Investment options

You may have certain goals for your retirement. That's why we offer different investment options (below), each with a different level of risk and return. Investment choice is available for Accumulation Plan, Beneficiary Account and Income Stream members.

Standard Options

These are all ‘pre-mixed’ options and offer a ‘range of risk profiles’ from defensive to growth. The Standard Options represent the core options that ESSSuper offers and are underpinned by our investment approach.

Alternative Options

The Alternative Options are designed to complement ESSSuper’s standard investment offering, giving members greater flexibility and choice. The options are designed for members looking to prioritise a particular characteristic that is important to them when selecting their investment mix. You can choose a single option (with the exception of the Term Deposit option, in which you can invest up to 80% of your benefit) or a combination of options.

If you don’t make a choice, your benefit and investment earnings will be invested in the default investment option, Growth. If you are unsure which investment option is best for you, have a look at the Investment Risk Profiler on our website. Changes made on or before the 20th of the month are effective from the 1st day of the following month. Where the 20th day of the month is not a business day, changes must be received no later than the business day prior to the 20th day of the month.

Standard Investment Options

• Shares Only This option may be suitable if you are prepared to accept the high volatility of investing in listed investments in the pursuit of high long term capital growth.
• High Growth This option may be suitable if you are prepared to accept moderate to high volatility of capital in pursuit of high long term capital growth.
• Growth (default)This option may be suitable if you are most interested in long term capital growth and can accept short term volatility of capital.
• Balanced This option may be suitable if you want a growth component in your investments to help protect capital against inflation, some income to smooth returns but can accept short term volatility of capital.
• Conservative This option may be suitable if you aim to see your capital protected from inflation and are prepared to experience some short term volatility in order to gain longer term capital growth.
• Defensive This option may be suitable if you are prepared to accept a measured amount of risk by investing in a small amount of growth assets. Your priority remains the preservation of capital.
• Cash This option may be suitable if you do not wish to take any investment risk as your priority is safeguarding of your investment capital.

Alternative Investment Options

• Basic Growth This option may be suitable if you are interested in long term capital growth, can accept higher levels of short term volatility and are particularly cost sensitive.
• Ethically Minded This option may be suitable if you are interested in long term capital growth, can accept short term volatility and are seeking an investment return that excludes some investments on ethical grounds.
• Term Deposit This option may be suitable if a predictable level of income is a priority, along with safeguarding your investment capital.

Changing your investment options

Everyone is different, that's why we have different, carefully selected options you can choose from to help you reach your retirement goals. By selecting just one option, or a combination of options, you can tailor your investments to match your needs and reach your long term goals.

Important: Keep in mind that super is a long term investment and investment performance can fluctuate. With every investment, there are risks. Generally, the higher the potential return, the higher the level of risk. You should consider the information with the PDS before making a choice about your investments.