Understand the basics of investing

At UniSuper, the investment choices available to you may depend on the type of account you have.

If you have an Accumulation 1, 2, Personal Account, or account-based pension (such as a Flexi Pension), you can choose to invest in one or more of our 16 investment options.

If you have a Defined Benefit Division (DBD) account, you can choose to invest in the same 16 investment options for the accumulation component of your account. You can’t choose any investment options for your defined benefit component. Read more about the DBD.

How do I view or change my options?

You can view or change your options by logging into your MemberOnline account or via the mobile app. Contact us on 1800 331 685 from Monday to Friday (Melbourne time) if you need help.

Time plays an important role when it comes to investing. Generally, it’s your time in the market, not your timing of the market, that gives you the greatest chance of good long-term returns.

Some people may try to time markets by predicting when they’ll go up or down and then changing their investments. This strategy can be risky, as it’s difficult to predict what markets will do and getting the timing right can be tricky.¹

Compounding returns are investment returns earned on your investment returns.

It happens when you reinvest your positive investment returns (which occurs automatically with super).

The longer you invest your super, the more time you’ve got to take advantage of compounding. The younger you are when you start saving for your retirement, the more time you’ll have to benefit.

An example: Sue and Ewen

Meet UniSuper members Sue and Ewen. They’re both 60 years old and have been regularly topping up their super with extra after-tax contributions.

For the purpose of this illustration, the modelling assumes an investment return of 8% p.a. No allowance has been made for tax or investment fees and charges. Please note that lower investment returns and/or periods of market volatility, and the inclusion of tax or investment fees and charges could change the comparison.

We’ve assumed both contributions ($2,000 each year and $5,000 each year) to be after-tax contributions. This example is for illustrative purposes only and doesn’t relate to any of UniSuper’s investment options. Figures are nominal values and haven’t been adjusted to reflect the impact of future inflation.

Sue invested less, but ended up with more

Sue invested $2,000 each year (less than $40 a week). Ewen invested $5,000 each year.
Even though Sue invested less money in total than Ewen, she has $125,000 more than Ewen.

Why? Sue had more time. Sue's 15-year head start meant that her money had more time to benefit from compounding.

Inflation is a term used to describe a rise in the cost of living (measured by the Consumer Price Index or CPI).

Over the time your super is invested, the cost of living will generally rise. While a basket of groceries in 2008 might have cost $20, it would cost nearly $30 in 2023. 

Real return = investment return − CPI

It’s important to ensure the growth rate of your investment outpaces inflation. Otherwise, while the dollar amount of your balance may increase over the years, the actual buying power of your investment might not.

So, when we talk about the ‘real return’ from an investment, we’re talking about the return over and above inflation. At a minimum, your returns should keep pace with inflation. Ideally, to make real gains from your investment, your returns need to outpace inflation. 

Our investment options aim to outperform CPI by a specific percentage (or more) each year. Exceptions to this are the Cash, Australian Bond, Australian Income³ and Australian Dividend Income⁴ options, which have different types of objectives.