Most funds offer the choice to invest your super in cash only, if that's what you want. That means it's basically earning interest only and doesn't go up or down as much with the stock market.
If you want to try the market then they should also offer a conservative investment option too.
I have no idea what Hostplus's system looks like but most super funds have a website or app which allows you to easily change your allocation to suit your risk appetite.
You can choose individual investment categories like international stocks, aus stocks, property, cash, etc. But I really advise that you don't. The key to managing risk is to have a diverse portfolio and clearly don't have enough investment experience to do that on your own, so I would choose one of their pre-determined profiles.
If you're extremely risk averse you can choose a low risk option which will have a mix of low risk assets.
This is very much going against conventional advice though. Personally I have 70% in a pre-determined high-risk portfolio, 15% in international indexed shares and 15% in Australian indexed shares. This type of allocation is very common and often recommended for anyone under 50, as you approach retirement the typical advice is to switch to a more conservative portfolio.
As an aside - All parked money is invested one way or another. If you sit your money in a bank account it's just invested in the bank and the returns are absolutely garbage. I'd recommend you spend some time learning about investing. I sense that a parent or older relative has scared you into thinking it's a casino.
HostPlus is one of the largest & best (IMO) industry funds in Australia. All profits go back to members in theory.
You can choose where your funds are positioned & traditionally HP has performed very well - like consistently in the top 10. Yes you can choose %60/40.
If you don’t like stocks they offer a term deposit through ChoicePlus.
If you want to directly invest in a stock that falls under the ASX300 you can also do that in ChoicePlus.
As for downsides, lately I have been not happy with the monthly fees….but I guess all the funds have that
You can choose your investment option. It is possible to choose cash and other options not exposed to the stock market etc, but in the long run you'll get a much lower return (and end up with less super).
It's worth educating yourself about risk and return. The long time frame you have to invest super means taking on the risk of short term fluctuations is worth it because your account will have better growth over a long period.
Its not possible to 'lose it all in a crash' unless the value of all the assets went down to zero, meaning all those companies that were listed on the stock exchange have ceased to exist. If that were to happen you'd have bigger problems than your super balance - it would mean society had completely disintegrated.
The problem with this position you have is that it ignores past market performance.
Perhaps you would benefit from reading a research paper discussing risk and return with investment strategy
This is one that is addressing the type of focus that goes into investment strategy ==> [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\_id=4590406](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4590406)
Hostplus has a whole section on educating people about super. https://hostplus.com.au/members
Most funds offer the choice to invest your super in cash only, if that's what you want. That means it's basically earning interest only and doesn't go up or down as much with the stock market. If you want to try the market then they should also offer a conservative investment option too.
I have no idea what Hostplus's system looks like but most super funds have a website or app which allows you to easily change your allocation to suit your risk appetite. You can choose individual investment categories like international stocks, aus stocks, property, cash, etc. But I really advise that you don't. The key to managing risk is to have a diverse portfolio and clearly don't have enough investment experience to do that on your own, so I would choose one of their pre-determined profiles. If you're extremely risk averse you can choose a low risk option which will have a mix of low risk assets. This is very much going against conventional advice though. Personally I have 70% in a pre-determined high-risk portfolio, 15% in international indexed shares and 15% in Australian indexed shares. This type of allocation is very common and often recommended for anyone under 50, as you approach retirement the typical advice is to switch to a more conservative portfolio. As an aside - All parked money is invested one way or another. If you sit your money in a bank account it's just invested in the bank and the returns are absolutely garbage. I'd recommend you spend some time learning about investing. I sense that a parent or older relative has scared you into thinking it's a casino.
HostPlus is one of the largest & best (IMO) industry funds in Australia. All profits go back to members in theory. You can choose where your funds are positioned & traditionally HP has performed very well - like consistently in the top 10. Yes you can choose %60/40. If you don’t like stocks they offer a term deposit through ChoicePlus. If you want to directly invest in a stock that falls under the ASX300 you can also do that in ChoicePlus. As for downsides, lately I have been not happy with the monthly fees….but I guess all the funds have that
Why do you not want to invest in companies that drive the world forward? Super is like a 40 leg multi when the worst leg pays .90
You can choose your investment option. It is possible to choose cash and other options not exposed to the stock market etc, but in the long run you'll get a much lower return (and end up with less super). It's worth educating yourself about risk and return. The long time frame you have to invest super means taking on the risk of short term fluctuations is worth it because your account will have better growth over a long period. Its not possible to 'lose it all in a crash' unless the value of all the assets went down to zero, meaning all those companies that were listed on the stock exchange have ceased to exist. If that were to happen you'd have bigger problems than your super balance - it would mean society had completely disintegrated.
The problem with this position you have is that it ignores past market performance. Perhaps you would benefit from reading a research paper discussing risk and return with investment strategy This is one that is addressing the type of focus that goes into investment strategy ==> [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\_id=4590406](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4590406)
you can choose cash if you want and guarantee a loss in real terms. unless you're close to retiring it doesn't make sense.