Frequently asked questions

Why does AustralianSuper disclose its holdings?

We understand that your super savings matter to you – so we want to make it easy for you to see what you’re invested in. 

We also believe it’s important to be transparent with members. That’s why we’ve been publishing our investments since 2016. 

The Government introduced regulations which now requires all superannuation trustees to disclose their portfolio holdings, with the first reporting published as at 31 December 2021.

How often is this information updated?

This information is updated and published twice a year, with data as at 30 June and 31 December. We aim to provide the updates within 90 days of those dates. 

Why don’t you provide a more recent list of investments?

Government regulations currently require all superannuation funds to publish this information twice yearly.  

The current timing means we can provide comprehensive investment information while minimising the chance of a negative impact on returns by revealing market sensitive information.

In addition, the process of publishing portfolio holdings partially relies on data provided by third parties that we can only obtain periodically. 

Why are there currently two ways to view portfolio holdings? 

AustralianSuper have been publishing a comprehensive list of investments since 2016, the first Australian superannuation fund to do so.  

With the introduction of new government regulations requiring all superannuation funds to publish their investments in a prescribed and consistent way, we are working towards a format which will meet both the government regulations and enable members to view the investments in a more reader friendly format and include an  additional look-through of holdings. 

Why do some investments show as zero percent?

An investment or exposure listed as 0.00% has a value that's less than 0.01% of the investment option.

Why do some investments show as zero dollars?

A zero dollar amount is typically due to the finalisation of a transaction where the investment has been sold but the final step of removing the investment from the list hasn’t occurred by the end of the period.

Why are ‘cash and derivatives’ listed within some asset classes?

We use derivatives, such as futures, to quickly and efficiently gain exposure to a particular asset or asset class – without physically owning it. Derivatives help us efficiently target our desired position in asset classes such as bonds and shares. They benefit the portfolio by maintaining investment exposure in a cost effective way and can also help to manage investment risk and enhance returns.

Cash can also be used to fund any switching in or out of investment options, especially the single asset class DIY Mix options. In share portfolios, cash can be held where funds are being invested in, or sold out of, share markets over time. This ensures we don’t put through large transactions in a short timeframe that could impact the market.

Why are some fixed income holdings listed within the Australian Shares and International Shares DIY Mix investment options? Why are some equity holdings listed within the Diversified Fixed Interest DIY Mix investment option?

As noted above, the Australian Shares and International Shares options invest a relatively small percentage of each portfolio in Cash. This necessary Cash exposure acts as a liquidity buffer, facilitating things like the switching of members between investment options, payments made to members in retirement and the buying and selling of shares in the portfolio.

Per our Investment Guide, our definition of Cash includes short-term securities such as deposits, bank bills and short-term bonds that are issued by governments and companies. Although each of these securities meets our definition of Cash, we are required by regulation to report some these securities (short-term bonds, for example) as Fixed Income.

Occasionally, corporate actions and underlying company activity may lead to temporary movements in how an asset is classified, meaning you may see an equity asset in Diversified Fixed Interest during a given reporting period.

How are private equity assets disclosed?

Our private equity investments can be found by filtering for Unlisted Equity. These investments are disclosed in two ways. First, per regulatory requirements, we disclose all our private equity investments, along with their dollar value and/or percentage weighting, under the Externally Managed and Internally Managed filters, under Unlisted Equity.

Second, we have elected to provide additional transparency to members, wherever applicable and possible, into the underlying companies of our externally managed private equity portfolios; you can find the full list of these names under the Private Equity Investments filter, under Unlisted Equity.

Why are there no specific values against property and infrastructure?

We’ve included a value range rather than a specific value for property and infrastructure. These aren't market listed assets and the values are market sensitive information. Detailing them may impede our ability to achieve the best price for an asset in a sale process and may mean we don’t get as good a return as possible when we make investment decisions about them.

Why is there less information on private equity investments?

These investments are privately owned. They’re not listed on a public market and the information and values are market sensitive. Revealing information on these investments publicly may cause members’ returns to be negatively impacted.

In addition, some of our private equity managers haven't provided us with permission to disclose details of the investments they make on our behalf. They aren't legally required to do so but we're continuing to work with them to increase the amount of information available.

How are private debt assets disclosed?

AustralianSuper has obtained interim relief from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in relation to certain reporting requirements applicable to internally managed fixed income - private debt investments. The interim relief enables the valuation information for internally managed private debt investments to be disclosed as an aggregate figure. The interim relief enables the valuation information for internally managed private debt investments to be disclosed as an aggregate figure. A full list of our private debt counterparties can be found here.

Why are there negative values against some investments?

Negative values may appear next to some derivative exposures (such as options and currency and interest rate swaps) that are used for hedging and other purposes. You can find out more about how we use derivatives in our annual report.

How can I see which investments I’m invested in personally?

The information is arranged by investment option. Choose the option/s you're invested in and browse the information. Currently it isn't possible to personalise the information to individual member accounts.

Why aren’t you showing the names of the investment managers next to their holdings?

The main focus of providing this information is so members can see what AustralianSuper invests in on their behalf rather than who's managing it. Additionally, in some cases, the same assets may be held by multiple managers and/or directly by AustralianSuper. This can make disclosure confusing. The current way we show information means members can see their total exposure to each investment.

You can view a list of fund managers we use at the Fund level in our annual report.

Why are there so many small investments?

Diversification is necessary in investment portfolios to adequately control risk. We offer several PreMixed investment options, including the Balanced option, that are diversified across a range of asset classes, and sub-sectors and securities within asset classes.

Where can I find out more information about a particular investment?

In the first instance, we recommend you do an internet search using the investment name. For example, our Member Direct option has investments managed by other product providers. You can find additional information about these investments on their website.

What proportion of the investments are hedged?

This depends on the asset class. Fixed interest, property, private equity and infrastructure assets, which are held offshore, are fully hedged. Both the international shares asset class and our International Shares investment option in the DIY Mix are unhedged.

For our PreMixed investment options, we set a target currency exposure each year as part of our strategic asset allocations process. This helps protect the options that have international assets from adverse currency movements.

Download our fact sheet for more on how we manage currency and our foreign currency targets.

How do you manage volatility in international markets?

We aim to reduce the impact of volatility of any one asset class or strategy by diversifying across and within asset classes.

We invest in direct property and infrastructure, like toll roads, ports and airports. These assets, perform differently to other assets like shares and may offer attractive returns during times of share market volatility.

AustralianSuper's dynamic asset allocation approach also provides flexibility to increase our exposure to defensive assets when necessary.

Our internal investment team manages how they allocate money to the different types of investments very carefully. They have the flexibility to make adjustments to account for volatility.