Money easier than a kebab on Friday night.

Have the lot and extra chilli sauce.

FAQs

About Super Fierce

Super Fierce is a social enterprise harnessing the power of finance to empower everyone, but women in particular. Independent and unbiased, we are licensed to provide personal advice about superannuation and general advice on other personal wealth subjects.

Super Fierce is the work of a team of experienced finance experts. We harness our deep expertise and experience in wealth, financial and digital product design to unravel the complexity of financial products and provide appropriate, accessible and affordable wealth solutions and advice.

We started with superannuation because it is one of the largest financial assets for most Australians and the place where women can make small changes with massive lifetime impact. It’s also because retirement income is the largest contributor to the global gender wealth gap and here in Australia women on average retire with 42% less than men.

We focus on women but we are for everyone! Regardless of gender or background, we make it easy to see how to unlock extra value from this very important investment. We are not a super fund and we are not a comparison site. Our platform analyses over 2,000+ investment options from 350+ super funds, running 180,000+ calculations to build a legal Statement of Advice where we present personal advice on how to improve your balance at retirement. This includes our proprietary Fierce Investment Portfolios.

Our goal is to make appropriate, affordable advice accessible to everyone, along with the financial strategies and confidence for building wealth. We don’t sell financial products and we don’t accept commissions. We only get paid if you purchase one of our advice services.

That’s because we believe in the power of unbiased advice, the power of robust analysis, and most of all the power of transparency. We are committed to ensuring you completely understand what we are recommending, why and how to implement our advice.

Super Fierce is founded and run by Trenna Probert, a financial services expert on a mission to help other women to build financial confidence and take control of their financial future. Privately owned, Super Fierce is backed by a small number of passionate, impact investors determined to make financial equity a reality.

Super Fierce is licensed to provide financial advice about your superannuation and general advice on other financial subjects. We harness our deep expertise and experience in wealth, financial and digital product design to unravel the complexity of financial products and provide appropriate, accessible and affordable wealth solutions and advice.

At the time of publication, we provide the following:

  • Free retirement calculator and lifestyle planner which shows you how much you need for a retirement of your design, how much you are on track to retire with, and how much you could have if you follow our advice
  • Single scope Statement of Advice with advice on how to optimise your superannuation with the goal of improving your balance at retirement. It includes an Investment Strategy and a custom super investment portfolio recommendation which balances your personal circumstances, fees, performance and time to retirement
  • Full-service superannuation switch solution
  • Money coaching for individuals, couples and groups
  • General advice through webinars, workshops and content channels such as our website, facebook community and social channels

We are female focused, but 100% inclusive. Anyone with money in super can use our products and services. And anyone who wants to build their financial knowledge and wealth is welcome in our community! However, we don’t shy away from using language and creating experiences that are designed to be fabulous for women. Frankly, there’s not enough of that in financial services. If you’re cool with that, we’re cool with you.

We’re nice – but not perfect. We believe in doing good, and doing well. We also know that breaking down the barriers, being honest about our personal money fails, addressing the social taboos and just generally getting real about how money fits into our lives is how we will make it easier for everyone to get ahead.

Sound like the community for you? We’re glad you’re here.

NO-NO-NO. With 350+ super funds in Australia already, that’s the last thing anyone needs.

We are not a super fund. We don’t sell super funds. We aren’t paid by super funds. We’re not owned by a super fund.

Our founding principle is that we must be independent and unbiased, so that when we analyse all the options in the market and then provide advice, you can have absolute confidence the advice is in your best interests.

Super Fierce is not a comparison site. Our platform analyses all your super investment options, on a like for like basis, and then provides personal advice on how to optimise your super.

Also unlike comparison sites, we do not make money from product providers. Your Future, Your Super is a bit different as that is government-owned and therefore doesn’t get paid to advertise one product over another. But it does not provide a complete analysis or all fees and cannot provide you with advice.

That’s our jam and we are licensed by ASIC to do exactly that.

Finance is serious. It can also be complex. Making matters worse, often people in the industry use long words to explain things which are already confusing. Now as Mark Twain (kinda) says, telling a short story is easier than a long one. Finance peeps may tell the longer story because they want to confuse you. But we doubt that. It seems more likely they just don’t know how to explain things well. At least, not in real-world language. Just the same, we don’t think that’s helpful. And that’s why we try hard to translate financial lingo into language and concepts that make sense. We also want to make sure you have the info you need to make good decisions. That’s our definition of a no B.S. approach.

Advice Fees:

To unlock our advice in a legal Statement of Advice, we charge a one-time fee of $99.95, including GST. From time to time, we may discount that fee which would be disclosed at that time.

Super Switch Service:

We charge a one-time fee of $499.95 including GST for our Super Switch Service. 10% of this fee is donated to help an Australian woman in need. You can pay by card or from super.

If you choose to pay from super, it’s important to understand that will reduce your retirement savings. However, we have shown your projected savings shown in your SOA net of this fee, meaning the projections shown for your retirement have already taken this fee into account.

A small number of super funds do not allow adviser fees to be deducted from your account. In that case, you will need to pay by card which we will advise you at the time so you can make an informed decision.

Money Coaching Services:

We offer a range of money coaching solutions from time to time, including individual, couples and group packages.

Prices vary based on time, complexity and frequency, ranging from $199.95 to $499.95 per hour. These prices are always fully disclosed in advance and are signed off with a legal invoice prior to the commencement of services.

Fierce Impact

Fierce Impact is a sister company of Super Fierce, built to find and fund initiatives helping Australian women who are experiencing financial hardship.

Both companies were established by our Founder and CEO, Trenna Probert, to work in unison to help women build financial confidence and resilience.

Super Fierce is a for-purpose company focused on helping women who have money in super, to improve their super position where possible. 10% of our gross revenue from our Super Switch service is donated to Fierce Impact every time someone makes a change to their super with us. Those funds are used to support marginalised women in Australia.

Together we are unwaveringly purposeful, but also fiercely commercial, leading in front.

About our Advice

In plain English, advice means tips, guidance, recommendations, suggestions, coaching. That’s what we do, focusing on support which will help you to define and then fund your life goals.

In finance, advice is a service which only organisations with an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) can provide. Super Fierce is licensed to provide financial advice. Humble brag – it isn’t easy to get an AFSL, but our deep financial experience and wealth expertise made this possible., Now we are combining our financial expertise with technology to make accessible personal advice easier and more affordable.

Both. We believe lower fees delivers more reliable value. But we also believe that there are signals in a fund manager’s past performance that indicate whether that fund will deliver in the future.

So, we have a two-stage process:

  1. Find the funds that have consistently outperformed over long periods of time;
  2. Then out of this smaller list of funds, find the fund that has the lowest fee impact for any given customer.

Our “Fierce Performers Index” process includes four tests. Funds need to pass all four tests to be included as a “Fierce Performer”. Of the 2,000+ options offered by super funds in Australia today, only 136 options offered by 15 funds passed all four tests in 2022. These four tests:

  • firstly eliminate funds that have long-term performance for their “default” (most heavily invested) option that is below average over 10 years or more.
  • then eliminate funds that have underperformed in strong or weak market periods over the past twenty years eg did they underperform in the bull market leading up to 2008 or from 2012 to 2016; did they underperform in the market crash period around 2008 or the negative markets at the time of the Covid Pandemic?
  • then eliminate funds that have highly volatile relative returns year-on-year over their life or the last twenty years
  • finally, eliminating funds that have strong performance for their default option, passing all of the above tests, but haven’t repeated that outperformance across the majority of their investment options.

Sure thing! Our contact details are on the site. And if you decide to make a change to your super, we offer a Super Switch Service where you will have one superhuman helping every step of the way.

The Super Fierce Financial Services Guide (FSG) is a legal document which helps you understand and decide if you wish to use the financial services we are able to offer you. It provides you with detailed information about our business and our Australian Financial Services Licence (“AFSL”). We are the providing entity and Licensee.

Information in the FSG includes:

    • Who we are and how we can be contacted
    • What services we are authorised to provide to you
    • How we provide those services
    • When and how we are paid
    • How we will deal with complaints

Superannuation

This is the boring, serious answer.

In Australia, retirement income is funded through a mix of personal savings, a government pension and superannuation (super). Super is a tax-effective way to save for retirement. It is made up of compulsory employer contributions, your own personal contributions and sometimes additional Government contributions.

Money deposited into your super fund is invested by the fund’s trustee, who aims to grow your account balance while you are still working. Generally, you won’t be able to access this money until you retire. There are some other times when you can access super early, but it’s more the exception than the rule. When you have reached retirement age and you stop working, or you have satisfied other criteria, then you can access your super (which has hopefully grown substantially through investment earnings!), to give you money to live on.

This is the more interesting but equally serious answer.

Super is forced savings for your retirement:

    • Looks like the government worked out that some of us aren’t that great at saving! Especially when it’s for something (retirement) that seems so far away, and for someone (that’s you at 67 years of age and beyond) who we don’t really have a relationship with yet
    • So, they have our employers helping us by directing 10.5% of our pay (that works out at about $1 in every $11) into a tax effective savings account we can’t touch until the legal retirement age. This is great, of course. Because you don’t want to rely on a government pension

But there are a few problems that crop up with super as a result:

    • Because we don’t see our money disappearing out of our pay packet, and we often don’t decide what happens to that money (even though we should!), we don’t always understand that it is our money. The problem with that is we don’t pay enough attention to what’s happening to it. And ignoring that can be very costly indeed
    • Too many Aussies have multiple super accounts which means they are paying unnecessary multiple super fees. And often they are in funds which are charging high fees which don’t deliver additional benefits. So, it’s important we all take a look at this

On a positive note, one benefit of having a compulsory super system is that anyone who has a super fund already has their first investment portfolio! A lot of people don’t understand that. Let’s explain:

    • The main job of your superannuation fund is to manage and grow your funds for you over time. They do this by investing in different assets, which means that you already own a range of different investments (which is kinda cool!), but they are held on your behalf in that fund
    • One way to understand this is to think of your super provider as a supermarket trolley. Following that line of thinking, they will use your money to fill the trolley (your super fund) with groceries (investments). We explain this in the question “What happens to my super money?”
  • The more money you have in super today, and every day until you quit working, the more comfortable retirement will be
  • You may not care about saving for retirement today, but one day you will wish you did. ‘Future You’ is the same person as ‘Today You’. The only difference apart from a few wrinkles is that Future You will have less ability to do what’s needed to fund a safe, comfortable and happy retirement for YOU
  • It’s your money. About $1 in every $11 you earn goes into your super account. You worked hard to earn it, so make sure it isn’t being wasted
  • Having more than one super account is a crazy waste of money. You don’t receive additional benefits from holding multiple accounts. That is, unless you have an existing defined benefit fund
  • Super accounts don’t come free. In fact, they have many fees and charges which all add up. You need to know what they are and how they will impact your super balance. Of course, that’s why you’re here! Super Fierce does that for you
  • Low cost funds offer similar benefits and leave more in your account to grow over time. Generally, a low-cost fund will help to build your super faster if it invests in the same assets as a fund that charges more

Most people think that to manage their own super, they have to set up a “Self Managed Super Fund” (or “SMSF”). That’s not correct. There are plenty of super funds today that allow you to buy and sell ETFs, funds, bank deposits and shares through your super investment portfolio. These services usually have a name like “Member Direct” or “IDPS.”

Some funds put rules in place to help you maintain a strong portfolio, but others give you the freedom to invest as you see fit. If you want to invest your super in start-ups, directly into property (not in a fund), crypto, art or something other than shares, you’ll need an SMSF. But for most people, these off-the shelf super fund products are a better choice as you don’t have to manage all of the admin, tax returns and compliance issues that come with an SMSF.

Finance people explain compounding as the process where the value of an investment increases because the earnings on an investment, both capital gains and interest, earn interest as time passes. This exponential growth, or ‘interest on interest’, occurs because the total growth of an investment, along with its principal (that’s the money invested or saved in the first place), earn money in the next period. This is different to linear growth, where only the principal earns interest each period.

Now, we get that may not have cleared things up 🙊🙈🙉 So, here’s a practical example of how it works in the case of super:

  • If you saved $100 in fees last year and your fund performed at 5.3% each year (after tax), after one year that $100 saving is worth $105.30. That’s because it gained value of 5.3% of $100 (which is $5.30) in that yea
  • After one more year, it’s worth $110.89, because it’s gained 5.3% of $105.30 ($5.58) in that yea
  • The gain in the second year is 5.3% of the original $100 PLUS 5.3% of the gain in the first year. In the third year, the gain is $5.88; in the fourth $6.19 and so on every year until the fund is close
  • The benefit of the original $100 saving gets larger each year by building on each year’s additional earnings, which is where the term “compounding” comes from

At that rate, $100 saved this year is worth:

  • $167.60 in 10 year
  • $280.91 in 20 year
  • $789.10 in 40 years

It’s pretty cool! And it’s definitely powerful. We kinda think of it as ‘free money’ or a special bonus for being good and saving instead of spending (which it is!)

Super is your money and you deserve to enjoy more of it when you retire. That’s the main reason. And the sad truth is this … if you wait until you are older to start thinking about it, you will have left it too late.

Let’s face it. Most of us aren’t thinking about our super every day. Makes sense, right? The demands, dreams and delicious dollops of dopamine today are far more compelling than thinking about retirement. And it’s hard to get cosy with the person you will be in future – it’s so far away she seems like a stranger.

We get it. Most people think super is a granny’s money box to fund bingo, bowls and the occasional blue rinse. But that could not be further from the truth. Super is one of the top two financial assets for most Aussies. If you were born later than 1985 it will probably be your biggest lifetime financial asset. And it is an investment, not a savings account. That’s one big reason acting early is important. Compound interest (and time), is your friend. The more you have in there, as long as possible, the more it will compound.

Now is the time to make sure your super investment is working hard for you – small changes today can make a big impact over time.

It can be as simple as consolidating multiple accounts or switching to a lower cost fund to save on fees …

When you have more than one super account, you’re wasting it on fees to multiple managers even though there is no additional benefit. It’s like having multiple phone plans for one mobile phone or paying registration costs in two different states for one car. You wouldn’t pay Telstra, Optus and Vodafone for a plan when you only have one mobile phone! So, why would you pay for more than one super account? Girl, sounds like a dumb waste of your money.

By switching to a low fee product including consolidating multiple accounts, we estimate that Australians can save on average around $101,000 in wasted fees over their lifetime. That’s money that could make a big difference to your lifestyle when you retire.

Think you might take some time out of the workforce? Not sure? Okay, well…is there a chance you might stop earning in a paid job for a bit to have babies, travel the world, study or just do whatever the hell you please? I’m guessing you can’t know for sure. But you’re in charge of your future and we hope you’re dreaming big. So, just in case you end up with some time not earning or not earning as much, making sure you’re growing your super now makes sense. Tax effective savings which you can’t touch (uh huh, no need to freeze your debit card so you can’t spend it in a weak moment!), which will grow every year into a nest egg Future You is going to love you for. The earlier you get started, the better.

Changing Your Super

If you go to any super fund’s website, they will have a “Consolidate your Super” button. Then they will rattle off a long list of things you should do before you consolidate with them, but they know that no-one reads this. Changing funds is not easy. Here’s the classic examples we see of where things have gone horribly wrong before people have come to us:

Changing funds is not easy. Here’s the classic examples we see of where things have gone horribly wrong before people have come to us:

  • Insurance lost
    • Here’s the statement from AustralianSuper’s “Consolidate your Super” page (immediately after the “Consolidate Now” button mind you!!)
      • It’s important to know that combining your super into your AustralianSuper account doesn’t automatically transfer any insurance you have with your other super fund/s. If you want to transfer insurance cover to AustralianSuper, you’ll need to do this before you combine your super.
    • And that is exactly the issue at every super fund. When we help people switch, we move their insurance first. And there is no click a button online service for that – it takes weeks! We don’t move anyone’s super until their insurance has been accepted at the new fund.
  • Didn’t understand how to compare performance
    • Performance headlines provided by funds make it impossible to compare between funds. Even the government’s Your Future Your Super website gets it wrong as it regularly shows “top performers” that actually are much riskier than all the other funds being compared.
    • We compare funds on a like-for-like basis. All fees are taken into account (believe it or not, there are no rules that super funds have to show performance after all fees!). Funds are compared with other funds of similar risk. And performance is compared over multiple time periods, not just the last few years.
  • Didn’t understand how to compare fees
    • Super funds typically have at least six different fees that all members pay. Much like with a mobile phone plan or health insurance, the best value fund depends upon how you use it, how much money you have and how long you are with them for. We look at the impact of all fees across the rest of your life to see the total impact of fees on your retirement plans, not just this years fees.
  • Chose the wrong investment option
    • Some funds have very low cost options, but these are never the first option on the list offered. We’ve had plenty of customers come back sheepish because they took our advice and tried to implement themselves, only to find out a year or more later that they selected the wrong investment option!

Super is your money and you deserve to enjoy more of it when you retire. So, you should make the time now to ensure it’s working hard for you, because small changes today can make a big impact over time. Because we often don’t pay attention to our super (today’s dreams and challenges are more compelling than thinking about retirement), it’s easy to miss opportunities to make that nest egg grow. It can be as simple as consolidating multiple accounts or switching to a lower cost fund to save on fees. 

When you have more than one super account, you’re wasting it on fees to multiple managers even though there is no additional benefit. It’s like having multiple phone plans for one mobile phone or paying registration costs in two different states for one car. You wouldn’t pay Telstra, Optus and Vodafone for a plan when you only have one mobile phone! So, why would you pay for more than one super account? Girl, sounds like a dumb waste of your money. 

By switching to a low fee product including consolidating multiple accounts, Super Fierce customers are on average $125,000 better off in retirement. That’s money that could make a big difference to your lifestyle when you retire. 

When you consolidate multiple super accounts, you move to paying only one fee. Over your lifetime, the money you save in wasted fees can really add up. And the younger you are, the greater the cumulative benefit over your lifetime.

When you consolidate to one fund, or move to a lower-cost fund, you start saving from that moment until the time you retire. Quite simply, if that time is short, you have less years of savings and the total savings are therefore lower. If that time is long, you have more years of savings. So, getting started earlier makes excellent economic sense.

This is the principle of compounding. You’ve probably heard about compound interest. It doesn’t sound interesting but to us it’s about as sexy as finance can get because it’s basically ‘free money’. Okay, it isn’t free money, but it is a simple way to get your money working harder for you. Check out our explanation on compound interest.

5.7 million Australians have more than one super account. A recent Productivity Commission report estimated that these extra accounts were costing these people $2.6 billion in additional fees each year. So, consolidating your super will often mean that less money is wasted on unnecessary fees and stays in accounts to fund a better retirement.

Insurance

A lot of people are paying for insurance in their super. Often, they don’t even know! Super funds typically have three types of insurance for members:

    1. Death cover (also known as Life Insurance) which pays a benefit to your beneficiaries when you die, either as a lump sum or as an income stream
    2. Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) cover which pays you a benefit if you become seriously disabled and are unlikely to ever work again
    3. Income Protection (IP) cover which pays you an income stream for a specified period if you can’t work due to temporary disability or illness

Your employer’s default super fund must offer a minimum level of life insurance, depending on your age. You can usually increase, decrease, or cancel your default insurance cover. Your super fund’s website will have a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) which explains the insurer they use and details of the cover available.

Like other insurance policies, you will pay insurance premiums. If your insurance is through your super fund, the premiums are deducted from your super account balance. That’s another one of the fees you are likely paying in multiple if you have multiple super accounts with embedded insurance.

Before switching or consolidating super funds, you should obtain financial advice in relation to the insurances held in your super.

If you’re under 25, be aware that from 1 April 2020 you will no longer be provided with automatic insurance cover and if you want to be covered, you will need to tell your fund in writing you want to opt-in to the cover. However, there are exceptions to this rule for those who are considered to be working in dangerous occupations.

Buying death, TPD and income protection insurance cover through your super fund is often a lot cheaper than if you were to obtain it as an individual. Superannuation funds have enormous buying power and can purchase ‘in bulk’, which means they can generally negotiate better premiums and pass the savings on to members.

Most super funds can negotiate with their insurer to obtain insurance cover for their members regardless of individual members’ current state of health. So, even if you’re in poor health you can generally still receive automatic base level cover at premium rates negotiated by your super fund with their insurer. There’s also no fear of forgetting a payment (potentially leaving you without cover) since funds automatically deduct the premium from your super.

Finally, super fund insurance premiums effectively attract a tax deduction for the fund that should then be passed back to you in the form of lower premiums.

Like any insurance, it’s important to make sure the insurance you have through your super will cover your needs (and/or those of your family) if misfortune strikes. Similarly, you don’t want to be paying for cover you’re not likely to need. That’s why it’s wise to check your cover and make sure it’s adequate and relevant.

The amount of insurance you should have is very personal. The default cover provided in your super may be enough, but we cannot stress enough how important it is to take the time, or even better take some advice, to consider how much is enough. When assessing your cover, you should consider the following:

    • The level of default cover may not be enough to provide for all your needs, including your mortgage or other debt that might need to be paid off in the event of your death or permanent disability
    • You may need to increase your life cover if you have children or other dependents
    • If you don’t have dependents, then you might want to cancel the death cover component but keep your TPD insurance
    • Income protection insurance is a wise choice if you are self-employed, a contractor or have a mortgage

    Your level of cover does not automatically update if you get a pay-rise, have children or take out a loan. Whenever your life changes, you should consider updating your insurance cover.

Insurance is important, so we will automatically apply for you to have “default cover” in the super funds you ask us to switch you into. This at least means you have some coverage at all times. According to ratings agency Canstar, 83% of people sign up for default cover for life insurance.

We believe you should go one step further than this. There is a great service offered through most super funds on our comparison lists, and typically through just about every fund. It is known as “intra-fund advice”. Most super funds have a phone- based service you can use to help determine whether you have the right level of insurance. Some might charge you, but for this sort of question most don’t.

So, what we suggest is that you do at least one of the following to determine how much and what type of insurance cover you should have:

    1. Obtain advice through your existing funds
    2. Obtain personal advice from a financial adviser
    3. Make the switch to your new funds, and then use the advice service to get advice on how much insurance you need
    4. Do you own homework and carefully decide how much you require

The Super Fierce Superannuation Calculator:

The Super Fierce Superannuation Calculator only looks at the impact on your retirement income from things like fees. We don’t consider subjective features such as customer service, online reporting or control. These might be important to you and if so, our advice is not really for you and you should discuss with a different your financial advice. We also do not consider insurance as that is a product which needs to be customised to your specific needs and circumstances.

Our superannuation calculator has been designed to compare the impact of super fund fees you total super savings balance by retirement. The series of algorithms and the database which power our superannuation calculator, compare the savings across every open super fund in the market. This is the process: 

Step 1: 

Using the information you have provided on your superannuation, and personal information such as your age and your income range for contributions, the calculator estimates the balance of each of your funds by the time you retire. 

Step 2: 

It the calculates the total fee impact on your super funds at retirement age in the scenario to your super. The fees are taken for each super fund’s Product Disclosure Statement, which is a legally binding document that state what fees they can charge you. 

Step 3: 

Our superannuation calculator then estimates how much you are likely to pay over your lifetime if you switch into a lower cost option in different investment categories including the lowest cost option in the Fierce Performers funds (our Recommendation) and the lowest cost from your current fund(s). 

The calculations assume: 

  • All funds perform equally over the total time to your retirement 
  • You are in a like for like asset allocation 
  • We use set CPI, tax and market performance assumptions  
  • Your age from the information you provided
  • Your planned retirement age as the Australian average of 67 
  • You don’t make additional contributions beyond the legislated Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) levels on the lower of the salary range you provided 
  • All the personal data you provided is correct (such as gender, age, income, superannuation fund and balance etc)

Our superannuation calculator has been designed to compare the impact of super fund fees on your total super savings balance by retirement. The series of algorithms and the database which power our superannuation calculator, compare the savings across every open super fund in the market. This is the process:

    • Step 1:
      Using the information from your latest super statement, either from your super fund or from myGov, and personal information such as your age and your income range, the calculator estimates the balance of each of your funds by the time you retire
    • Step 2:
      It then calculates the total fee impact on your super funds at retirement age in the scenario where you don’t make any changes to your super. The fees are taken from each super fund’s Product Disclosure Statement, which is a legally binding document that states what fees they can charge you
    • Step 3:
      Our superannuation calculator then estimates how much you are likely to pay over your lifetime if you switch into a lower cost fund. We show you a low-cost option in different categories including the lowest cost option in the Fierce Performers funds (our Recommendation), the lowest cost option in Fierce Performers that is Ethical / Sustainable, and the lowest cost from your current fund(s)

The calculations assume:

    • All funds perform equally over the total time to your retirement
    • You are in the MySuper of your existing fund managers, unless we have your statement showing us which option you are in
    • CPI, tax and market performance assumptions from MoneySmart superannuation calculator
    • Your age from the information you provided
    • Your planned retirement age as the Australian average of 67
    • You don’t make additional contributions beyond the legislated Super Guarantee Charge (SGC) levels
    • All the personal data you provided is correct (such as gender, age, income, etc.)

Our Calculator is one of the most accurate in the marketplace. However, without knowing exactly how financial markets and fund managers are going to perform in the future, it’s impossible to know for certain what you will save. So, we need to make sure you understand these are estimates only, even though we have done everything we can to make them as accurate as possible.

We also choose to take a conservative approach wherever possible:

    • Where we make assumptions about the future, we have been conservative. This means we have erred on the side of under-estimating the savings
    • For example, we’ve assumed the average balanced fund will perform at 7.5% per annum in line with the 2019 Treasury Research Institute paper ‘Accumulation of superannuation across a lifetime’ and used by ASIC in their calculator. If performance is higher than our assumption, estimates of savings from lower fees will therefore increase. If performance is lower, estimates of savings from lower fees will decrease
    • We’ve also assumed that fund managers all perform consistently over the long-term, not outperforming each other regardless of their marketing claims or past performance. The impact of using a lower performance assumption is that we are providing you with a conservative estimate. We would rather surprise and delight you with greater savings if things go well. Also, because our Service Fee is based on estimated savings, conservative estimates also reduce our Service Fee meaning we even help you to beat our own fees!

Comparison Funds:

Fees and performance are entirely driven by which super fund you choose. Performance matters as much as fees, possibly more. But, paraphrasing the Grattan Institute, fees are persistent whereas performance is transitory.

Fees are also quite predictable as they are disclosed in the super fund’s PDS in advance.

Performance is unpredictable. “Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance” is not just legal weasel-words. But our research shows that we can reduce the odds of picking a poor performing fund. There are some characteristics that hurt performance and so by eliminating funds with these characteristics, we can improve the odds that the funds left over will have more consistent outperformance.

So that’s what we do. We run a series of tests over every open super fund, adjusting their returns for the risk they took, and then looking for funds that have consistently outperformed over different historic periods, through good markets and bad, and across their different strategies.

Sadly only 15 funds passed all four tests. Those 15 funds are called the Fierce Performers. Then we look for the lowest cost fund that meets you personal circumstances, needs and preferences.

Wondering why the same fund isn’t always the cheapest for everyone? It’s because the impact of fixed fees is different depending on how much money you have in super. High fixed fees hurt people with lower balances more.

Here’s an example where the fixed fee is $100:

    • If you have $10,000 then that fee is 1% of your total
    • If you have $1m (oh yeah!) that fee is only 0.01% of your total

    But a variable fee of 1% per annum impacts everyone in the same way. It’s always 1% of the total. So, a super fund which has a low fixed fee and a higher variable fee will be cheaper for people with less in super. And a high fixed fee and lower variable fee product will be cheaper for people with more in their super.

    As super funds usually have at least one fixed fee and two to three variable fees, comparing the total impact of fees is extremely complicated. But let’s use an imaginary example to try and make this clearer. Imagine there are only two funds in the market:

    • Fund A: $200 per annum fixed fee and a 0.01% per annum variable fee
    • Fund B: $90 per annum fixed fee and a 0.05% per annum variable fee

    Now, meet our two friends Amanda and Keith. Because Amanda has $400,000 in super and Keith has $50,000, their lowest fee funds would be different. For Amanda, Fund A would cost $240 for the year; and Fund B would cost $290. However, in Keith’s situation, Fund A would cost $205 that year whereas Fund B would cost $115.

    Keith is better off in Fund B and Amanda would pay less if she chose Fund A. So now you can see why understanding the different types of fees is so important, and why you cannot assume the lowest cost option will be the same for everyone.

We compare your super against every available fund in the market. There are some funds that you may not be able to join for a range of reasons, but if that’s the case we will let you know why. The reasons why we don’t show you every fund are:

  • We want to make sorting out your super easier. Showing an endless list of fund options isn’t going to add real value. In fact, it’s more likely to bore you to tears and make you switch off! And that’s not helpful.
  • Super Fierce isn’t a comparison site in the traditional sense of the word. We don’t just compare products. Instead, we provide advice on the funds we think suit your personal situation best based on the information you provide us. We want to make it easier for you to save money for retirement by reducing the impact of unnecessary fees. That’s why we narrow it down to the lowest cost option in the Fierce Performers fund and provide this recommendation.

It’s important to understand that:

  • We don’t receive payment from any of the funds you see in your Fierce Super Savings Report. They’ve been selected by our superannuation calculator in response to the quantitative (numerical not subjective) data entered by you and current product information on all funds in the market).
  • If you require advice on which funds are best for you, including insurance, you should seek independent, tailored personal advice. We have included a link here to a website called Adviser Ratings where you can look for a financial adviser who suits you. Super Fierce has no formal relationship with Adviser Ratings and doesn’t receive commissions for sharing their site. We just think this is a resource that might make it easier for you if you don’t have your own adviser.
  • Some funds in the market are not open to new members and cannot be used for consolidation so we don’t include those.

Three things impact how much super you will have when you retire: Fees; Performance; and Contributions. You can only contribute what you can afford and the super fund you choose will make no difference to this.

On the other hand, fees and performance are entirely driven by which super fund you choose. Performance matters as much as fees, possibly more. But, paraphrasing the Grattan Institute, fees are persistent whereas performance is transitory.

Performance is transitory and unknown as it depends upon how markets perform and how the fund manages your money through those markets. You can never know how a fund will perform in the future.

But there are some characteristics that hurt performance and so by eliminating funds with these characteristics, we can improve the odds that the funds left over will have more consistent outperformance.

So that’s what we do. We run a series of tests over every open super fund, adjusting their returns for the risk they took, and then looking for funds that have consistently outperformed over different historic periods, through good markets and bad, and across their different strategies.

Sadly only 15 funds passed all four tests. Those 15 funds are called the Fierce Performers. Then we look for the lowest cost fund that meets your personal circumstances, needs and preferences.

Report and Statement of Advice:

It’s a legal document which we are required to provide to you because we’re giving you advice about your super based on your personal circumstances. Under the Corporations Act 2001 we are required to provide this document to you to ensure you understand what you are being offered.

Your SOA explains our advice and provides important information about our advice which you need to consider. It also provides a useful, formal summary of our recommendations and why this advice is considered to be in your best interests. You can download and print it to share with a trusted adviser and/or for your records.

It’s because you’re a boss and you deserve the truth! We know you don’t need us to dumb things down. And you certainly won’t thank us for skipping key info or assuming you’re not interested in the detail. That’s just rude. So, we’ve worked hard to include everything you need to make an informed decision about whether to act on our advice without putting you to sleep. And frankly, we think a document which shows you the pathway to a brighter financial future is a pretty good read!
When you ask us to look into your super for you, we set up for you a secure digital account. As soon as your report is ready, we send you a link to set a password for your account which only you can access. That’s where your SOA is stored. You can access it with your password at any time.
Our advice expires three months from the date it is created for you. If you decide you want to consider our advice after that date, we will need to run the calculations again and send you an updated SOA.
Your customised Fierce Super Savings Report, including your Statement of Advice (SOA), is stored in your secure Digital Account. This is set up when we create your report. When it is ready, we send you a secure, unique link by email which only you can access using the password you set. After that, you can go into your account any time you choose.

Of course! Just like fashion and the seasons, life (and minds) change. You can change your answers to any questions that we’ve asked you along the way. You can also update with additional super info if something changes. You press the button and we’ll run the numbers again, build you a new report and SOA.

There are some things you can’t change of course, like fees on different funds as those are set by the fund managers, and legislative factors like tax rates and compulsory super rates. But everything else is in your hands.

We believe that talking with a financial adviser is very valuable, but we don’t offer this service. Our service is entirely digital. That’s how we are able to keep costs down and stay focused on helping as many women (and men!) as possible. If you would like to find a good financial adviser, we think Adviser Ratings is a great place to start.

It’s your money, so you can do what you like! But super is far too important to put into the ‘set and forget’ drawer. You should revisit this every few years, or whenever you have a significant life event such as a career change, a new child or a relationship status change. That said, we know it’s easy to lose track of the important stuff, and super isn’t top of mind for most people. So, on the 12-month anniversary of making a change to your super, we’ll get in touch to see how things are going and if you’d like to check on your super. If you decide to, you can purchase a new statement of advice for an updated view of your super situation.

What is the Super Switch Service?

After you read your report, if you decide to make a change but don’t want to get caught up in icky admin, our incredibly patient Super Concierge team will happily swing in to do the work for you. That includes closing accounts, setting up your new fund account, helping you with insurance and all the follow-ups to make sure your super cashola actually makes it over to your new fund (it isn’t as straight forward as you might think …!) 

We charge a one-time fee if you use this service. Why? Here are the main reasons: 

  1. Changing your super involves quite a lot of work. So we need to be able to pay our beautiful super fierce humans to swing into action and take care of all the nitty gritty admin work for you. 
  2. This is particularly to make sure that any insurance you have today stays intact. We change you super over in threes steps: opening the new fund, transferring part of you money so that the new fund will set up your insurance, and then only if the new fund has accepted your insurance application, we move the rest of you super across and close the old fund. 
  3. It also allows us to provide you with an annual super health check-up at no additional cost to make sure that everything is running as it should, and that your circumstances haven’t changed, which would mean you might need a new fund. 

We charge a one-time fee of $499.95 including GST for our Super Switch Service. 10% of this fee is donated to help an Australian woman in need. You can pay by card or from super.

  • If you choose to pay from super, it’s important to understand that will reduce your retirement savings. However, we have shown your projected savings shown in your SOA net of this fee, meaning the projections shown for your retirement have already taken this fee into account.
  • A small number of super funds do not allow adviser fees to be deducted from your account. In that case, you will need to pay by card which we will advise you at the time so you can make an informed decision.

You can choose to pay with by card or from your super. We don’t mind, however, some superannuation funds do not allow the fee to be deducted from superannuation so in these cases, your only option will be to pay by card. 

It’s also important to remember that if you pay from super, this does impact your future retirement savings. However this one off fee has been factored this into our retirement projections.  

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