The honest answer to “which superannuation is best in Australia?” is that there is no single best fund for everyone, but there is a small group of consistently top-performing funds that come up year after year, and there’s a wide gap between the best and worst performers. The Productivity Commission estimated the difference between being in a top-quartile fund and a bottom-quartile fund over a working life could be around $502,000 at retirement. That’s the real cost of getting this wrong.
This guide walks through who’s actually at the top of the 2025 performance tables, what those tables hide, and what we generally see in practice when people come to us asking the same question.
Why “Best” Is a Contested Word
Walk into any newsagent and you’ll find a magazine telling you the top 10 super funds for the year. Open Google and you’ll find ranking sites doing the same. They’re useful as a starting point, but they share a few problems worth understanding before you act on them.
First, the “balanced” label has become almost meaningless. On the podcast, Phil put it bluntly: “A balanced fund is not a true balanced fund with most of these funds these days. They are every day of the week a growth fund that they slap the name balanced on.” Two funds both called “balanced” can have very different exposures to shares, property, and infrastructure, which means very different risk profiles and very different returns. When you see a “top balanced funds” ranking, you’re often comparing funds that aren’t really like-for-like. We covered the broader issue with super fund labelling on Episode 22 of the Wealthlab Podcast.
Second, one year of performance is a poor predictor of long-term outcomes. The fund that topped 2024 was overweight in something that worked that year. The fund that tops 2026 will be overweight in something that works in 2026. Looking at one-year returns is a recipe for chasing last year’s winners.
Third, rankings can’t tell you what’s right for you. A great fund for a 35-year-old in accumulation phase might be entirely wrong for a 63-year-old approaching retirement. The same fund can be top of the table on a five-year view and middle of the pack on a ten-year view.
With those caveats noted, here’s what the most recent data actually shows.
Top Performing Super Funds in 2025 (One-Year Returns)
These are the top performers for the calendar year 2025 in the SuperRatings SR50 Balanced Index (balanced options with 60 to 76 per cent in growth assets). All returns are net of investment fees and tax.
| Rank | Fund and option | 2025 calendar year return |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raiz Super Moderately Aggressive | 12.4% |
| 2 | legalsuper MySuper Balanced | 11.3% |
| 3 | NGS Super Diversified MySuper | 11.2% |
| SuperRatings median balanced option | 8.8% |
Source: SuperRatings, January 2026 release. Returns are after investment fees and taxes. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
A few things worth noting from this. The top performers in any single year are often smaller, less well-known funds. Raiz Super (the same Raiz behind the micro-investing app) has now taken the SR50 Balanced top spot for two consecutive years. The big-brand industry funds didn’t make the 2025 podium for one-year returns. But one year is one year. The long-term picture looks very different.
Top Performing Super Funds Over 10 Years
This is the more important table for most people, because super is a multi-decade game. These are the top balanced options ranked by ten-year annualised returns to 31 December 2025.
| Rank | Fund and option | 10-year annualised return |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hostplus Balanced | 8.7% per year |
| 2 | Australian Retirement Trust Super Savings Balanced | 8.5% per year |
| 3 | Hostplus Indexed Balanced | 8.3% per year |
| 4 | AustralianSuper Balanced | 8.2% per year |
| 5 | UniSuper Balanced | 8.1% per year |
| SuperRatings median 10-year balanced | 7.4% per year |
Source: SuperGuide best performing super funds, data to 31 December 2025. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
This list looks different. Hostplus has been the most consistent long-term performer in the balanced category for years. Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper and UniSuper are the other big names that show up reliably across most long-term ranking periods.
What the numbers translate to in dollars: SuperRatings estimates an investment of $100,000 in the median balanced option 16 years ago would now be worth approximately $304,911. The same $100,000 in cash over that period would be worth $146,378. That gap is the cost of being too conservative.
What the League Tables Don’t Show
A few important things never make the rankings, and they often matter more than the headline number.
Your investment option, not just your fund. Hostplus Balanced is on the table above. Hostplus also offers a Capital Stable option that would have returned far less over the same period, and a high growth option that would have returned more (with bigger swings along the way). Two members of the same “top fund” can have wildly different outcomes based on the option they’re sitting in. We generally find that most Australians have never actively chosen their investment option. They’re sitting in whatever default the fund stapled them to, often a decade or more ago.
Fees are not always reflected in net returns headlines. SuperRatings and SuperGuide returns are net of investment fees and tax, but headline league tables often exclude administration fees. The Productivity Commission found that a 0.5 percentage point difference in fees could cost a full-time worker around $100,000 by retirement. Use the ATO YourSuper comparison tool to see total fees in dollars, not just percentages.
Insurance inside super. Most funds bundle life, TPD, and income protection cover. Premiums come out of your super balance, so they erode returns. The right insurance for a 35-year-old with a mortgage and kids is very different from the right insurance for a 60-year-old without dependants. League tables don’t grade this.
Pension phase service. As you approach retirement, the quality of the fund’s account-based pension service starts to matter a lot. Some funds are excellent at it. Others are clunky. League tables of accumulation returns don’t tell you which is which.
Intra-fund advice quality and limits. Most large funds offer free intra-fund advice. The quality varies, and the scope is limited to that fund only. We covered the risks of relying on intra-fund advice in Episode 9 of the Wealthlab Podcast, where Phil and Dan walked through a real case where a client’s Age Pension eligibility was hurt by following super-fund-only advice.
How to Read Super Performance Tables Without Getting Burned
A few practical rules.
Use the 10-year column, not the 1-year column. One year tells you nothing about a fund’s long-term discipline. Ten years covers most of a market cycle.
Compare like-for-like risk profiles. A balanced fund returning 8% and a growth fund returning 9% aren’t really comparable. They took different amounts of risk to get there. Stick to one category at a time.
Don’t switch on last year’s winner. Chasing last year’s top performer is the equivalent of selling at the bottom and buying at the top, repeatedly. The funds at the top of one-year tables are rarely the same ones at the top of ten-year tables.
Check the APRA performance test. APRA’s annual performance test is the closest thing to a regulatory pass/fail on super. In 2025, all 52 MySuper products passed and all 374 non-platform trustee-directed products passed. The story was different on platform products, where 7 out of 137 failed and APRA noted that over 40 per cent of platform products with a 10-year history show significant underperformance. The full results are on the APRA MySuper Product Performance page.
Use the YourSuper tool for your actual balance. The ATO’s YourSuper comparison tool defaults to a $50,000 balance. Set the filter to your actual balance, since fee structures hit different balances differently.
Types of Super Funds in Australia
The “best” answer can also depend on what kind of fund you’re looking at.
Industry funds. Run for the benefit of members rather than shareholders. Examples include AustralianSuper, Hostplus, HESTA, and Australian Retirement Trust. They dominate the long-term performance tables and tend to have lower fees.
Retail funds. Run by banks and financial institutions. Historically had higher fees but the major retail funds have become more competitive. Examples include AMP and Colonial First State.
Public sector funds. For government employees. Some offer defined benefit arrangements, which work very differently from accumulation funds.
Corporate funds. Offered by some large employers, sometimes with tailored insurance or contribution arrangements.
Self-managed super funds (SMSFs). A private super fund you run yourself. Full investment control but compliance obligations, costs, and time. Generally suits balances of $200,000 to $250,000 and above where the fixed costs can be absorbed. See the Wealthlab SMSF service page for what’s involved.
If you want a deeper walkthrough on how to compare funds against your own circumstances (rather than just looking at league tables), see our companion guide on what superannuation fund should I choose.
What We Generally See in Practice
A few patterns come up regularly when clients ask us “which super is best for me?”
People sitting in funds that consistently underperform but never get around to switching. The APRA performance test has weeded out the worst offenders in MySuper, but plenty of platform and choice products still underperform quietly.
People who chase the top of last year’s table, switch, and then chase the next top performer the year after. This rarely ends well.
People in genuinely competitive funds but in the wrong investment option for their age. A 58-year-old in conservative because it sounds safer, when their balance needs to last 30 more years and a chunk of it should still be in growth.
People paying for insurance inside super that they no longer need (or that’s more expensive than the equivalent retail cover would be).
Want to see how your own balance compares to general retirement benchmarks? Try the free Wealthlab super calculator for a quick general snapshot.
Please note: All figures and scenarios in this article are approximate and for illustrative purposes only. Past performance data shown is historical and is not a reliable indicator of future returns. Individual outcomes will vary based on personal circumstances, investment returns, fees, insurance and current government policy. This is general information, not personal advice.
FAQs: Which Superannuation Is Best in Australia?
Which super fund had the best returns in 2025? Raiz Super’s Moderately Aggressive option topped the SuperRatings SR50 Balanced Index for 2025 with a 12.4% return, followed by legalsuper MySuper Balanced at 11.3% and NGS Super Diversified MySuper at 11.2%. The SuperRatings median balanced option returned 8.8% for the calendar year, which was above the long-term average of 6.5% since 2000.
Which super fund has the best long-term performance? Over 10 years to 31 December 2025, Hostplus Balanced led the SuperRatings balanced category with an 8.7% per year return, followed by Australian Retirement Trust Super Savings Balanced at 8.5%, Hostplus Indexed Balanced at 8.3%, AustralianSuper Balanced at 8.2% and UniSuper Balanced at 8.1%. Long-term performance is generally a better guide than single-year returns.
Is the best super fund always an industry fund? Industry funds dominate the long-term balanced fund tables, but retail funds, corporate funds and some boutique funds also appear in the top performers. The bigger driver of returns within any fund is usually the investment option you choose, not the fund itself.
How much difference does picking the right super fund make? The Productivity Commission estimated that being in a consistently top-quartile fund versus a consistently bottom-quartile fund over a working career could be the difference of around $502,000 at retirement for a 21-year-old starting on a $50,000 salary. Fees alone can cost around $100,000 over a working life for a 0.5 percentage point difference.
What’s the best super fund for retirement (pension phase)? The quality of a fund’s account-based pension service matters as much as its accumulation returns once you’re drawing income. Look at the pension product’s investment options, drawdown flexibility, online tools, and any associated advice. League tables of accumulation returns don’t capture this.
Can I switch to the best super fund easily? Yes. You can switch online and your new fund will typically handle the rollover. Before switching, check whether you’ll lose insurance cover (this is the most common trap), whether any timing matters for Centrelink reporting if you’re near pension age, and whether the new fund’s investment option mix matches your stage of life.
Should I switch to last year’s top performing super fund? Generally no. Switching based on one year of returns is the equivalent of chasing last year’s winner, which rarely repeats. Compare ten-year returns within the same risk category, check the fund has passed the APRA performance test, and consider whether the investment option inside the fund actually suits your stage of life.
Is an SMSF the best super fund option? An SMSF gives full investment control but adds compliance costs and trustee obligations. Generally suits balances of $200,000 to $250,000 and above where the fixed costs can be absorbed. It also requires time and a genuine interest in managing investments. Most Australians are better off in a well-run MySuper or choice product.
Where to Get Help Choosing a Super Fund
The “best” super fund for any individual depends on age, balance, risk tolerance, insurance needs, and how close to retirement they are. The general framework in this article applies to most people, but the application varies.
If you’d like to talk through how the principles here apply to your situation, book a free chat with the Wealthlab team. No pressure, no jargon. Or take the free Wealthlab retirement quiz for a 60-second general snapshot of where you stand.
