How to start investing your super
Updated on 1 July 2025 | 4 minute read
How you choose to invest your super can have a big impact on the amount you have to spend in retirement.
Your super fund invests your super to help it grow. But how do you choose an investment option to suit your needs and set yourself up for the lifestyle you want in retirement?
What to think about when making an investment choice
Each person's retirement goals and financial needs are different.
To get you started on which super investments are right for you, have a think about these 3 factors:
Your investment timeframe
This is how long you're investing for. One way to figure this number out is by subtracting your current age from your life expectancy.
The level of returns you want
This is how much you want your money to grow, and whether short-term or medium-term losses might affect your goals. Depending on your goals and timeframe, you may want to grow your balance or conserve it.
Your risk tolerance
What level of risk you can, or could take, to reach your goals. Your risk tolerance might change over time. To work out your risk tolerance, think about how you might feel about your returns going up and down.
What type of investor are you?
Test your risk profile with our quick quiz. See what type of super investments may suit you best.
Get advice about your investments
You can get advice over the phone about your super investments with us at any time – it's included as part of your membership1.
Common investment terms and phrases
While you're getting familiar with the investing basics, let's break down some common words and phrases you might see around our website while diving deeper into your super investments.
Investment options
Investment options are the different investment choices your super fund offers you within your account.
Actively managed
Active management means a team of experts manages your investments. Active investing aims to pick higher-performing assets to beat the broad market.Passively managed
A type of investment strategy where investments are chosen with the aim of closely matching the performance of a broad market index.Default investment option
The option you're invested in if you want to let us invest for you. Most of our members invest in the default option. In the accumulation phase, this option is also called the 'MySuper' option.Sustainable investing
Investing for the long term includes managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, like climate change, today. We believe integrating ESG factors into our investment processes alongside other traditional financial considerations helps us make better long-term decisions for our members' retirement outcomes. Check out more on our approach to sustainable investing.
Option size
The total amount of money invested in an investment option.Diversification
Spreading your money out across different types of assets. It helps minimise the impact of poor returns from a single asset. In the options we've designed, we've mixed (diversified) the assets.
Assets
When you invest, you invest in assets. These are the building blocks of your investment option and can be grouped into asset classes (e.g. Australian shares, international shares, cash).
Cash
An investment in cash assets (e.g. term deposits, bank bills).Fixed income
These are like loans to a government or company and have a set interest rate.Shares
Investing in shares means owning part of a company.Unlisted assets
Investments like infrastructure, property, or private equity.Growth assets
Designed to give you stronger returns over the medium to long term, but they have a higher risk of short-term losses (e.g. shares).Defensive assets
Investments that generally have a lower chance of making losses. They generally deliver lower returns, sometimes not even enough to keep up with inflation (e.g. cash).
Risk
Standard Risk Measure (SRM)
Standardised labelling of investment risk is used throughout the superannuation industry. You can use the SRM to compare risk levels for investment options that we offer and those that other super funds offer.Risks of investing
All investments carry risk. There are 3 key risks you should know about when investing in super:
- The value of your investments will go up and down over time
- Your investment returns will vary, and future returns may be different from past returns
- There's no guarantee of returns on your investments.
We have more info about these risks in the Super Savings Investment Guide if you'd like to know more.
Performance
This is how well your investment performed over a period of time. When comparing super funds or your investments within your fund, you might like to look at past performance over different periods (e.g. one, 5, 7, or 10 years). But keep in mind past performance isn't a reliable indicator of future performance. Check out our performance.
Returns
An investment option's return is how much it goes up or down in value.Compounding
In simple terms, compounding means you could earn returns on your returns when the market is going up, which helps your super savings grow faster over time. Of course, your returns go up and down over time - so if the market downturns, your returns won't compound.
Investing in your super
At ART, we help your super grow by investing it. You can leave it to us to invest it for you, or you can choose where it gets invested.
If you choose, you'll pick from our investment options. These are professionally managed investment portfolios we offer as part of your membership (take a look at all of them).
If you're ready to invest, make sure you consider:
- your retirement goals
- your investment timeframe
- the level of returns you want
- your risk tolerance
- how much control you want to take over your investments.
For most people, your super is a long-term investment, so it's important to check in and review your strategy from time to time. Also, please keep in mind this is general information only, and you should consider your own circumstances, needs and goals before taking any action.
Already a member?
Choose where to invest your super using our investment options, or leave it to us to invest for you. You can update or change your investments any time in Member Online.
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