ESG super options coming at a cost
Superannuation fund members investing with a conscience may be losing retirement savings as a result, with sustainable options often coming at the cost of higher fees and lower returns.
The median performance of sustainable options is lower than an index constructed by SuperRatings of traditional balanced funds, as well as having higher median fees, according to data from the research house.
There are however, some sustainable funds that outperform the market, with offerings by HESTA, VicSuper, AustralianSuper, WA Super and UniSuper all delivering strong returns at competitive fees, as shown in the table below.
Of course, it should be noted that not all sustainable options are created equal. While some simply apply a screen on certain industries, other perform in-depth analysis of individual companies, which obviously comes at a cost.
SuperRatings acknowledged that “this makes it hard to provide a definitive ranking of sustainable fund performance”, with its executive director, Kirby Rappell, saying that: “When considering sustainable alternatives, it is important to look at each individual fund’s mandate, their process for investing sustainably, and of course the industries and businesses they do and do not invest in.”
AUTHOR
Hannah Wootton
Recommended for you
The winners have been announced for the 2025 Super Fund of the Year Awards, held in Melbourne on 26 November by Money Management's sister brand Super Review.
Data and technology provider Novigi has acquired Iress’ superannuation consulting and managed services business from Apex Group.
AMP is to launch a digital advice service to provide retirement advice to members of its AMP Super Fund, in partnership with Bravura Solutions.
Unveiling its performance for the calendar year 2024, AMP has noted a “careful” investment in bitcoin futures proved beneficial for its superannuation members.
