Hello,
I've come to realize that I have multiple accounts across several companies and now I've set a mission to sort it all out into one fund.
I've tried to look for other peoples opinions but each company seems to have pretty bad feedback, and since this is not my area of expertise i don't know what to do.
Which Superfund have you settled with and why?
Thank you have a great day! :)
Hey thanks for the response appreciate it
Yeah i'm a youngin at 23, employed PT while finishing up Uni. Pretty much same as you not really a risk taker and just looking to save for over the long haul
I've got accounts with Rest, AMP and Colonial, from what i gather AMP seems to be probably my best choice although I just noticed Comm bank also do super so i'll see what they say since they are already my bank.
Tedious process :(
-Just noticed "Colonial First State is a wholly owned subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia"
Rest via Coles.No complaints.
You obviously haven't ever tried to lodge any sort of claim with them/their insurers…it's a horror show.
The first thing you should do is consolidate your funds so you're not paying the same fees over and over (although I could stand to take that advice, as I am in two because I haven't bothered consolidating the one I had for my job I had while at uni).
Other than that there are a lot of variables. Like djones145 said, past performance does not indicate future performance. A lot of funds will have similar returns/low fees. You also need to pick what sort of risk you want to take, if you've just started working you might want more risk with the higher prospect of a high return, and vice versa if you're older.
There are also SMSFs although I assume they are a lot more work than retail funds. Then again the fees are much lower, and you have total control over how your money is managed.
The fund I use is just the default one for my work. Choosing a new one seems pointless as they're all pretty similar in my view.
I really don't think that they will be around for much longer.
(http://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/financial-se…)
They are already Closing few departments within the operations. Cost Cutting and down sizing. But will last for another 5 years.
Unfortunately we needed a Royal Commission to expose this.
PSS
The first thing you should do is start working for the government 30 years ago. Then your super will be set.
BRB building time machine.
agest
SMSF with esuperfund. No one cares more about your future than you. You can lose your money in your super just as well as the professionals can (and you can make money just as well)
Does it require alot of financial knowledge to self manage or is it easy to manage aswell for dummies like my self?
Cheers
There is a checklist to do each year eg label the transactions in your bank account. Takes me a couple of hours at the end of each financial year.
Just remember if you move your current super into a SMSF you lose the life insurance so you will need to take this out yourself through your SMSF. This costs me $450 a year but that provides $650k if I die which means my wife can pay off the mortgage and have enough to live off and raise our family without having to go back to work for at least a decade. When I had my employer superfund my life insurance was $350k which is not enough.
Thanks for the info i'll look into it for sure sounds like a good option
Personally I go with AustralianSuper.
Seem to have decent long term returns as well as good well priced insurance coverage.
Other Industry Superfunds I wouldn't touch, have a close look and cross reference their director list with union bosses names, cozy arrangements.
OOPs I agree AustralianSuper. I forgot that AGEST went to AustralianSuper.
Australian Super are a bit poor on customer service (lacking communication skills) but their investment section seems descent. They are one of the bigger Super Funds in Aust with over $92 Billion under management but are not in the top 10.
http://www.ratecity.com.au/pension-funds/australiansuper/aus…
http://www.superratings.com.au/top-tens/returns
yeah i don't want to make broad generalisations about their customer service, but the one time i had to call them the guy picked up the phone giggling and proceeded to finish his conversation he was having with his fellow agents before greeting me…was really tempted to change funds at that point because that's not the kind of attitude i want managing my 4 figure fortune
I'm with Sate Super and it's fine. There are plenty of websites that compare super funds and their historic returns. Most advisors suggest an SMSF is not worth the hassle (due to compliance issues alone) if you have less than 500K in your kitty.
IOOF are in the media for all the wrong reasons. Maybe take care with that.
Ramshead is 100% correct - why people are recommending to a 23yr old who's still working PT to go into a SMSF is beyond me and makes absolutely no sense at all.
Best fund mgr? Thats too general and impossible to answer without knowing loads of variables for you BUT my general advice would be to look at an industry super fund that offers a good range of investment options. Well down the track and pending what you have in your account etc PERHAPS a SMSF is an option but right now that'd just cost you more in fees than any likely returns.
State Super is very good (I used to be GM for a business of ~20 employees and after a review I rolled the organisational default option over to them) but personally I'm with Hostplus.
Ultimately which super manager you're with really isn't the most important thing, it's rather which options you select - as most folks leave it in the default option with default insurance etc and then wonder why their returns are rather mediocre. Take a few hours to read up and select the right options etc for your investment temperament (and over the long term higher risk options like Oz/foreign equities tend to outperform all by a considerable margin, no point having 20-30% of your funds tied up in cash or fixed interest)…..as in the long term it's a very small effort to make with a huge return. :-)
First thing you should do is to check whether you even have a choice in where your employer pays your super. You say you work PT while at uni and Rest is one of your super companies. If you work retail then chances are your workplace agreement as negotiated by the SDA mandates that Rest is where your super is paid and you wont have a choice of fund.
First thing i did which was why i created this thread, thank you though :)
I'd also go with Australian Super. Low fees and trying to get them even lower. Returns are rated quite high.
I'm with REST, have been since 2005. Great performing fund and as with all industry super funds - low fees.
I am with Australian Super and happy with them.
Is anyone with Hostplus? Super recommended by the barefoot investor.
"past performance is not an indication of future performance", sorry I work in the finance industry have to say it!
most people like industry funds, all profits go to members
I personally am in two funds, an industry super fund and my work company one (as they give me free insurance)
what you pick also depends on ur age, if your close to retirement, chances are you should look for a fund that can offers a good low risk investment (which most does) but have a good retirement product
if you young, high risk for you, then you have to look at the different products and see whether it suits ur appetite, personally I'm young but not a risk taker, so most super funds have a similar performing product so it doesn't really matter much for me