Choose how your super is invested

25 September 2026

Your super is being invested right now. Have you ever stopped to think about how it’s invested, and whether this approach still suits you?

How your super is invested can affect the returns it earns and how much its value rises and falls over time. Whether you’re still some way from retirement, approaching retirement or already retired, it’s worth understanding your investment approach.

You have a say in how your super is invested. You might prefer a ready-made diversified option that spreads your money across different types of investments. You might want to take more or less investment risk. Or you might prefer greater control by choosing individual asset classes and building your own investment mix.

There’s no single investment option that’s right for everyone. Your goals, how long your money will be invested and how comfortable you are with investment risk can all play a part.

Have you made an investment choice?

Making an investment choice allows you to select an option – or combination of options – that suits your goals, timeframe and attitude towards risk.

This article explains the range of options available and some of the key things to consider when choosing how your super is invested. We encourage you to explore our broad range of options, make a choice that suits your goals and circumstances, and review it over time as your needs change.

If you haven’t made an investment choice, your super is invested in the default option for your type of account. For Accumulation accounts, this is MySuper. For Pension accounts, it is Balanced if you’re under 75, or Conservative Balanced if you’re 75 or over. These default options provide a diversified investment approach, but you can choose a different option – or combination of options – at any time.

Start with you

Before comparing investment options, start with what matters to you.

Your super could be invested for decades, including throughout your retirement. The investment option/s you choose can affect how much your balance moves up and down along the way and how much your super could grow over time.

Some things to ask yourself include:

• How long is my super likely to remain invested?
• How comfortable am I with seeing my balance rise and fall?
• What returns am I hoping to achieve over the long term?
• How much investment risk am I prepared to take to pursue those returns?
• Where am I in my retirement journey – some way from retirement, approaching retirement or already retired?

If retirement is still many years away, you may be comfortable accepting more short-term ups and downs in pursuit of higher returns over the longer term.

As you get closer to retirement, you may feel differently about risk. However, reaching retirement doesn’t mean you stop investing. Your retirement could last 20 years or more, so your super may need to keep working for you long after you finish working.

You don’t need to have all the answers. If you’re not sure how you feel about investment risk, our Investment risk profiler can help you.

Reviewing your investment approach doesn’t always mean making a change. It can mean understanding how your super is currently invested and deciding that the approach still suits you.

Understanding risk and return

Investment risk and return generally go hand in hand.

Investments with the potential for higher long-term returns, such as shares, tend to experience greater fluctuations in value – these are called growth investments. More defensive investments, such as cash and fixed interest, generally experience smaller fluctuations but typically offer lower potential returns.

That doesn’t mean one is better than the other. What matters is choosing an investment approach that suits you.

The level of risk that may be appropriate for you will depend on factors including your age, investment timeframe, other investments, comfort with fluctuations in your balance and the risk you may need to take to pursue your financial goals.

Some of the investment risks you could consider are outlined below. Not this is not an exhaustive list, and other risks may also affect your investments.

• Market risk – the possibility that your investments may fall in value or experience negative returns due to unfavourable market movement.
• Inflation risk – the risk that your investments may not grow enough to keep pace with rising prices, meaning your money may buy less in the future.
• Longevity risk – the risk that your retirement savings may not meet your future needs or last as long as you need them to.
• Timing risk – if you switch investment option/s just as markets peak or fall it could negatively or positively affect your account balance.

To learn more, see the Investment and Fees Guide, available on our PDS and guides page.

Understanding the relationship between risk and return can help you make an investment choice based on your goals and circumstances rather than reacting to short-term market movements.

Why spreading your investments matters

Spreading your money across different types of investments is called diversification. It can help reduce the overall risk and volatility of your investments because different types of assets can perform differently at different times.

Your super could be spread across investments such as Australian and international shares, property, infrastructure, fixed interest and cash, as well as across different countries, industries and investment managers.

When one part of a portfolio isn’t performing well, another may be performing more strongly. Diversification can therefore help reduce the impact that the poor performance of a particular investment, asset class or market has on your overall portfolio. However, it cannot prevent losses or guarantee a positive return.

Many of Brighter Super’s investment options do this diversification for you. Or, if you prefer more control, you can choose from single asset class options and create your own investment mix.

So, what are your investment choices?

Brighter Super gives you a range of investment options designed for different goals, timeframes and attitudes towards risk.

There are two ways you can choose how your super is invested.

1. Choose a ready-made investment option

If you want a diversified portfolio without having to select and manage asset classes yourself, you can choose from our Ready-made Multi-manager options:

• Growth
• Balanced
• Conservative Balanced
• Indexed Balanced
• Stable
• Secure

Each option has a different mix of investments and a different approach to risk and return. Full details and fact sheets for each option are available on our investment options page.

2. Create your own investment mix

You don’t have to choose just one investment option. If you prefer a more hands-on approach, you can choose from Brighter Super’s single asset class options to create your own investment mix:

• International Shares
• Australian Shares
• Property
• Diversified Fixed Interest
• Cash

Full details and fact sheets for each option are available on our investment options page.

Taking a more hands-on approach can give you greater control. However, it also means making decisions about the mix of investments and the level of diversification.

Your portfolio may be more concentrated, which could increase the impact of poor performance in a particular investment, asset class or market.

More indexed investment options are coming

Over the coming weeks, Brighter Super will announce two new indexed investment options, due to become available in late 2026.

Indexed options aim to track the performance of a selected market index, which measures the performance of a particular group of investments. They generally invest across the companies or other assets included in that index, rather than actively selecting individual investments.

Brighter Super currently offers the Indexed Balanced option. The two new options will give members more ways to choose how their super is invested. We’ll provide more information before they become available.

Explore the long-term potential of your investment choice

Investment options with different allocations to growth assets, such as shares, can produce different outcomes over time. You can use our retirement age and income calculators to compare different investment strategies and see how your choice could help you achieve your long-term goals.

• Use the Retirement Income Calculator to compare how different investment strategies could affect your projected super balance and retirement income.
• Use the What Age Can I Retire? Calculator to explore how changing your investment strategy, along with other factors, could affect the age at which you may be able to afford to retire.

These projections are estimates, but they can help you understand the potential long-term impact of your investment choice. Remember that options with higher expected returns generally involve greater investment risk.

Your choice doesn’t have to be forever

Making an investment choice today doesn’t mean you have to stick with it forever.

Your circumstances can change. You may move closer to retirement, your goals or attitude towards risk may change or you may decide a different investment approach suits you better.

That’s why it can be worth reviewing your investment choice from time to time. But reviewing your strategy is different from reacting to every movement in investment markets.

Super is a long-term investment. Markets rise and fall, sometimes sharply, and periods of volatility are a normal part of investing.

Changing your investment option in response to short-term market movements can have long-term consequences. Selling investments after markets have fallen can lock in losses, while moving out of growth assets can mean missing a recovery if markets rise again.

Instead of focusing on what the markets are doing today, ask yourself: does my investment choice still suit my goals, timeframe and attitude towards risk?

If you decide to make a change

If you want to check or change your investment options, there are a few steps you can take:

1. Check how your super is invested by logging in to Member Online.
2. Review the information about each investment option, including its fact sheet, so you understand the differences between them. Consider which option or combination of options, suits you.
3. If you decide your current investment choice no longer suits you, you can change your Brighter Super investment options at any time. This is known as investment switching.
4. If you’re unsure what’s right for you, seek financial advice before making a change.

Changing how your super is invested is an important decision. If you’re unsure about your investment choice or whether to make a change, consider seeking financial advice.

Learn more about switching investment options – including how to make an investment switch online or with a printed form.

See how your investments are performing

Making an investment choice is just the beginning. It’s important to keep track of how your investments are performing.

Visit our latest performance page for daily unit prices, financial year-to-date performance and returns over rolling one, three, five, seven and ten-year periods.

You can also use our interactive performance graph to compare our investment options across different time periods and account types. It can help you compare your investment choices and keep track of the option or options you’ve chosen.

Remember, past performance isn’t a guarantee of future returns. Investment decisions should take into account more than recent performance alone.

Your super, your choice

You may spend years building your super through contributions from your employer and, perhaps, extra contributions of your own. But how you choose to invest that money matters too.

A good investment choice starts with understanding your options. Consider your goals, how long your super will be invested and how comfortable you are with investment risk.

And your choice doesn’t have to be permanent. You can check your investments, learn more about your options and review your approach as your circumstances change.

It’s your super, your future and your choice.

Further information and support

Further information about our investments options is available at:

• Investment options information on our website, where you’ll also find fact sheets for each option.

• Investment and Fees Guide, available at PDS and Guides
• The Product Disclosure Statement for your type of account, available at PDS and Guides

If you would like to discuss investment choices with us, our team of superannuation specialists and financial advisers can help you. Find out more about Brighter Super’s advice services and how to book an appointment.

To view or update your account at any time, log in to Member Online or download the Brighter Super mobile app.