investments
Asset classes
How could different asset classes impact your overall investment performance? It’s information that could help you make the most of your super.
Asset classes
Most investments fall into one of five main groups or asset classes. Here’s a brief summary of each of them.
| Asset class | Examples | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Bank deposits and short-term money market securities. | Cash is a stable investment that provides steady returns. While the chance of losing money is remote, the returns tend to be the lowest of all asset classes. |
| Fixed interest | Securities such as bonds and debentures. | Over the long-term, fixed interest tends to provide better returns than cash, but lower returns than property and shares. |
| Property | Industrial, retail or commercial real estate. | Over the long-term, property tends to earn more than fixed interest or cash, but less than shares. |
| Alternative investments | Investments in infrastructure projects, such as roads and airports, and private equity investments – generally not listed on public share markets. | Over the long-term, alternative investments tend to earn more than property, fixed interest or cash, but fluctuate in value more in the short term, so they carry a medium to high level of risk. |
| Shares | Units of ownership in companies listed on a public share markets (such as the Australian Stock Exchange). | Shares tend to earn the highest returns over the long term, but are more likely to fluctuate in the short term which makes shares a higher risk investment. |
Asset allocation
Each of our investment options has a specific mix of defensive and/or growth assets – known as its strategic asset allocation. Some options include both defensive and growth assets, while others are invested entirely in one or the other.
The split between growth and defensive for each of UniSuper’s investment options is shown below.
Asset allocations are chosen on the likelihood of them achieving the performance objectives of each investment option. Each asset mix is regularly reviewed and, when necessary, rebalanced.
Note that the risk and return profiles of the Self-Select investment options are not shown on this chart, as they are not designed to be used in isolation in a portfolio, but instead to be blended with one or more investment options to make up a complete portfolio.
tell me more
