In this guide
Important: Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The returns that super funds achieve will change over time and readers should continue to monitor their fund’s performance.
All information on SuperGuide is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate for you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.
In this article you can discover the top 10 performing Conservative super funds over one year and, more importantly, ten years. We recommend that you also read our explanatory article on the five main risk categories to help you compare the different risk categories that super investment options fall into.
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.
Good to know
Investments such as shares, property, infrastructure and private equity are referred to as growth assets for their ability to produce strong returns over the long term, but they are more likely to experience volatility (and even negative returns) in shorter timeframes.
Conversely, assets like cash and fixed interest are referred to as defensive assets for their ability to defend against volatility, but generally cannot produce high returns over long periods of time.
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.
