In this guide
In this article you can discover the top 10 performing Conservative pension funds over 1 year and 10 years. We recommend that you also read our explanatory article Introduction to SuperGuide’s top 10 performing super fund lists which can help you understand how to compare the different risk categories that super investment options sit within.
What is an Conservative investment option?
Investment options with a 21–40% allocation to growth assets are termed Conservative by Chant West, a research company that has been analysing super fund performance for more than 20 years.
Conservative investment options may appeal to people who want a significant portion of their money in defensive assets for greater certainty.
How does a Conservative investment option behave?
In the short term, investment options in the Conservative risk category will generally experience the least volatility of all diversified investment options across all risk categories.
In the long term, a Conservative-style investment option will generally enjoy more certainty but should not be expected to grow as much as investment options in other risk categories with greater exposure to growth assets.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 1 year to June 2024
| Super fund | Investment option | Return (per year) |
|---|---|---|
| Russell Investments Master Trust | Defensive | 8.2% |
| Brighter Super | Stable | 7.8% |
| TWUSUPER | Conservative | 6.9% |
| Colonial First State FirstChoice | CFS Conservative | 6.7% |
| REI Super | Stable | 6.7% |
| Legalsuper | Conservative | 6.5% |
| Public Sector Superannuation Accumulation Plan | CSCri Income Focused | 6.5% |
| Australian Retirement Trust | Conservative (ART – Super Savings) | 6.5% |
| CareSuper | Capital Stable | % |
| SmartMonday | Moderate | % |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
- Pension fund rankings: All Growth category (96–100%)
- Pension fund rankings: High Growth category (81–95%)
- Pension fund rankings: Growth category (61–80%)
- Pension fund rankings: Balanced category (41–60%)
- Pension fund rankings: Conservative category (21–40%)
The median 1 year return for Conservative investment options to 30 June 2024 was 6.2%.
Below you can find the top 10 performing Conservative investment options over 1 year for previous time periods. Click the arrow to see the top 10 for each period, or continue reading to discover the top 10 performing Conservative investment options over 10 years.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 1 year to December 2023
| Super fund | Investment option | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Brighter Super | Optimiser Multi-Manager Conservative | 9.8% |
| Russell Investments Master Trust | Defensive | 8.8% |
| REI Super | Stable | 8.5% |
| HESTA | Conservative | 8.2% |
| TWUSUPER | Conservative | 8.2% |
| SmartMonday | Moderate – Active | 8.2% |
| Brighter Super | Stable | 8.1% |
| Spirit Super | Conservative | 7.5% |
| Public Sector Superannuation Accumulation Plan | CSCri Income Focused | 7.4% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 1 year to June 2023
| Super fund | Investment option | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Brighter Super | Optimiser Multi-Manager Conservative | 7.2% |
| Brighter Super | Stable | 6.5% |
| HESTA | Conservative | 6.4% |
| Russell | Defensive | 6.3% |
| Super SA | Conservative | 6.3% |
| CareSuper | Capital Stable | 6.2% |
| Aware Super | Conservative | 6.1% |
| Hostplus | Capital Stable | 5.9% |
| Vision Super | Conservative | 5.8% |
| Aware Super | Defensive | 5.8% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 1 year to December 2022
| Super fund | Investment option | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Qantas Super | Conservative | 0.8% |
| UniSuper | Conservative | -1.0% |
| Rest | Capital Stable | -1.0% |
| Hostplus | Capital Stable | -1.2% |
| CareSuper | Capital Stable | -1.3% |
| Spirit Super | Conservative | -1.5% |
| TelstraSuper | Lifestyle Conservative | -1.6% |
| Australian Retirement Trust – QSuper | Moderate | -1.7% |
| Vision Super | Conservative | -2.0% |
| CSCri | Income Focused | -2.1% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 1 year to June 2022
| Super fund | Investment option | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Qantas Super | Conservative | 1.3% |
| UniSuper | Conservative | 0.8% |
| Australian Catholic Super & Retirement | Conservative | 0.2% |
| Rest | Capital Stable | 0.2% |
| Christian Super | Ethical Stable | 0.1% |
| TelstraSuper | Lifestyle Conservative | -0.1% |
| Prime Super | Conservative | -0.7% |
| Australian Retirement Trust | QSuper Moderate | -0.9% |
| Spirit Super | Conservative | -1.0% |
| Australian Retirement Trust | Conservative (Super Savings) | -1.1% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 1 year to December 2021
| Super fund | Investment option | Return |
|---|---|---|
| LGIAsuper | Stable | 9.6% |
| TelstraSuper | Lifestyle Conservative | 8.8% |
| Australian Catholic Superannuation and Retirement Fund | Conservative | 8.4% |
| Australian Retirement Trust | Conservative (ART – Sunsuper) | 8.4% |
| Christian Super | Ethical Stable | 8.1% |
| NGS Super | Defensive | 7.9% |
| Russell Investments Master Trust | Defensive | 7.4% |
| Hostplus | Capital Stable | 7.1% |
| MLC Super Fund | Horizon 2 | 7% |
| REST Super | Capital Stable | 7% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 1 year to June 2021
| Super fund | Investment option | Return |
|---|---|---|
| LGIAsuper | Stable | 12.6% |
| Australian Catholic Superannuation and Retirement Fund | Conservative | 11.1% |
| TelstraSuper | Conservative | 10.7% |
| Sunsuper | Conservative | 10.7% |
| Russell Investments Master Trust | Defensive | 10.3% |
| MLC Super Fund | Horizon 2 | 10.2% |
| Hostplus | Capital Stable | 10.1% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 1 year to December 2020
| Super fund | Investment option | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Suncorp | Multi-Manager Conservative | 7.1% |
| CSCri | Income Focused | 4.9% |
| VISSF | Conservative | 4.8% |
| Australian Ethical | Conservative | 4.8% |
| Cbus | Conservative | 4.6% |
| Australian Catholic & Retirement | Conservative | 4.5% |
| Australian Catholic Super & Retirement | Conservative Balanced | 4.4% |
| HESTA | Conservative | 4.4% |
| Vision Super | Conservative | 4.3% |
| AustralianSuper | Stable | 3.9% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 1 year to June 2020
| Super fund | Investment option | Return |
|---|---|---|
| CSCri | Income Focused | 4.4% |
| Suncorp | Multi-Manager Conservative | 3.6% |
| Cbus | Conservative | 3.2% |
| Australian Ethical | Conservative | 3.1% |
| VISSF | Conservative | 3.1% |
| Vision Super | Conservative | 2.6% |
| Australian Catholic Super & Retirement | Conservative | 2.3% |
| HESTA | Conservative | 2.3% |
| HESTA | Defensive | 2.1% |
| UniSuper | Capital Stable | 2.0% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Playing the long game
It’s important to keep an eye on how your pension is performing for you year to year (and interesting to see how other funds have performed), but for most people, superannuation will be the longest-held investment we ever have, and our lens on super should reflect that.
Longer-term figures are more significant because they incorporate the ups and downs over that entire period, and allow us to see which investment managers can consistently deliver superior performance, regardless of changing external conditions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 10 years to June 2024
| Super fund | Investment option | Return (per year) |
|---|---|---|
| CareSuper | Capital Stable | 7% |
| Public Sector Superannuation Accumulation Plan | CSCri Income Focused | 5.8% |
| Aware Super | Conservative | 5.6% |
| HESTA | Conservative | 5.6% |
| Prime Super | Conservative | 5.6% |
| Australian Retirement Trust | Conservative (ART – Super Savings) | 5.4% |
| TelstraSuper | Lifestyle Conservative | 5.3% |
| AustralianSuper | Stable | 5.3% |
| UniSuper | Conservative | 5.2% |
| Vision Super | Conservative | 5.2% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Again median figures can provide good context. In the ten-year period to June 2024, Conservative investment options as a category delivered a median return of 4.8%.
A small difference in performance makes a big difference over time
Although the difference between the top performer and the median may not seem that significant (1.0% per year), the difference builds up significantly over time due to compounding.
For example, for a 67-year-old with $500,000 in super achieving 5.8% per year, their super balance would grow to approximately $538,572 by age 75 (assuming 0.8% in fees and not withdrawing any super).
All other things being equal, achieving 4.8% instead would mean a super balance of approximately $494,953 – approximately 8% less.
But don’t forget sequencing risk
When you are nearing or in retirement it is important to allow for sequencing risk, particularly if you need to draw down a significant part of your super balance.
Below you can find the top 10 performing Conservative investment options over 10 years for previous time periods. Click the arrow to see the top 10 for each period.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 10 years to December 2023
| Super fund | Investment option | Return (per yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Public Sector Superannuation Accumulation Plan | CSCri Income Focused | 5.8% |
| Aware Super | Conservative | 5.7% |
| Prime Super | Conservative | 5.7% |
| HESTA | Conservative | 5.7% |
| TelstraSuper | Lifestyle Conservative | 5.5% |
| AustralianSuper | Stable | 5.5% |
| Vision Super | Conservative | 5.4% |
| UniSuper | Conservative | 5.3% |
| Australian Retirement Trust | Conservative (ART – Super Savings) | 5.3% |
| NGS Super | Defensive | 5.2% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 10 years to June 2023
| Super fund | Investment option | Return (% per yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Aware Super | Conservative | 6.2% |
| HESTA | Conservative | 6.0% |
| TelstraSuper | Lifestyle Conservative | 5.9% |
| Prime Super | Conservative | 5.9% |
| CSCri | Income Focused | 5.8% |
| AustralianSuper | Stable | 5.8% |
| Vision Super | Conservative | 5.7% |
| UniSuper | Conservative | 5.6% |
| Australian Retirement Trust | Conservative (ART – Super Savings) | 5.6% |
| NGS Super | Defensive | 5.5% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 10 years to December 2022
| Super fund | Investment option | Return (% per yr) |
|---|---|---|
| VicSuper | Capital Stable | 6.3% |
| TelstraSuper | Lifestyle Conservative | 6.2% |
| Prime Super | Conservative | 6.1% |
| HESTA | Conservative | 6.0% |
| AustralianSuper | Stable | 5.9% |
| UniSuper | Conservative | 5.7% |
| Vision Super | Conservative | 5.6% |
| NGS Super | Defensive | 5.6% |
| Australian Retirement Trust – Super Savings | Conservative | 5.6% |
| CareSuper | Capital Stable | 5.4% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 10 years to June 2022
| Super fund | Investment option | Return (% per yr) |
|---|---|---|
| TelstraSuper | Lifestyle Conservative | 6.7% |
| VicSuper | Capital Stable | 6.6% |
| Australian Catholic Super & Retirement | Conservative | 6.5% |
| Prime Super | Conservative | 6.4% |
| AustralianSuper | Stable | 6.4% |
| HESTA | Conservative | 6.4% |
| UniSuper | Conservative | 6.1% |
| NGS Super | Defensive | 6.0% |
| Australian Retirement Trust | Conservative (Super Savings) | 6.0% |
| Energy Super | Stable | 5.9% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 10 years to December 2021
| Super fund | Investment option | Return (% per yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Aware Super | Capital Stable (VicSuper) | 7.5% |
| TelstraSuper | Lifestyle Conservative | 7.5% |
| AustralianSuper | Stable | 7.4% |
| Australian Catholic Superannuation and Retirement Fund | Conservative | 7.2% |
| LGIAsuper | Stable | 7.1% |
| Prime Super | Conservative | 7.1% |
| SmartMonday | Moderate | 7% |
| UniSuper | Conservative | 6.9% |
| NGS Super | Defensive | 6.9% |
| Australian Retirement Trust | Conservative (ART – Sunsuper) | 6.9% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 10 years to June 2021
| Super fund | Investment option | Return (% per yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic Super | Mod. Conservative | 7.7% |
| AustralianSuper | Stable | 7.3% |
| VISSF | Conservative | 7.3% |
| VicSuper | Capital Stable | 7.2% |
| TelstraSuper | Conservative | 7.1% |
| Prime Super | Conservative | 7.0% |
| Aon smartMonday | Moderate | 6.8% |
| Energy Super | Stable | 6.8% |
| Cbus | Conservative | 6.7% |
| UniSuper | Capital Stable | 6.7% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 10 years to December 2020
| Super fund | Investment option | Return (% per yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic Super | Moderately Conservative | 7.4% |
| VISSF | Conservative | 7.2% |
| AustralianSuper | Stable | 7.2% |
| TelstraSuper | Conservative | 6.9% |
| Prime Super | Conservative | 6.9% |
| Australian Catholic & Retirement | Conservative | 6.8% |
| Australian Catholic Super & Retirement | Conservative Balanced | 6.8% |
| Aon smartMonday | Moderate | 6.8% |
| Vision Super | Conservative | 6.6% |
| Energy Super | Stable | 6.6% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 Conservative investment options (pension funds): 10 years to June 2020
| Super fund | Investment option | Return (% per yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic Super | Moderately Conservative | 7.5% |
| VISSF | Conservative | 7.3% |
| AustralianSuper | Stable | 7.3% |
| TelstraSuper | Conservative | 7.0% |
| UniSuper | Capital Stable | 7.0% |
| Prime Super | Conservative | 6.8% |
| Cbus | Conservative | 6.7% |
| Vision Super | Conservative | 6.7% |
| Aon smartMonday | Moderate | 6.6% |
| CareSuper | Capital Stable | 6.6% |
Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Conservative options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
© Zenith CW Pty Ltd ABN 20 639 121 403 (Chant West), Authorised Representative of Zenith Investment Partners Pty Ltd ABN 27 103 132 672, AFSL 226872 under AFS Representative Number 1280401 2020.
The data provided by Chant West is based on information supplied by third parties and does not contain all the information required to evaluate the nominated service providers, you are responsible for obtaining further information as required. The data provided by Chant West does not constitute financial product advice. However, to the extent that this data is advice it is General Advice (s766B Corporations Act) and Chant West has not taken into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any specific person who may access or use this data. It is not a specific recommendation to purchase, sell or hold any product(s) and is subject to change at any time without prior notice. Individuals should consider the appropriateness of any advice in light of their own objectives, financial situations or needs and should obtain a copy of and consider any relevant PDS or offer document before making any decision. Data is provided in good faith and is believed to be accurate, however, no representation, warranty or undertaking in relation to the accuracy or completeness of the data is provided. Data provided is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced, modified or distributed without the consent of the copyright owner. Except for any liability which can not be excluded, Chant West does not accept any liability whether direct or indirect, arising from use of this data. Past performance is not an indication of future performance. Full details regarding Chant West’s research methodology, processes, ratings definitions are available at www.chantwest.com.au and Chant West’s Financial Services Guide is available at www.chantwest.com.au/financial-services-guide.
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