporate and public sector super funds. So which ones are the biggest?
The rankings below are based on the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) Annual Fund-level Superannuation Statistics, released in December 2020.
10 largest super funds – by members
Below are the 10 super funds with the most members based on APRA’s data. It’s worth noting that a single member can have accounts with multiple different super funds.
| Rank | Super fund | Total number of member accounts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AustralianSuper | 2,368,825 |
| 2 | Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (Rest) | 1,844,858 |
| 3 | Sunsuper | 1,522,983 |
| 4 | HOSTPLUS | 1,301,670 |
| 5 | MLC Super Fund | 1,120,687 |
| 6 | Aware Super | 1,077,326 |
| 7 | Retirement Wrap | 915,722 |
| 8 | Super Directions Fund | 900,645 |
| 9 | Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA) | 890,949 |
| 10 | Retirement Portfolio Service | 847,896 |
| Source: APRA, published December 2020 (current as at 30 June 2020). | ||
In total, these 10 super funds had over 12.7 million member accounts at the end of June last year.
10 largest super funds – by assets
The table below shows the 10 super funds with the highest total value of assets under management. That is, the value of the investments that a super fund manages on behalf of its members.
| Rank | Super fund | Total assets ($ billions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AustralianSuper | 191.42 |
| 2 | Aware Super | 126.45 |
| 3 | QSuper | 120.31 |
| 4 | Public Sector Superannuation Scheme | 87.29 |
| 5 | Unisuper | 85.49 |
| 6 | Colonial First State First Choice Superannuation | 77.26 |
| 7 | MLC Super Fund | 74.78 |
| 8 | Sunsuper Superannuation Fund | 74.64 |
| 9 | Retirement Wrap | 70.96 |
| 10 | CSS Fund | 63.03 |
| Source: APRA, published December 2020 (current as at 30 June 2020). Figures shown in the table are rounded to two decimal places. | ||
These top 10 super funds account for more than $971 billion – close to $1 trillion – in assets under management.
Is size everything?
A super fund with more members or more assets under management isn’t necessarily a ‘better’ fund. When you are choosing a super fund, you should also carefully consider factors such as:
- Investment performance: it could be a good idea to consider a fund’s long-term track record of performance and whether it has a history of delivering high returns. However, remember that investments can go up and down over time, so past performance should not be relied upon to judge a fund’s future performance.
- Fees: high fees can eat away at your retirement balance. It can be a good idea to compare the super fees you are charged with other funds to understand whether you may be paying more than you could be.
- Investment options: try to find a super fund that offers investment options suited to your personal circumstances and risk appetite.
- Insurance: if you’d like to take out life insurance through your super, look for a fund that offers cover that suits your needs and check out the premiums charged.
You can compare a range of super funds with Canstar. You might also like to see our latest Superannuation Star Ratings to see which products received 5 Stars.
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 specified above.
Cover image source: Kaiskynet Studio/Shutterstock.com
This article was originally written by William Jolly. It was reviewed by our Sub Editor Tom Letts and Finance & Lifestyle Editor Shay Waraker before it was updated, as part of our fact-checking process.
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