I've just checked my super and I'm down by $4K since I switched there half a year ago, right before the COVID outbreak.
I understand the current implications of the local and global economy, but I'm still concerned.
Could someone please recommend a super that haven't lost value in the last 6 months, based on their own experience?
They all would have if you didn't manage it yourself.
As they invest in the stock markets, and they're down, I'd doubt it. Larger losses/gains from higher risk profiles so (bit late) time travelling to 6 months ago and reducing risk profile for now would be all that can be done. Mine's in mostly higher risk as I'm decades away (and not banking on it anyway) as in theory it'll bounce back multiple times over the very long term.
Just checked, time machine is out of batteries, any eneloops deal going?
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Not that anyone paying 0.8% fees, the Australian average, gives a shit about investment performance.
They probably believe what the superannuation industry told them, like rubes: it's impossible to have lower fees.
Which is demonstrably false given the existence of funds for decades with lower fees.
The superannuation industry was purposefully constructed to extract money out of the economy which is disastrous for long term investments. It could have been arranged so that there was no fees because the investors owned the fund but the Government was more interested in passing your money over to banks than your retirement being funded. So most Australians hand over about 15K to banks so that they lose $600,000 in the current arrangements.
Compulsory super was a flawed concept from the start. The party in government made a fubar out of it.
A Superfund That Haven't Lost Value in The Last 6 Months
A super fund is a vehicle to allow you to access various asset classes.
The right question is which asset classes haven't lost value in the last 6 months? … Obviously cash and related asset classes.
Timing is also another issue. My super performance is up 20+% because I was in 100% cash before Covid and switched to 100% shares at the end of March/early April [this is not a trading decision but a value based decision]. Now if I was in 100% shares before Covid and switched to 100% cash at the end of March/April I would be down 30-40%.
Your in the wrong biz , very few pick the bottom . More pick the turn around but seriously with your skill you could retire many times over in months .
If I had a crystal ball I would have gone all in March 23. I was a p*ssy and only went in 1/3 :(
Will you be looking to switch back to cash in anticipation of another crash? Surely there will be another like the one in March?
@John Kimble: I have been tempted to take profits but super is long term investment. The risk is the market runs away after I get out and sit in cash for years waiting for a pull back.
Basically be happy at the price you buy in at and if the market drops below that, buy more.
Well done, but how long before COVID crash did you switch to 100% cash? Did you miss out on the extraordinary gains just before the crash?
I tried to time it, lost 25K, 15K more than if I had just stuck to the balanced portfolio.
TIL Super portfolio changes take a few days to kick in.
extraordinary gains just before the crash
Yes, some but I don't regret it (I use Benjamin Graham's Mr Market analogy). Market was crazy last year.
Super portfolio changes take a few days to kick in.
Depends on your fund. If you switch certain funds before 4pm it takes the close that day.
Many super funds don’t want members short-term speculating on the markets. My fund also makes you wait two days for an investment switch to take effect, and that can be a very, very long 48 hours if you’re watching the market continue to drop like an anchor as it did in late Feb/early March.
correct many are dont understand its just a company doing admin for your super, the important is which manager and product do you choose.
imagine super company is like coles and wools. some own brand yes but mostly are not
Cash hasn't lost anything in the past 6 months.
But it also hasn't gained anything in the past 10 years.
The FIAT getting hit every time there is a QE.
AU$ lost 20% or so in last 10 yrs against US$
All supers took a hit, and all supers will recover
My super didn't taked a hit. I'm calling bs on this.
Shouldnt you be out conducting haruspicy
LOL. I've lost over $4k just this morning so far with most stocks taking a tumble. Put your super in cash assets if you're scared of risk.
Yes. The spx had a good pullback.
Yep. My personal portfolio moves +-$10k on a daily basis. You either get used to it or go to cash & bonds.
You need to post a percentage decrease rather than a figure.
a 4K loss on a fund that was 200K at the start of year is probably not that bad.
a 4K loss on a fund that was 6K at the start of year is bad.
My super last week had pretty much recovered in full. I'm pretty certain it will go down again if we don't get Covid under control in Victoria.
Fair enough. It's a $4K loss on the $70K I started there with.
So your account went down 4k on 70K in 6 months (so -5.7%). Did you complain or even notice when your account went up 5.7% or whatever it was in the 6 months before that ? (went like a rocket up until feb) Or the 5 - 10% returns you have probably seen in the previous 3 years in your previous fund ? Like complaining about your 10 year old car needing a service (it cost me money, does anyone have a car that didnt break down last month, maybe I should buy that one?). No one said investing (or owning a car) was going to be a positive experience all the time, but it will do very well for you in the long run, just allow for some bumps along the way. Your choice of fund also seems more based on colour and shape than whats under the hood, so perhaps have a look there, or just keep putting money (petrol) in it and get someone who knows what they are doing to check it for you every now and then instead to make sure its running as well as can be expected. You have roughly 20 years until retirement and then another 20 after that, so should have a bad feeling like this at least 6 more times in your life ie every ~7 years.
I only switched over there 6 months ago, so I'm yet to experience any growth with them.
@uk3000: Yes but broadly they invest in the same things cash, fixed interest, property and shares, ethical or not. At present all are providing a poor return except FI, but over 5 years all are doing well except cash. Whether you shop at aldi, coles or woolies, toilet paper costs are up!
@uk3000: Good news ! AES Balanced fund is 5th best performing 'Balanced' fund in Australia for the year to 31 May, at +3.72% FYTD from a high of 12.45% in Feb. 30% allocation to cash and fixed interest helped protect from share price falls. The ones above are at 5 - 6% FYTD. But its really just a moment in time, you dont need to worry about the last 11 months, just focus on the next 30 years. For reference money management magazine July 2 edition.
dang. minus 19k$ for me.
PSS and CSS
Those doors were closed years ago.
Why would you switch out of a fund that has dropped into a fund that hasn't dropped? This is the equivalent of selling low and buying high.
Why would you think that any Super Fund would not have suffered during this period?
You've provided almost no information to give informed advice.
What's your age?
How much of your total Super Fund does $4k represent?
What "investment choice" is your money in?
What fund?
I'm not sure why $4k is an issue. I dropped about 23% at the worst point and am currently down 7%.
Have I changed my investment allocation? Nope.
Have I reduced my max salary sacrifice contribution or my regular after-tax contribution? Nope.
These are good points, although I haven't said I want to jump the ship right away.
Admittedly, I haven't put much research into this issue. So far, I only switched funds once when I changed jobs, and only because I did not like the attitude of the bank associated with my previous fund.
Any funds which haven’t lost value must be investing in very low risk assets like cash. This is great for when the market experiences a large downturn but horrible for other times when your returns will be very small compared to what everybody else is earning. Think about the long term, don’t let short term volatility scare you away.
The thing is, what Australia (and the rest of the world) is going through right now is unprecedented. It is not virtually impossible that some funds may sink before the global recovery happens. I imagine the small funds like mine are especially vulnerable. I might be wrong but I don't think public superannuation funds in Australia are covered by the government deposit guarantee.
I might be wrong but I don't think public superannuation funds in Australia are covered by the government deposit guarantee.
They aren't guaranteed because it isn't a deposit.
As you still haven't given any indication what investment mix your money is in, it's impossible to help you understand what your risk is.
Have you even said what fund you are in?
How old are you? 17, 37 or 57?
You are obviously a taker and not a giver.
The fund is Australian Ethical, with their default investment mix for my age group (which, in turn, would best map to 37 from your list).
That default investment strategy is called "Balanced", described as "Members comfortable with a medium to high level of risk that have an investment time frame of at least 5 years". They also have 4 more risky and 2 less risky options ("Defensive", "Conservative") to choose from.
@uk3000: @uk3000
IMO, BALANCEd at 37yo is way too conservative but I'm comfortable with risk. Maybe do a few of the risk profile quizzes like https://www.hesta.com.au/members/forms-resources/calculators…
The fund you are in has dropped 3.8% in the past 6 months which isn't terrible and the long term returns are in the top 20.
The fees are a bit weighty compared to a lot of the industry funds but you are paying for active management (which i think is useless) and the warm fuzzy feeling of being ethical which you can achieve cheaper elsewhere. I have a reasonable proportion of my shares & super in ethical / green investments as I think they will have a good return going forward and have been good in the past.
Have you bothered to look through their website to understand where your money is going?
https://www.australianethical.com.au/personal/super/ethical-…
I think I would be hard for a super fund to sink unless every investment they have invested in suddenly becomes worthless. This is unlikely to happen unless you have your money in some ridiculously high risk fund. The most likely scenario is that your money is in a medium risk balanced type fund in which case they should be diversified enough that the stock market losing 20% is just a temporary blimp in the long term. Prices go up and prices go down.
If you don’t trust your fund then change funds - this applies with or without the impact of COVID19.
Which fund and investment option are you with?
You lost $4k but what about all the profits in the past? It is easy to try to look at it in isolation. If you looked at 2008/9 it would be any funds that may have not lost money in 6 months question too.
If you only had your money in the cash option. But you would have got bad returns.
Don't need recommendation, if the stock market elevates your blood pressure then find a fund with a larger component in cash. Just don't expect the same returns when the market decides for another bull run.
I switched mine to cash before the PLANdemic/SCAMdemic took off. Not growing much at all. but no losses…yet. If hyperinfaltion kicks in, we're toast.
What bubble you living in…. every sector has been affected… every sector.
Your loss of 4K seems most reasonable. Some people have lost far greater than that.
My suggestion is stay where you are
I'm in an industry fund with everything in sustainables, low and high growth, and it's been stable. Obviously, not the fastest growing portfolio in the past, but not affected by the same industries as non-sustainable portfolios.
I am 6% down for the last 3 months. Total 2.4% down for the financial year to date.
Super is a long term investment over decades. Short term losses are not a huge thing. How is the super plan you are in doing over the 3 year 5 year mark?
$4k…? Are you serious! That's nothing mate. You should be very happy.
It's ~6% down for me, so maybe not overly happy.
The only find that hasn't lost money is the one for the political party members which can never go down.
The future fund is also for them and not everyday people ………
which superfund is good to have when you dont have a job?
Are you sure it's an actual loss? Check the investment performance on the super fund website, you also need to check your actual investment option performance. Otherwise wait for your annual statement (which might not go out until August/September) to see how you're tracking.
If you're worried about investment performance, please seek advice from a qualified financial advisor.
$4k? I lost $40k!
If you're young, you might as well invest in high growth/risk.