ANZ Smart Choice Super Review

ANZ Smart Choice Super is a retail superannuation fund based in Australia. In order to save for your retirement, consider my ANZ Smart Choice Super review to see if it’s worth partnering with ANZ Super.

Verdict: Australian owned, open to anyone, but fees could be better, returns underperform and poor online reviews. There are probably better super funds out there.

ANZ Smart Choice Super is an Australian super fund. It is a retail fund that aims to make money for shareholders as well as its super fund members. ANZ Smart Choice Super is open to anyone to join, although you need to meet certain criteria, such as age and Australian residency, to be eligible for their insurance products.

ANZ Smart Choice Super initially puts new members in their applicable Lifestage super investment option. From there ANZ Super has a range of different investment options for members to choose from. ANZ Smart Choice Super is a relatively small fund with around 700 000 members. It offers products and advice for insurance and superannuation.

ANZ Smart Choice Super was identified as having mid-range fees by APRA in 2021. A number of its investment options have underperformed the median in recent years. ANZ Smart Choice Super won the 2021 Canstar Award for customer satisfaction.

It’s important for workers to join the right super fund to prepare for retirement. Partnering with a super fund that has low fees and high returns can make a real difference to your super balance at retirement.

CaptainFI is not a Financial Advisor and the information below is factual review information, not financial advice. This website is reader-supported, which means we may be paid by advertising on the site, or when you visit links to partner or featured sites. For more information please read my Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Financial Disclaimer.

What kind of super fund is ANZ Smart Choice Super?

ANZ Smart Choice Super is a retail super fund. This means the fund is open to anyone to join, and the fund aims to make a profit for shareholders not just the superfund members.

Who owns ANZ Smart Choice Super?

ANZ Smart Choice Super is provided by its trustee OnePath Custodians Pty Ltd. OnePath Custodians was a subsidiary company of ANZ until 2020 when it was bought by IOOF Holdings, now known as Insignia Financial.

Is ANZ Smart Choice Super an industry super fund?

ANZ Smart Choice Super is not an industry super fund, it is a retail super fund, open to anyone to join.

ANZ Smart Choice Super is part of the Retirement Portfolio Service (Fund ABN is 61 808 189 263)

What are the super options through ANZ Smart Choice Super?

ANZ Smart Choice Super Lifestage options are the default options for members, so the decade you were born in aligns with the investment option you are placed in. From there you can choose from a number of different investment options to match your investment goals and risk profile, including:

·        Lifestage – there are 7 Lifestage options to align with when a member was born ie 2000s through to the 1940s. The mix of asset classes automatically readjusts as the member ages.

·!– /wp:paragraph –>

·        7 Single asset option – members have a range of asset classes to invest in, such as Global Property, Fixed Interest for Global and Australia, International Equities both hedged and unhedged, Australian Equities and Cash.

If you’re not sure which investment option to start with, you will be placed in the ANZ Smart Choice Super Life Stage option that matches your age.

What are ANZ Smart Choice Super’s fees?

ANZ Smart Choice Super charges a range of fees, similar to other funds. The following will look at fees for their ANZ Smart Choice Super 1970s option, with a balance of $50 000. This example is taken from the ANZ Smart Choice Super updated product disclosure statement.

That said, it was more difficult to find this information for ANZ Super than compared to reviewing other super funds. And if you were born in the 1970s and have a super balance of $50 000 – well, hopefully, you’ve got other passive income streams lined up for retirement.  

·        Admin costs and fees – $60, plus 0.20%, plus 0.01% each year

·        Investment costs and fees – 0.60% per year, plus 0.04%, plus 0.04% each year

·        Transaction costs – 0.01% per year

So, for admin you will be charged $60 admin fee irrespective of your balance (unless it’s nil, then it’s waived), plus $105. You’ll also be charged $340 for investment costs and fees. Plus $5 for transaction costs, totalling $510 per year for a $50 000 balance.

These fees are higher than other super funds such as Australian Super at $447 per year or Rest Super at $428.

You can compare Super Funds Australia on Canstar HERE.

How does ANZ Smart Choice Super perform?

While past performance is no guarantee of future performance, one of the most common words used by reviews of ANZ Smart Choice Super is – underperform. Which is not a surprise when they have so many investment options – some will perform, the rest won’t.

When looking at the ANZ Smart Choice Super 1990s option, it has underperformed the median over the past 5 years, with the following comparison:

·        Median – 1 yr: -5.7%m 3 yrs: 5%, 5yrs: 6.4%

·        ANZ Smart Choice Super 1990s – 1 yr: -7.57%, 3 yrs: 3.36%, 5 yrs: 5.43%

Other ANZ Smart Choice Super investment options have also underperformed the median and while it’s been a bumpy ride for investment returns post-COVID, there may be worth looking at other super funds out there that offer a better return.

ANZ Smart Choice Super insurance policies

Like other super funds, ANZ Smart Choice Super offers insurance through their super for Death cover, Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) cover and Income Protection insurance.

The first thing to note is ANZ Smart Choice Super Lifestage options also apply to the level of insurance you get, which seemed capped at $120 000 for Death cover for a 30 year old. Frankly, that seems a bit low, especially if you want to have enough to pay off the mortgage to keep a roof over your loved one’s head if you fall off the perch. You have to step out of the Lifestage cover into Choose Your Own cover in order to get more cover.

Also, ANZ’s super insurance calculators aren’t really forthcoming when it comes to running the numbers. You have to trawl through the Product Disclosure documents to get the answers, and it makes for pretty dry reading, I can tell you. Other super funds have more user-friendly online calculators to help make insurance premium comparison easy.

The following example of the premiums charges is based on a 30 year old male, in an office based management job, with a gross income of $100 000 per year, with Death and TPD cover of $500,000 each.

·        Death cover – $245 per year, or around $20 per month

·        TPD cover – this is linked to your Death cover, $205 per year or around $17 per month

·        Income protection – pays up to 75% of gross income. The following is for 2 years payout with the following waiting periods – 30 day waiting period – around $125 per year ($10 per month), 60 day waiting period – around $65 per year ($5 per month), 90 day waiting period around $35 per year ($3 per month).

So that’s around $575 a year out of your super if you have Death, TPD and Income Protection insurance for the 2 years of benefits after a 30 day wait period. Keep in mind that female premiums for the same level of cover are about 50% more expensive, and the also price keeps going up depending on the type of job you have and how old you are.

“ANZ Smart Choice Super offers a range of insurance options within super including Death, Total and Permanent Disability and Income Protection. You can choose your own level of cover or choose the convenience of Lifestage cover based on your age, which automatically increases when you’re likely to have greater commitments and lowers when you’re likely to have less.”

anz.com.au/personal/investing-super/superannuation/smart-choice-super/

How does ANZ Smart Choice Super invest my super?

The way ANZ Smart Choice Super invests your funds depends on which option you are invested in.

For example,

ANZ Smart Choice Super 1990 invests your funds:

·        International Shares – 43%

·        Australian shares – 32%

·        Property – 10%

·        Cash – 6%

·        Alternative – 5%

·        Fixed interest – 4%

While ANZ Smart Choice Super 1970 invests your funds:

·        International Shares – 40%

·        Australian shares – 30%

·        Property – 10%

·        Cash – 6%

·        Alternative – 5%

·        Fixed interest – 9%

Basically, depending on your stage of life the split remains similar, with each age bracket slightly tweaked.

Beyond that, you can take advantage of the multi asset options and single asset options depending on your investment goals and risk profile.

ANZ Smart Choice Super Growth

·        International Shares – 34%

·        Australian shares – 26%

·        Property – 10%

·        Cash – 3.5%

·        Fixed interest – 26.5%

How does ANZ Smart Choice Super rank?

In 2022, ANZ Smart Choice Super ranked 29 out of 66 super funds by the Australian Prudential Regulating Authority (APRA) based on fees. While ANZ Smart Choice Super fund passed the APRA requirements for MySuper funds, interestingly it chose to issue a fee waiver and refund of fees for the financial year ending 30 June 2022 to improve member’s returns. 4 funds failed the APRA test.

Check out this News article about ANZ Super and an apparent lack of transparency.

Advantages of ANZ Smart Choice Super

• Australian owned
• Open to anyone
• Issued through ANZ, a well known brand
• Owned by Insignia Financial, formerly IOOF, a large financial institution
• You can choose your own investment mix
• Won 2021 Canstar award for customer satisfaction
• Offers Death, TPD and Income Protection insurance through super
• You can access your super through ANZ internet banking portal or ANZ app
• A larger range of investment options are available for members who have their account opened by their employer

“Our investment experts select a mix of investments which adjust based on your age – so the hard work is already done.”

anz.com.au/personal/investing-super/superannuation/smart-choice-super

Disadvantages of ANZ Smart Choice Super

• Fees are not low, rather mid-range, according to APRA ranking
• Returns underperform the median
• The mulitple Lifestage super options, from 1940s to 2000s make comparison difficult
• Lifestage insurance options restrict insurance cover to your age, rather than individual need
• ANZ Smart Choice Super online information is basic and you need to go through the product disclosure documents for specific information
• Rating of 1.1/5 on Productreview.com.au, with 82 reviews

FAQs about ANZ Smart Choice Super:

What are the exit fees for ANZ Smart Choice Super?

ANZ Smart Choice Super charges a $50 exit fee when closing your account. However, this charge is waived if you are just moving between ANZ Smart Choice Super accounts. For example, moving your super balance into a pension fund.

How many members does ANZ Smart Choice Super have?

ANZ Smart Choice Super is a relatively small fund with around 700 000 members, as opposed to 2.3 million members for a larger fund such as Australian Super.

Has ANZ Smart Choice Super won any awards?

ANZ Smart Choice Super won the Canstar 2021 Most Satisfied Customer Award. The award surveyed around 2 200 consumers from a range of different locations and ages on returns, fees and insurance. Respondents found ANZ Smart Choice Super better than other funds (in 2021) when it came to communication, customer service and value for money. In 2023, the Canstar award for most satisfied customers was given to Unisuper.

Is ANZ Smart Choice Super a good super fund?

When it comes to deciding if a super fund is good or not, it really comes down to three things; High returns, low fees and customer satisfaction. ANZ Smart Choice Super has mid-range fees, returns that historically underperform the median, but have won an award for customer satisfaction. So 1 out of three is ok, but leaves some room for improvement.

To be honest, the Lifestage options don’t really float my boat. This creates multiple MySuper versions of basically the same product with varying tweaks for each decade from 1940s to 2000s which makes comparison hard. Performance can also be impacted, with so many variations as some will get it right and others won’t.

With insurance, you have to move out of the Lifestage cover in order to Choose Your Own insurance cover, which frankly, we should be doing anyway.

Overall, it feels a bit like the Lifestage concept was a unique selling point that looked good on paper, but in practice ends up being a bit gimmicky. If low fees and high returns are what you’re after, then there are other super funds worth looking at first.

Conclusion

ANZ Smart Choice Super is an Australian super fund issued by ANZ Bank and owned by Insignia Financial (formerly IOOF).

ANZ Smart Choice Super is a retail fund open for anyone to join. Retail super funds aim to make money for shareholders, not just its super members. While anyone can join  ANZ Smart Choice Super, there are eligibility criteria to be met for their insurance products.

ANZ Smart Choice Super initially puts new members in their applicable Lifestage super investment option. From there ANZ Super has a range of different investment options for members to choose from. ANZ Smart Choice Super is a relatively small fund with around 700 000 members. It offers products and advice for insurance and superannuation.

While ANZ Smart Choice Super won the 2021 Canstar Award for most satisfied customer, in 2021 APRA ranked ANZ Smart Choice Super 29 out of 66 funds for fees. ANZ Smart Choice Super has underperformed the median in a number of its investment options in the past years.

If you want to maximise your retirement savings by joining a super fund with low fees and high returns, there are other super funds worth looking at before ANZ Smart Choice Super.

Do you have a super account with ANZ Smart Choice? Or is your super invested with one of Australia’s established funds? Or a relatively new fund? What are your thoughts?

You can check out my other Superannuation reviews here:

UniSuper Review – How Do They Compare?

Australian Super Review – What You Need To Know

MLC Superannuation Review: How Do They Measure Up?

Hostplus Super Review – Is It Still The Best Super Fund For 2022?

Vision Super Review

ART Super Review; Is It A Good Super Fund?

REST Super Review – How Do They Stack Up?