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How to check your investment options

Savings in super can do a lot more than money in a regular bank account. Why? Because you get to choose how your balance is invested. 

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What's your super doing?

Your super can do more for your finances than you think. Gen from the IOOF team shows us how taking an interest in your super investments can up your worth.

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Get in control of your super  

If you’ve gone to the trouble of setting up online access to your super account, maybe you’ve looked at your total balance to see how much you have. 

What you may not have explored yet is how your super is invested. If this is a step you haven’t taken, you won’t know that your super fund has made this choice on your behalf. When you join a super fund, if you don’t choose how to invest your super, any savings you already have, and any new payments into your account will be invested in a default investment fund.  

This default might be ideal for your life stage and the type of investments you feel comfortable with. But most super funds offer a whole range of investment options and there might be one that’s a much better choice for getting the most from your super savings. 

The best way to start investing  

Lots of people in Australia have experience of investing their money, both in their super and in other ways. But even more people have never invested before. If you’re new to investing, super really is the ideal way to get started.

Expert tip

"Want to get the hang of investing without the pressure? Super is the perfect sandbox for getting comfortable with investing when you don't have experience or spare savings to invest. Depending on your age you may be able to 'learn as you go' and get to understand what investment risks mean to you."

Josh Rundmann, from the IOOF super team

What are my investment options?

Most super funds offer a decent range of investment options. They might give you the freedom to put your super savings into Australian shares or even international shares. They can also give you a choice of mixed options which will spread your money across lots of different types of assets. These options are designed by super funds based on different goals for investment risk and growth.
 
Want to get into the detail on super investment options and learn about what ‘assets’ and ‘investment risk’ mean for your super? Our Grow your balance topics are just what you’re looking for. 
 

How do I make an investment choice?

With most super funds you can choose more than one type of investment. So you can put your whole super balance into one option or split it across a few different ones.
 
The best way you can do this is by accessing your super account online. Using the tools and menus you can explore the different options on offer and make choices for how you want your savings invested. 
 
If you’ve never made investment decisions before, you might feel more confident or comfortable with your choices if you get some help first. Our IOOF team can give you information on the super investment options available to you.
 
Find out more about getting help with super.
 

Next topic: How to check your insurance

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I want to ...

Quiz

Who gets to choose how your super is invested?

Did you know?

Your super fund has a responsibility to make decisions in best interest of all members so they’ll invest it in a default option if you don’t make your own investment choices. 

Quiz

The best way to change your super investments is by:

Did you know?

Only you can make changes to your super investment options. The easiest way to make changes is to access your account online or speak to a financial planner if you need help.

Next topic: How to check your insurance

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Important information: This document has been prepared on behalf of IOOF Investment Management Limited (IIML) ABN 53 006 695 021, AFS Licence No. 230524. IIML is the Registrable Superannuation Entity (RSE) Licensee, RSE Licence No. L0000406 for the IOOF Portfolio Service Superannuation Fund (Fund) ABN 70 815 369 818. IIML is part of the group of companies comprising Insignia Financial Ltd ABN 49 100 103 722 and its related bodies corporate (Insignia Financial Group). The information in this document is general in nature and doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation or individual needs. Before making any decision based on this information, you should assess your own circumstances and consider seeking advice from a financial adviser or a registered tax agent. Please obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) before making any decision about whether to acquire a financial product. The information in this document is current at the date of issue and may change.