Recently received an email from ING direct claiming that they will help save an extra $75 k on my fund by the time I retire if I switch to them.
At the moment I am getting charged a pretty high fee on my funds and am seriously considering an alternative. Anyone knows whats the best super funds to invest in?
Apologies for sounding like a noob but, newly entered the workforce I have no idea how these things work.
Thanks!
yeh it's very hard to say which is the best. I go for low/no fees but doesn't necessarily mean the fund will perform well…
I hate all of them. Because of the legal requirement to use one of them (or have huge troubles with meeting the DIY requirements) they almost have a licence to take cash from you.
Having said that I really like the way ING is set up. They take the money in all the approved 'you can't get to it' ways, but provide a normalish net bank interface to use term deposites, buy/sell shares or just high interest accounts.
If you are prepared to do the extra work for this, it is a very good option.
The only person who can tell you is someone who owns a working time machine.
That being said, the ING spiel is that the less fees you pay, the more you'll have at the end.
Assuming all else is equal, then that's true.
The Industry Super funds run a similar advertising campaign.
Assuming you are young, you need to find a reputable low fee fund (industry super funds have a good record and are non-profit, so in theory members get more benefit http://www.industryfunds.com.au/) and select investments that are high risk/reward (called high growth, not secure or balanced - e.g. international shares, Australian shares, perhaps unlisted property) and forget about it for a decade or two.
When you are in your late forties, you should take another look and probably dial back the risk a bit.
You probably don't want to invest any extra in super now, because you won't get it back till you retire, and I suspect they will change the rules to make getting it back before you are 67yers old harder.
So just let the super guarantee do it's job, and focus on your day to day budget and savings.
Agree…industry super funds are the way to go..but just make sure (like any other super fund) that you know what your hard-earned dollars are being invested in…
I hate to be a doomsday person, but I have recently changed my portfolio into fixed cash with a small percentage exposed in shares and property.
I used to have an agressive style of super investment and this has resulted in at least 1/3 of my super destroyed…
Also, with an industry superfund, u'd probably be able to get death cover etc for "free" or cheap….whereas with other superfunds, they cost money.
Anyway, do your own research.
Thanks everyone.
I would do my own research but I am not sure what to research for? I have no idea about what to look out for needless to say comparing them!
Compare the fees, the rest comes down to how good their decisions to invest are, which, overall should be roughly the same and are impossible to tell without hindsight.
Given the market is more likely to turn upward than further downward, that seems a silly move… You've taken the hit but you're selling yourself out of the rebound (if it does indeed happen)!
Historically, the share market has been the best performing and lowest risk investment over a long term period, so unless you need money now or in the near future (ie less than 5 years), it's best to keep your Super in Shares.
…wait what's the point of super if they're gonna be spending all your hard earnt money away on gambling???!!! I thought the idea was for them to keep a separate bank that you can't touch till you're old enough and when you're old enough, all your funds you've earnt so far will be there, not less or not more…..although more is appreciated of course….heh…
Super allows your investment to grow with a lower tax rate, in exchange for locking the money away till retirement.
You can choose to invest in cash, shares, property, gold or whatever.
If you have a long time till retirement, it has always been a good investment to choose shares rather than cash in the bank. You can reasonably expect an investment in shares to double every 10 years or so, while cash in the bank would take 35 years to double at current rates.
If this seems confusing or sounds like gambling, probably the best idea is to choose a low fee fund and select their default fund.
It kinda does sound like gambling if you're throwing your money all on black in an attempt to double it or nothing if it doesn't happen….
Sure if you have clairvoyance and can predict the future with 100% accuracy and certainty, but unfortunately I don't possess such power and so this activity falls in the probability game…..
Is AustraliaSuper any good?
Try http://www.findmybestsuper.com.au/ as a starting point.