Compare what each fund offers, then choose investment options to put their published costs and returns side by side.
Retail platform
Expand is a super and pension platform with Essential and Extra product tiers. Its value depends on the investment menu and services a member actually uses.
Use the Essential or Extra PDS and target market determination. The platform is commonly used with advice, and an application requires an investment choice; Essential allows a cash holding while a member decides on a longer-term strategy.
Retail platform
North is an adviser-based super and pension platform. Its menu tiers and optional lifetime products make the actual account design more important than the brand-level price.
A financial adviser is required for MyNorth products. Read the PDS and target market determination for the particular account, including whether it is ordinary super, a pension or a lifetime product.
Choose the actual investment pathway for each account. For lifecycle products, select the named stage relevant to you. No stage is selected automatically.
The costs and returns belong to the selected product, option or lifecycle stage.
Source: APRA Comprehensive Product Performance Package 2026, published 28 August 2026. Fees reflect the reporting year to 30 June 2026, are net of tax, use standard arrangements and exclude member-activity fees. Dollar figures are rounded. They are not a current quote. Check the latest PDS for changes, insurance premiums and any separately charged advice.
Returns are annualised historical results. Different return bases, risk levels and periods cannot be treated as interchangeable. MySuper net returns use a $50,000 representative balance even when you change the fee balance. A lifecycle stage return does not track a person moving between stages. Missing figures mean not reported, not zero. Past returns do not predict future returns. Read our method and APRA's definitions.
| What to compare | Expand | North |
|---|---|---|
| Membership and access | Use the Essential or Extra PDS and target market determination. The platform is commonly used with advice, and an application requires an investment choice; Essential allows a cash holding while a member decides on a longer-term strategy. Sources2 | A financial adviser is required for MyNorth products. Read the PDS and target market determination for the particular account, including whether it is ordinary super, a pension or a lifetime product. Sources15 |
| Accounts and products | Expand Essential and Extra in IOOF Portfolio Service Superannuation Fund; not MLC MasterKey. Expand Essential Super and Pension Expand Extra Super and Pension Retirement Boost Sources1234567 | MyNorth and North super and pension products in Wealth Personal Superannuation and Pension Fund; separate from AMP SignatureSuper. MyNorth Super MyNorth Pension MyNorth Lifetime Super MyNorth Lifetime Income MyNorth Deferred Lifetime Income North legacy products Sources3 |
| Investment choices | Member-selected investments; not a single platform-wide MySuper default. Essential combines a menu of managed funds and model portfolios with Essential+, which adds selected ETFs and term deposits. Extra offers a much broader selection of managed funds, model portfolios and listed investments. Investments across menus can carry different administration charges. Sources1234 | Investments selected through the product and adviser; not one platform-wide MySuper default. MyNorth uses Grow, Select and Choice menus with different pricing. Members can hold investments across menus, with administration costs reflecting that mix. The cash account also has its own investment and administration charges, so uninvested cash is part of the cost calculation. Sources2 |
| Insurance | Expand advertises group and retail insurance options. The policy, underwriting and cost depend on the cover arranged; the platform's investment features do not establish that a member is insured. Sources1 | North supports insurance arrangements, including cover held inside super. The policy and underwriting are separate from the investment platform. Ask the adviser to compare the cover, premium and exclusions with the existing policy before transferring. Sources16 |
| Retirement income | Both tiers have pension products. Retirement Boost adds a separate lifetime-income proposition with its own eligibility and access rules. It should be compared with other lifetime products rather than treated as an ordinary account-based pension. Sources125 | MyNorth offers ordinary pension accounts and separate Lifetime and Deferred Lifetime Income arrangements. The PDS says capital-access rules limit withdrawals and death/exit benefits for the lifetime-income accounts. Ordinary super and lifetime-income access terms must not be confused. Sources345 |
| Advice and support | An advised arrangement needs two assessments: whether the adviser service is useful and whether the platform is an appropriate way to implement it. Ask for the full ongoing cost and the consequences of ending the advice relationship. Sources1234567 | MyNorth is available through an adviser, making the advice relationship part of the proposition. Fees may include initial, ongoing, fixed-term or ad hoc advice charges. Ask what each service will deliver and what happens to the account if that relationship ends. Sources126 |
| Fee details to check | Add platform administration, account charges, underlying investment fees, transaction or brokerage costs, insurance and any adviser fee. Essential+ has a higher administration rate on the first part of the balance than the ordinary Essential menu. A low fee quoted for one menu is not a price for every portfolio. Sources34 | Add account and administration fees, underlying investment costs, the cash-account charge, any trustee or lifetime fee, insurance and adviser charges. Menu mix, balance tiers and eligible family aggregation can change the total. A nil administration rate on one menu does not make all holdings or the full arrangement free. Sources23 |
| Comparing investment performance | There is no single meaningful Expand investment return. Measure the chosen portfolio after all applicable costs. The performance test covers only eligible trustee-directed investments, so a result for one option does not describe every investment on the platform. State Essential versus Extra and the menu used. Keep option-specific performance-test outcomes attached to the relevant option IDs. Sources67 | A platform does not have one investment return. Compare the actual portfolio after its underlying and platform costs, and disclose adviser fees separately if they are excluded. The performance of one managed fund cannot stand in for the account. Show the exact menu mix, account type and advice fee. Keep ordinary super and account-based pensions separate from lifetime-income comparisons. Sources123456 |
THE SUPERGURU VIEW
Expand makes most sense to investigate when a person needs its investment or retirement features and can explain why. A broad platform can be useful with a carefully chosen portfolio, but it also creates several layers of fees to compare. The product tier and menu selection should be visible in any price comparison.
Based on the cited product features. These are general reasons to investigate the fund, not a personal recommendation. Supporting sources.
THE SUPERGURU VIEW
North is a platform to assess with a specific portfolio and service proposal in front of you. Its menu and retirement features may help an adviser implement a plan, but the justification should be concrete. For a straightforward diversified holding, the comparison needs to show what the extra structure and advice cost buys.
Sources3
Based on the cited product features. These are general reasons to investigate the fund, not a personal recommendation. Supporting sources.
Use the membership rules to establish which accounts are available to you. Then compare the total price of the investment option and cover you need. A lower fee or higher historical return alone does not tell you which fund is suitable.
Ask both funds to confirm insurance acceptance, exclusions, waiting periods and whether cover would change when you leave your employer. Obtain advice before giving up a defined benefit or an insurance policy you may not be able to replace. ASIC Moneysmart explains the comparison checks.
Read the full Expand profile · Read the full North profile · Choose another comparison
Checked 2026-09-11. Documents and product terms can change after this date.
Checked 2026-09-11. Documents and product terms can change after this date.