What’s MLC MySuper?

MLC MySuper is our default super investment approach that tailors your investments to your age, to help maximise your chances of financial wellbeing in retirement. It’s also where the majority of super members in MLC MasterKey Business Super invest their retirement savings.

MLC MySuper automatically provides a mix of growth and defensive assets depending on your age. MLC MySuper invests in higher growth investments when you’re younger to give your super more opportunity to grow.

As you get closer to retirement age, we gradually replace a portion of the higher growth investments (such as shares and property) with more defensive investments (such as bonds and cash).

How does the MLC MySuper lifecycle work?

With MLC MySuper’s lifecycle approach, as you get older, your investment mix will change so that they remain appropriately matched to your age and needs. The lifecycle approach means that once you reach the age of 55, your investments gradually shift from higher risk (growth) assets to a more balanced mix of growth and income-generating assets.

To achieve this, MLC MySuper uses a combination of three investment portfolios: MySuper Growth Portfolio, MySuper Conservative Balanced Portfolio and MySuper Cash Portfolio. Depending on your age, you may be invested in one, two or three of the MySuper investment portfolios. The MySuper investment portfolios provide you with the benefit of diversification by being invested across different asset classes, investment objectives and managers.

When you are under age 55

When you are under age 55, you will be completely invested in the MySuper Growth Portfolio. Your investment mix will include a higher allocation to growth assets, such as shares and unlisted property and infrastructure assets. This phase of MLC’s lifecycle approach is designed to help maximise your returns over the long-term.

When you turn 55

From age 55, we add a second portfolio, MySuper Conservative Balanced Portfolio, where a portion of your MySuper balance will be invested. While you still have the majority of your super invested in growth assets to help your retirement savings continue to grow, we gradually increase your proportion of defensive investments such as bonds and cash that may help to reduce the impacts of market ups and downs. Your MySuper balance is adjusted every three months based on the date of your birthday.

When you turn 62

Shortly after you turn 62, you’ll be invested across three portfolios, with a portion of your MySuper balance invested in MySuper Cash Portfolio. When you reach 65, and as you get older, your MySuper asset mix has around 67% exposure to growth assets and 33% exposure to more defensive assets.

Increasing the allocation of defensive assets in this way is designed to limit the impact of any adverse market movements that you may encounter as you approach retirement age.

The table below shows how the mix of growth and defensive assets gradually changes depending on your age.

How the MLC MySuper investment option is managed

The MLC MySuper investment option is broadly diversified across mainstream asset classes, with some exposure to private and alternative assets and strategies. It uses both active and passive investment managers, which invest in many companies and securities in Australia and overseas.

Our investments in infrastructure focus on assets that provide sustainable long-term cash flows to help our members’ super balance grow over many years.

Within the MySuper portfolios, there are unlisted infrastructure investments. MySuper portfolios also comprise of property assets, spread across the office, retail and industrial sectors. Read more about MLC’s unlisted assets.

Benefits of being invested in MLC MySuper

Competitive performance

We’re proud to say that MLC’s MySuper Growth Portfolio has returned 13.1% for the 12-months to 30 September 2024¹. To get the latest returns, visit our MySuper performance page.

Note: past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Deep experience investing

Our MLC MySuper lifecycle investment approach takes advantage of our investment expertise.

The in-house team of experts called MLC Asset Management, manage the MySuper portfolios with the aim of maximising members chances of financial wellbeing in retirement.

For over 35 years, they’ve been designing portfolios using a multi-manager approach to help members achieve their goals. Our portfolios also make sophisticated investing straightforward. MLC Asset Management’s investment approach is used to structure your portfolio with the aim of delivering more reliable returns in many potential market environments.

Find out about the investment philosophy that guides how MLC Asset Management manages your money, their investment process and the managers used in our portfolios.

Learn more about MLC MySuper.