Investment options

One of the benefits of Mine Super is that you can choose which investment options your pension's invested in or make no choice and we'll do the work for you.

Make no choice and your pension will be invested in the: 

Or choose your own investment options. You can choose any mix of the pre-mixed and single asset class investment options.

Before making an investment choice, you should read our PDS

We offer members the following investment options:

Account-based pension investment options

Pre-mixed investment options

Pre-mixed across asset classes to match different investor risk profiles. A brief overview of each pre-mixed option can be found below, or you can find out more how these investment options are invested here.

High Growth
OverviewHigh Growth accepts higher risk to maximise returns. It invests primarily in shares, that aim to maximise returns by taking greater risk, with a small allocation to defensive assets such as bonds and cash.
Risk levelHigh.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for five or more years.
Growth
OverviewGrowth aims to optimise the risk and return potential. It invests primarily in shares, that aim to maximise returns by taking greater risk, with some allocation to infrastructure, alternatives and defensive assets.
Risk levelHigh.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for five or more years.
Balanced
OverviewBalanced aims to provide a balance of risk and return. It invests mainly in shares and fixed income, with a small allocation to property, infrastructure and other alternatives.
Risk levelHigh.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for four or more years.
Conservative Balanced
OverviewConservative Balanced aims to balance risk and return. Conservative Balanced seeks to maintain a broadly diversified portfolio incorporating growth and defensive assets in order to provide consistent returns over a long period.
Risk levelMedium to High.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for three or more years.
Indexed Defensive
OverviewIndexed Defensive is a low-cost passively invested option. Indexed Defensive invests the majority of its defensive assets in fixed income and cash and its growth assets in Australian and International Shares.
Risk levelMedium to High.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for three or more years.
Capital Guarded
OverviewCapital Guarded aims to offer diversification across major asset classes with some exposure to growth assets. Capital Guarded invests in a range of predominantly defensive assets including cash and fixed income. Capital Guarded also invests some of its portfolio in growth assets, such as shares and property.
Risk levelLow to Medium.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for three or more years.
Secure
OverviewSecure aims to provide a low to medium risk investment with 90% invested in cash, a defensive asset that has a lower short-term risk but provides low long-term returns. It also invests 10% in Australian shares, which are a growth asset. Please note, although Secure is our lowest risk pre-mixed investment option, it's possible it could generate a negative return, particularly over the short-term.
Risk levelVery low.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for two or more years.
 

Single asset class investment options

Single asset class investment options invest in one asset class only; each with different levels of risk and return potential. They allow you to build your own asset allocation across multiple asset classes. We offer the following singles asset class options: 

  • Australian Shares 
  • International Shares 
  • Property
  • Bonds
  • Cash
  • Term Deposit

Want more details about how these investment options are invested? Find out more.

Pre-retirement pension investment options

Pre-mixed investment options

Pre-mixed across asset classes to match different investor risk profiles. A brief overview of each pre-mixed option can be found below, or you can find out more how these investment options are invested here.

High Growth
OverviewHigh Growth accepts higher risk to maximise returns. It invests primarily in shares, that aim to maximise returns by taking greater risk, with a small allocation to defensive assets such as bonds and cash.
Risk levelHigh.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for five or more years.
Growth
OverviewGrowth aims to optimise the risk and return potential. It invests primarily in shares, that aim to maximise returns by taking greater risk, with some allocation to infrastructure, alternatives and defensive assets.
Risk levelHigh.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for five or more years.
Balanced
OverviewBalanced aims to provide a balance of risk and return. It invests mainly in shares and fixed income, with a small allocation to property, infrastructure and other alternatives.
Risk levelHigh.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for four or more years.
Conservative Balanced
OverviewConservative Balanced aims to balance risk and return. Conservative Balanced seeks to maintain a broadly diversified portfolio incorporating growth and defensive assets in order to provide consistent returns over a long period.
Risk levelMedium to High.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for three or more years.
Indexed Defensive
OverviewIndexed Defensive is a low-cost passively invested option. Indexed Defensive invests the majority of its defensive assets in fixed income and cash and its growth assets in Australian and International Shares.
Risk levelMedium to High.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for three or more years.
Secure
OverviewSecure aims to provide a low to medium risk investment with 90% invested in cash, a defensive asset that has a lower short-term risk but provides low long-term returns. It also invests 10% in Australian shares, which are a growth asset. Please note, although Secure is our lowest risk pre-mixed investment option, it's possible it could generate a negative return, particularly over the short-term.
Risk levelVery low.
Investment time frameSuitable for people who wish to invest their super for two or more years.
 

Single asset class investment options

Single asset class investment options invest in one asset class only; each with different levels of risk and return potential. They allow you to build your own asset allocation across multiple asset classes. We offer the following single asset class options: 

  • Australian Shares
  • International Shares
  • Property
  • Bonds
  • Cash

Want more details about how these investment options are invested? Find out more.

Where do we invest your pension? 

We appoint professional investment managers to invest your pension. We regularly review their investment performance, risk management and investment process. We can and do remove managers and add new ones. View the latest investment managers list (PDF).

Term Deposits (Account-based pensions only)

The Term Deposit investment option invests in the fixed term deposit products of Australian Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) chosen by Mine Super, such as banks, building societies and credit unions.

We recommend you read the PDS and seek financial advice before investing in the Term Deposit investment option.

 

From 20 May 2024 we’re closing the Term Deposit investment option. To make a (re-)investment in a term deposit before this date, we must receive your application by 5pm on 9 May 2024. For more information, read the Significant Event Notice

Latest Term Deposit interest rate

Note: We've chosen these term deposits from a panel of authorised deposit-taking institutions, which are reviewed weekly. The interest rates nominated below don't take into account any fees and taxes that may be deducted on maturity.

Investment termIssuer

Interest rate
For applications received by 5pm on Thursday, 18 April 2024

Six monthsUnity Bank5.10% per annum
One yearUnity Bank5.00% per annum

 

Invest in the Term Deposit investment option

You can invest in the Term Deposit option at any time by completing the Invest in a Term Deposit option form and returning to us.

Note: Valid applications received by 5pm on a Thursday, when rates have been published for that week, will be invested the following Tuesday. Applications received after this cut off will not be invested until we next have a Term Deposit available and will be invested on the Tuesday following that week.

 

Reinvest in the Term Deposit investment option

If you’re currently invested in the Term Deposit option, you have the option to reinvest your proceeds once your Term Deposit has matured. Investment proceeds will automatically move into the Cash investment option once matured, which generally takes up to three (3) business days. If we don’t hear from you, the proceeds will remain in the Cash option until you choose to move them into another investment option, or reinvest in a new term deposit

Standard Risk Measure (SRM)

The SRM allows you to compare investment options by considering the expected number of negative annual returns over any 20 year period.

The SRM isn’t a complete assessment of all forms of investment risk. For example, it doesn’t detail what size a negative return could be, nor the potential for a positive return to be less than your objective. Further, it doesn’t consider the impact of administration fees and tax on the likelihood of a negative return.

 

How does the SRM show risk?

The SRM places this risk into one of seven risk labels, ranging from very low to very high. If the risk is ‘low’, we’d expect one or less years of negative returns over 20 years. If the risk is ‘high’ we’d expect between four and six years of negative returns over any 20 year period, as shown in the diagram below.

standard-risk-measure

These negative returns can be experienced several years apart or several years in a row within a 20 year period.

 

How is the risk for each option worked out?

We develop a set of capital market assumptions (return, volatility, correlation, etc.) for the asset classes which make up the investments of our investment options.

Using the portfolio weights and these assumptions, we apply portfolio simulation techniques to determine the probability of a negative return occurring over a one-year period. 

This probability is then multiplied by 20 to give an estimate of how many years in 20 we expect an investment option to deliver a negative return. This then feeds into our risk assessment which calculates the expected risk bands / labels for each of our investment options.  

 

What kind of information do we consider?

We consider how returns and volatility are affected by different economic conditions, such as inflation, economic growth and asset prices. 

 

Investment costs

Consistent with regulatory guidelines, we don’t consider the impact of administration fees or tax and we only take into account investment management fees.  

 

What else should I consider when thinking about the risks of my super investments?

The real world is complex and not always rational. This means mathematical theories may not always play out in practice. So, while the SRM can help you understand your investment risk, it shouldn’t be the only consideration.

For example, the SRM doesn’t show you:

  • how big a negative return will be;
  • whether you’ll get the returns you’re after; and
  • how fees and taxes will impact your return.