Your super could be invested for decades. So keeping it on track for the future you deserve isn’t just about checking in on performance updates. It’s asking yourself: ‘Is the way my super is invested still right for me?’ 

Your investment strategy influences how much risk you take, how your balance responds when markets rise or fall, and the potential for your money to grow over the long term. But you don’t need to become an investment expert to make a more informed choice. 

Here are the essentials. 

Generally, investments with greater long-term growth potential also come with increased short-term risk. 

Growth assets, like shares and property, tend to carry more investment risk while defensive assets, including bonds and cash, generally aim to provide greater stability – but usually with lower expected returns. 

That makes investment risk something to manage, rather than simply avoid. 

Holding more defensive investments may reduce the impact of some market falls. But being too conservative over a long investment period can introduce another risk: missing some of the potential growth your super may need to help fund your retirement. 

The mix that best fits you can depend on things like your goals, investment timeframe and how comfortable you are seeing the value of your investments move up and down. 

Someone with decades until retirement has more time to ride out periods of market volatility than someone who expects to begin drawing on their super soon. 

That’s why growth assets can play a significant role earlier in an investment journey. But getting closer to retirement doesn’t automatically mean eliminating growth investments. 

Retirement itself can last for many years, and even decades, so some members may continue to need their money invested for growth well after they finish working. At the same time, a market fall around the time you start withdrawing your super can also have a bigger impact, because your money has less time to recover. 

It’s a balancing act: protecting the money you’ve built while giving it the opportunity to keep working for your future. 

When it comes to understanding the basics, these terms and phrases do most of the heavy lifting, no finance degree needed.  

• Risk: the uncertainty involved in an investment, including the possibility of losing money. 

• Return: how much an investment gains or loses over a period. 

• Volatility: how much an investment’s value moves up and down, usually in response to market movements.  

• Asset allocation: how your money is divided between investments such as shares, property, fixed interest and cash. 

• Growth assets: assets such as shares and property that generally offer greater long-term growth potential, with greater short-term risk. 

• Defensive assets: investments such as fixed interest and cash that generally aim to provide greater stability. 

• Diversification: spreading investments across different assets rather than relying heavily on one particular investment or market. Diversification can help manage investment risk. 

Got the basics? Here’s how those ideas show up in your smartMonday investment options. 

If you joined smartMonday through your employer and didn’t make an active investment choice, there’s a good chance you’ve come across MySuper. 

MySuper products are regulated default super products. In simple terms, they give employers somewhere to direct eligible super contributions when a member hasn’t chosen their own super option. 

smartMonday’s default is smartMonday LifeStage (MySuper). 

It’s designed to do some of the investment decision-making for you. Rather than staying in the same investment mix throughout your working life, the allocation changes automatically at four different age-based stages. 

The amount invested in growth assets decreases in stages from the age of 50. As members move through these stages, the allocation to defensive assets increases, helping reduce the risk of capital loss approaching and during retirement while maintaining exposure to growth assets. 

It can be a useful hands-off approach. But being in the default option doesn’t mean you can’t take a closer look at whether another strategy better suits you. 

smartMonday PRIME gives members who are still growing their super more ways to choose how it’s invested – from having the investment mix managed for you to taking greater control over how your money is allocated. 

There are three main ways to approach it. 

This is the hands-off option described above. Your investment mix automatically adjusts according to your age, so you don’t need to choose a new risk level at every stage yourself. 

Want to choose your overall investment approach without constructing the portfolio yourself? 

smartMonday’s Pre-Mix options combine different asset classes into diversified portfolios managed for you. 

The current menu includes High Growth, Growth, Balanced Growth, Moderate and Defensive. Each has a different balance of risk, return potential and suggested investment timeframe. 

With Pre-Mix, you choose the overall approach and smartMonday takes care of the investment mix. 

Sector options let you invest in specific asset classes, including Australian Shares, International Shares and Cash. They can be used to build your own mix or alongside other available options. 

More control can also mean more responsibility for maintaining an appropriate mix and diversification, so it’s worth understanding what role each investment plays before making changes. 

Thinking about making a change? Start with these four questions. 

Retirement can feel abstract when it’s years away. Making it more concrete can help. 

When might you like to retire? What kind of lifestyle are you working towards? And how long may your super need to support you? 

Your investment strategy is one part of getting there. 

The longer your money is likely to remain invested, the more opportunity there may be to recover from short-term market falls. 

Your timeframe also doesn’t necessarily end on the day you retire. If some of your super remains invested while you draw an income, that portion could have many more years to work. 

It’s easy to say you’re comfortable with risk when markets are rising. 

The better question is what you might do after a significant fall. Would you be comfortable staying invested, or might you want to switch? 

Changing strategy in response to short-term market movements can lock in losses or mean missing a subsequent recovery. Your strategy should be one you understand well enough to stay comfortable with through different market conditions. 

Your career, family, finances and retirement plans can all evolve. 

That doesn’t mean your super needs constant tinkering – super is a long-term investment – but it does make an occasional review worthwhile. 

Rather than reacting to every market headline, check whether your strategy still fits your goals and timeframe. 

Having more investment choice is useful. Having someone help you make sense of it can be even better. 

If you’re unsure which smartMonday investment option could suit your circumstances, smartCoaches can provide members with advice about selecting an investment option, with no additional charge for the service1. 

Call 1300 262 241 or email our smartCoaches. 

A well-considered investment strategy doesn’t depend on what markets will do next. It’s about understanding what you’re invested in, why you’re invested that way and whether it continues to make sense for the retirement you’re working towards. 

A quick check today can help you invest with more confidence. 

MySuper is a default super product for members who haven’t chosen their own investment option. MySuper options are designed to be simple and low cost, and can either maintain a diversified investment mix or automatically adjust that mix over time. (More info at Moneysmart).

At smartMonday, the default option is smartMonday LifeStage (MySuper). Its investment mix automatically changes as you move through different age-based stages, gradually increasing the allocation to defensive assets as you get older. 

There’s no single investment option that’s right for everyone. Things to consider include how long your money is likely to remain invested, your retirement goals and how comfortable you are with short-term market ups and downs. 

It can also help to compare each option’s mix of growth and defensive assets, level of investment risk and suggested investment timeframe. Moneysmart recommends considering both your time until retirement and your tolerance for investment risk when comparing super investment options.

smartMonday members can explore LifeStage (MySuper), Pre-Mix and Sector options through smartMonday PRIME. 

Growth investment options generally invest a higher proportion in growth assets such as shares and property. This can mean greater potential for long-term returns, but also bigger movements in value over shorter periods. 

Balanced options usually combine growth and defensive assets to provide a different balance between potential return and investment risk. ( Learn more at Moneysmart) 

Importantly, labels such as ‘growth’ and ‘balanced’ can mean different things across super funds, so it’s worth checking the actual asset allocation, risk level and investment objective of an option rather than relying on its name alone.