How to choose your investment option
While it’s true that you might have less hands-on input with your super than other investment avenues, super is far from set-and-forget.
You can still play an active role in how your super grows through something called investment choice.
Unlike other investments like shares or property, where an investor could regularly make active, detailed choices about where they want their money invested, super can seem distant for some people. After all, you can’t touch it until you retire and your fund handles it all for you, right?
While it’s true that you might have less hands-on input with your super than other investment avenues, super is far from set-and-forget. You can still play an active role in how your super grows through something called investment choice. Investment choice means you can pick which investment option – or combination of options – you want us to invest your money in on your behalf.
Each option is generally composed of a certain type of asset, or a particular mix of assets. Each option carries with it a different level of risk and potential for reward. The assets your super is invested in depends on the option you choose.
Qantas Super's investment options
We have a range of tailored investment options for you to choose from, helping you invest your super to match your needs and lifestyle goals.
Glidepath
Glidepath is an automated investment option that lets you take a back seat and put your super on autopilot. Your super is invested across four stages – Take-off, Altitude, Cruising, and Destination – based on your year of birth, with Glidepath automatically adjusting your growth and risk profile over time.
When you’re younger and have a longer investment timeframe, Glidepath will expose you to more higher risk, growth assets, and fewer lower risk, defensive assets. This is because you have a longer time to retirement, and therefore have time to weather a downturn in the market. As you get older and move through Glidepath, your super will be invested in more defensive assets and fewer growth assets.
It’s important to remember that Glidepath doesn’t take into consideration your personal needs and circumstances. It’s been developed based on our assessment of the investment needs of a typical Qantas Super accumulation member, aiming to provide a comfortable1 level of income in retirement.
If you don’t make an investment choice when joining Qantas Super, your account will be invested in Glidepath.
1The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia Ltd (ASFA) Retirement Standard benchmarks the annual budget needed by Australians to fund either a comfortable or modest standard of living in the post-work years.
Individual investment options
Aggressive
For members with a time horizon on at least 10 years, who want their money invested mostly in growth assets, with a high degree of risk
Growth
For members with a time horizon of at least seven years, who want to achieve high returns through exposure to growth assets, with a medium to high degree of risk
Balanced
For members with a time horizon of at least five years, who want their investments balanced between growth and defensive assets, with a medium degree of risk
Conservative
For members with a time horizon of at least three years, who want stable, modest returns, with a medium degree of risk
Thrifty
For members who want an investment portfolio predominately invested in low-cost passive growth assets.
Cash
For members who want exposure to cash and short-term money market returns, with a very low degree of risk.
What are you investing?
Along with your investment timeframe, sometimes called your investment horizon, another factor you may want to consider when looking at investment options is what portion of your super you want to invest in which option.
You can choose which investment options apply to your:
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Current account balance
You can specify how much to invest in each option by dollar amounts, or by whole percentages
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Future contributions
Your future contributions include contributions from your employer, and any roll-ins, regular or one-off contributions you may make. You can specify how much to invest in each option by whole percentages
What's your risk profile?
When thinking about which investment option/s may be right for you, it’s important to consider your risk profile, or how much risk you’re prepared to take for potential reward.
In general, higher risk investments, such as shares, have the potential to generate higher returns over the long term – however the value of your investment in the shares can fluctuate greatly over the short term. While this is the nature of the market, seeing these fluctuations in value over the short term can make some investors nervous.
Meanwhile, investments that carry lower risk, such as cash, generally offer lower returns. The trade-off is that these types of investments generally always hold steady, providing a sense of security or reassurance for investors who may be uncomfortable with risk, or have a shorter investment horizon.
ASIC’s MoneySmart has a handy chart to help you start thinking about your personal attitudes to risk:
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