Planned maintenance: From 8 pm Friday, 23 January to 6pm Monday, 26 January 2026 we’ll be performing maintenance on our systems. During this period, you won’t be able to access your account. Thank you for understanding.
Investments | | 2 min read
1292055109

Investing in your future

Ever wondered why your super balance goes up and down? Or why some investment options seem to offer the potential for higher returns than others? Understanding the relationship between risk and return is an important part of understanding the investments you hold through your super.

What do ‘risk’ and ‘return’ actually mean?

Risk is the chance that your investment won’t perform as expected. This could mean your investment goes down in value), or it could simply mean earning less from your investments than you hoped.

Return is the income and/or growth your investment generates over time – it’s how much you gain or lose compared to what you started with when you originally invested. 

Every investment has the potential to generate both risk and return, in varying proportions. And here’s a rule of thumb – generally the greater the potential returns, the greater the potential risk. 

Different asset classes; different levels of risk 

If you’re invested in one of Equip Super’s diversified investment options, it means your super is invested in a mix of asset classes – think shares, property, fixed interest, infrastructure, alternatives and cash (depending on the option). And each asset class has its own characteristics…

  • Shares are considered growth assets. They typically have the potential to deliver strong long-term returns, but their value can go up and down in the short term.
  • Property values tend to grow over time with values influenced by things like employment levels, consumer confidence, and especially interest rates. Their value can be negatively influenced by rising interest rates.
  • Infrastructure asset values can both rise and fall, with risks coming from things like changes in government regulations, how the economy is performing, and inflation.
  • Fixed interest investments are defensive assets. They’re usually more stable and less likely to lose value than growth assets, but at the same time their returns are usually lower than those often associated with growth assets. 
  • Cash investments, like money in the bank or in term deposits, are very low risk, but they also don’t usually earn as much as growth assets. Cash can be a safe place during uncertain times. Its main downside is that returns can be so low they don’t keep up with inflation. 
Key takeouts
  • There's no such thing as an investment with no risk.
  • Risk and return go hand in hand.
  • Investments with less risk usually offer less in the way of returns.
  • Investments that are higher risk typically have the potential to generate higher returns.
View Equip Super investment returns

Managing the impacts of risk

There are strategies you can use to help manage the impact of risk on your super investments and your long-term savings.

Time: how it can work in your favour

The longer your money stays invested, the more opportunity you have to ride out market volatility. This is especially relevant for investments like shares. Share markets go up and down in value – sometimes quite significantly – over short time frames. But historically, share markets have tended to recover from these short-term ups and downs to produce overall growth over longer timeframes. 

Super, by its very nature, is a long-term investment – one that’s likely to be held for decades. So, while you may experience volatility in your super balance from time to time, and sometimes even over prolonged periods, it’s important to view this over a longer time horizon. History has shown us that markets do tend to recover from short-term volatility over longer time frames.

Diversification: spreading your risk to reduce it

Diversification means spreading your investments across different assets and asset classes. In doing so, it can help reduce the impact of poor performance in a specific type of investment. For example, if one asset is underperforming at a point in time, you may have other assets in your portfolio that are performing relatively strongly at that time, which may help to minimise the impact of any underperformance.

Diversification can also help you to take advantage of a broader range of investment opportunities. Of course, there are no guarantees and certainly no ways to eliminate risk entirely. In times of severe market stress, all asset classes can fall at the same time. 

Striking the right balance

When it comes to risk and return, it’s important to find the balance that works for you – but there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The optimal blend for you will depend on your financial goals, how long you have until you retire, and how much risk you’re comfortable taking.

Understanding your attitude to investment risk is probably the most important factor to consider before investing. Our risk profile questionnaire can help you understand your attitude to investment risk and what investments might be best suited to your objectives.

Try the risk profile questionnaire.

Issued by Togethr Trustees Pty Ltd ABN 64 006 964 049, AFSL 246383 ("Togethr"), the Trustee of Equipsuper ABN 33 813 823 017 ("Equip Super"). The information contained is general advice and information only and does not take into account your personal financial situation or needs. You should consider whether this information is appropriate to your personal circumstances before acting on it and, if necessary, you should seek professional financial advice. Where tax information is included, you should consider obtaining taxation advice. Before making a decision to invest in Equip Super, you should read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) for the product which are available at equipsuper.com.au. Financial advice may be provided to members by Togethr Financial Planning Pty Ltd (ABN 84 124 491 078 AFSL 455010) – a related entity of Togethr. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

© 2023—2025 Togethr Trustees Pty Ltd ABN 64 006 964 049 AFSL 246383 — *Past performance is not an indication of future performance.
We acknowledge all First Peoples of the beautiful lands on which we live and work, and their enduring knowledge and connections to Country. We honour the wisdom of and pay respect to Elders past and present.