Not all the Super funds can be star performers, and those which can be may fail to do so consistently. Take the case of IOOF Portfolio Service. It gave a 13.8% return in the year 2013, whereas it fared miserably in 2012 giving only -1.3%. So where does this leave us? How should we go about choosing Super fund then? There is no dearth of funds which have trailed lower than inflation and for a good period of time at that.
High fees is not necessarily high performance
Let me suggest straightaway that the best funds are not those which ask you for a big price. I mean you-get-what-you-pay-for certainly does not work in the Super industry. In fact, there are statistics supporting the idea that the funds charging most meagre fees are actually the best performers. And it can be stated categorically, given the evidence at disposal, that the funds asking for the highest fees — somewhere around the 7% or 8% mark- are among the worst performers.
Industry funds
Industry funds are certainly leading the charge. They are some distance ahead of the retail funds. With time, this might change but as of now, the industry and the retail funds are doing better than their peers.
How do you go about choosing Super funds for yourself?
