Our Member Outcomes Assessment for the year ending 30 June 2020
At HESTA, everything we do is to benefit our members. Here’s a quick reminder of what that looks like.
Low fees, strong returns
We've consistently delivered strong long-term performance and low fees. And we don't pay commissions to financial advisers. That means more for you in the long run.
Good for people, the planet and you
Super is a long-term commitment. So we invest your savings in a way that respects our planet and its people.
Created for people like you
With more than 880,000 members and $58 billion in assets, we've learned a thing or two about looking after our members.
Standing up for positive change
We advocate for fairer super and drive diversity, because everyone deserves the best possible retirement.
Assessing our performance
We, along with all other super funds, are now required to assess our performance against set measures each year. We use that assessment to show how we’re looking after the financial interests of our members.
HESTA has assessed each of the products we offer:
You can read the determination on our performance below.
As a fund created to deliver the outcomes our members need and want, our member focus is central to who we are. Our structure, our operations and our leadership are all informed by our members and their work. Their needs drive every part of our strategy, our brand and our culture.
HESTA has assessed each of the products we offer:
In conducting our comparative analysis, we benchmarked our products (excluding the transition to retirement income stream) against other products in the market.
The analysis also took into account our deep understanding of our members’ characteristics. For example, HESTA membership is 80% female and a significant proportion of our members have a relatively low account balance. The unique characteristics of our fund inform our strategy and enable us to connect with our members through personalised communication.
To ensure everything we do as a fund continues to be in the best interest of members, we’re required to assess our performance annually against a range of key factors including:
In assessing outcomes for members, we’ve drawn a balanced comparison of products and services provided by other similar sized funds using publicly available data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and independent ratings agencies such as Chant West and SuperRatings.
Through our analysis, we have determined that the financial interests of members are being promoted for:
This is great news for our members. The thorough analysis we’ve undertaken shows their retirement savings are in safe hands.
In fact, we discovered HESTA members are some of the most engaged super members in Australia – so they’re taking as keen an interest in their super as we are in taking care of it!
And they’re also some of the most tech savvy, as significantly more HESTA members receive electronic or mobile communication from us than members of other funds. They’re also great at checking in on how their super’s going, with the majority choosing to receive their statements online.
We aim to deliver solid, long-term returns, and we achieve this by investing in a way that supports healthy returns, healthy people, and a healthy planet we can share with future generations.
Our investment decisions are guided by our five investment beliefs:
Every aspect of our investment strategy is informed by our focus on investing for strong long-term returns and doing it responsibly, knowing the importance of each decision to our members’ future financial health.
Our My Super-authorised option, Core Pool (renamed Balanced Growth on 1 October 2020), is designed with our members’ needs in mind. It’s invested in a diverse but balanced mix of assets to align with the long-term nature of super. It aims to provide high enough returns over the long term to help them achieve a more comfortable retirement lifestyle. Most of our members are invested in Balanced Growth.
Based on the performance of investment options in our products against comparable products in the market, HESTA has determined that the investment strategy in the HESTA My Super, HESTA choice (accumulation) and HESTA choice (income stream) products remains appropriate.
MySuper | Choice (accumulation) | Choice (income stream) |
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The analysis finds that the setting of fees on a cost recovery basis is appropriate for members currently invested in HESTA products.
All fees charged to HESTA member accounts are set on a cost recovery basis. They are deducted from member accounts and retained in fund reserves to cover expenditure for the benefit of all HESTA members (and in accordance with reserving policies).
MySuper |
Choice (accumulation) |
Choice (income stream) |
Fees and costs for a member with a $50,000 account balance are in the second quartile when compared to equivalent MySuper products according to Chant West. |
Fees and costs for a member with a $50,000 account balance are in the top two quartiles when compared to equivalent choice (accumulation) products according to Chant West. |
Fees and costs for a member with a $50,000 account compare favourably against comparable products across most of the choice (income stream) options. |
HESTA services are appropriate when compared with those of equivalent funds and are well-used by members. In reaching this finding, we’ve also considered the fees and costs charged to HESTA members to pay for the provision of these services.
Services provided by HESTA are available to all members regardless of the product they hold. These include:
Our analysis finds that, taking into account the characteristics of the members in our accumulation products, our insurance strategy and fees remain appropriate for those members.
Our insurance benefit design carefully considers our members’ needs.
The majority of our members hold Standard Cover, which is:
We are one of only a minority of super funds to offer income protection as Standard Cover because we find it leads to more members overcoming temporary disabilities and getting back to work faster. Total and Permanent Disability Cover is available as voluntary cover only.
Our Standard Cover is designed to provide a basic level of insurance that:
The insurance benefit design also has the flexibility to meet more specific insurance needs that may not be met by the Standard Cover. This includes the ability to increase cover without having to provide full medical evidence, in some instances.
The trustee has determined that the scale and size of HESTA’s business is an advantage for our members. It allows us to provide to members at low or no additional cost.
When compared against most funds in the market HESTA performs better than the benchmark in most metrics:
HESTA continues to grow, which means investment fees naturally decline over time as funds available for investment increase. This enables our investment team to leverage our size and reputation in negotiating lower fees with external managers.
With over 880,000 members and $58 billion in assets, we can use our scale and size to deliver great value to all our members.
MySuper product determination
Choice product determination (accumulation and income stream)
But don't just take our word for it. HESTA has earned some of the highest accolades.
We've received the Net Benefit award 2021 – recognising the value we deliver to members – from independent ratings agency SuperRatings.
HESTA Sustainable Growth (formerly called Eco Pool) has won four awards in Money magazine's Best of the Best Awards 2021, recognising the power of investing in long-term, meaningful change.
We received the Roy Morgan Annual Customer Satisfaction Award for the Major Industry Super Fund of the Year, polled from more than 50,000 consumers nationally.