Personalise your super investments

What can I choose from?

No matter what you need, or where you are in life, we’ll be here for you with super investment choices that align with your goals and help you prepare for the future.

• BT can manage the investment strategy on your behalf with its Lifestage investment option, incorporating age-appropriate risk based on how many working years you have left, or how close you are to retirement.
• Or, you can adjust your investment risk whenever you wish, to suit your age, knowledge and goals.

If you choose to personalise your super investments, you can select from our menu of investment options featuring leading global and local fund managers. There are also specific sustainable and ethical investment options that you can select.

If you decide to change your investment mix, you can blend specialist options like Australian and international shares, infrastructure, and global property – and pick the investment managers. Or choose from options of ready-mixed assets that we've selected.

BT, under the instruction of the Trustee, actively oversees the portfolio of investment managers, and monitors the available investment options including how the Lifestage funds adjust the strategic asset allocation to adapt to markets, and ongoing research into offering investment options and strategies aligned with global best practice.

We take a long-term view of the environmental, social and governance impact of our investment decisions, and integrate ESG practices via the selection, appointment, and ongoing monitoring of our external investment managers.
 

Diversification and trade-off between risk and return

Diversifying your super’s underlying investments simply means having money invested across a range of different markets, countries, asset classes – from cash through to shares – and even different investment managers.

Our investment menu has been specifically chosen to offer a range of investment options from leading global and local managers, with different asset classes, levels of risk, and potential returns.

You can choose one, or a combination of, investment options.

A good place to start is to understand what type of assets carry what type of risk:

• Growth assets, such as shares and property, are generally considered the most volatile assets – they’re likely to experience greater fluctuations in value, but also have the potential to generate higher returns over the longer term.
• Defensive assets, such as cash and fixed interest, are generally considered to have lower levels of risk, but tend to produce lower, more stable returns.

The blend of investments that is right for your needs will depend on your goals, your life stage and how you feel about risk.

You may, for example, be looking for investments that preserves your investment. Alternately, you might be willing to take on more risk for the potential of a higher return over the long term.

There is no single ‘best’ way to diversify your investments – it depends on your personal goals and investment strategies.

Understanding risk

Markets are likely to experience periods of ups and downs over the decades. So, when deciding on an investment mix for your super, some things you could think about include the level of risk you take on based on your age, and how many years you have left until retirement.

• For example, if you're younger, is your super invested in less risky assets? Perhaps you're at an age where you can afford to ride a few market ups and downs to target a higher return until you start heading towards retirement?
• Conversely, when you retire, you're unlikely to be contributing more money to your super, so you may wish to consider reducing your investment in growth assets.

Generally, the higher the level of risk you’re prepared to accept, the higher the potential returns or losses.

Our investment menu is structured so you have adequate diversification choices you can assess based on your own situation.

If you’re uncertain of the amount of risk you would be comfortable with, the online BT Risk Profile tool can assist you in understanding what your investment risk appetite may be.

If you decide to choose where your super is invested, you may want to seek advice from a financial adviser – who can consider your specific objectives, financial situation and needs, and can make recommendations on which investment options might be right for you.  

How to change your investment mix

You can learn more about how to select from a range of investment options covering specialist, actively managed and index funds, sector-specific and diversified options for your BT super fund here.

• For BT Super for Life, log in online banking, click on the ‘BT Super’ tile, click on ‘Change my investment’ under ‘Manage account’ in the left-hand menu .
• For BT Super, you can find instructions here.
• For BT Super Invest, you can change your investment options by logging into your account.
  

Next: Lifestage investing