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Expand vs Rest

Compare what each fund offers, then choose investment options to put their published costs and returns side by side.

By SuperGuru Group · Research checked 11 September 2026 · Historical APRA figures to 30 June 2026

Expand

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.

Membership

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.

Rest

Industry fund

Rest pairs its Growth default with indexed and other investment choices. Its published indexed investment costs make it useful to compare total account charges carefully.

Membership

Check the Rest Super or Rest Corporate PDS for the relevant membership and insurance terms. This profile covers the public Rest Super proposition rather than every employer arrangement.

Compare fees and investment returns

Choose the actual investment pathway for each account. For lifecycle products, select the named stage relevant to you. No stage is selected automatically.

APRA product data to 30 June 2026
MeasureChoose an investment optionMySuper
Return basisChoose an optionMySuper net return after administration costs, $50,000 representative member
3-year return, per yearChoose an option9.17%
5-year return, per yearChoose an option6.66%
7-year return, per yearChoose an option6.91%
10-year return, per yearChoose an option7.35%
APRA strategic growth allocationChoose an option76.24%
Reported total fees, net of tax, at $50,000Choose an option$405 a year (0.81%)
Administration and advice costs, net of tax (included in total)Choose an option$130 a year
2026 performance testChoose an optionPass
New-member status at reporting dateCheck the current product eligibility rulesCheck the current product eligibility rules

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.

How the products differ

Expand and Rest: product features and conditions
What to compareExpandRest
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.

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Check the Rest Super or Rest Corporate PDS for the relevant membership and insurance terms. This profile covers the public Rest Super proposition rather than every employer arrangement.

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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

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Rest Super, Rest Corporate and Rest Pension have separate disclosure documents.

Rest Super

Rest Corporate

Rest Pension

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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.

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Growth

Growth is Rest's default option. The choice menu includes Growth - Indexed, Australian and overseas share index options, and Sustainable Growth. An indexed option's investment fee does not include every charge incurred by the account.

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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.

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Rest publishes separate insurance guides for Super and Corporate accounts. Check the active cover shown in your account, its benefit definitions and current premiums; insurance changes and employer arrangements can affect what you receive.

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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.

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Rest Pension has a separate PDS and investment information. Use its retirement product details when comparing payments, investment choice and charges rather than assuming a Rest Super comparison also covers retirement.

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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.

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Simple personal advice about a Rest account is generally available at no extra cost. More complex advice can incur a fee and Rest states that this may not be payable from the Rest account.

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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.

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Rest's fees combine a weekly administration charge, a percentage administration charge, costs paid from reserves, investment costs and transaction costs. Buy spreads can apply when money enters an option. The current fee page says investment and transaction costs are forecast to increase for the year ending June 2027, so the displayed prior-year cost is not a guaranteed future quote.

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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.

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Use returns for the exact option and account type, with a common end date and a clear statement of fees deducted. Growth, Growth - Indexed and Sustainable Growth are distinct strategies and should not share a single performance figure.

Keep Growth and Growth - Indexed separate in all fee and return tables.

State whether the comparison includes costs paid from reserves and buy spreads.

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THE SUPERGURU VIEW

Our take on Expand

Editorial assessment

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.

Who might put it on their shortlist

  • People using an adviser to implement a portfolio that needs a broad investment menu.
  • Members comparing direct listed investments, managed portfolios and retirement features within one platform.
  • Families checking whether available fee arrangements change the total cost.

What deserves a closer look

  • Expand's 28 August 2026 notice says MLC MultiActive High Growth (MLC0397AU) and MLC MultiActive Geared (MLC0449AU) failed the 2026 performance test within the covered Expand products. Both remained open to new members because this was their first failure.
  • That notice concerns specified investment options, not a failure of every Expand investment or the whole platform.
  • Portfolio complexity, cash holdings, brokerage and advice fees can materially change the cost.
  • Lifetime products have access and beneficiary terms that require separate assessment.
  • Members transferred from Grow Wrap, Voyage or PortfolioOne should use their Expand welcome documents and fee schedule. June 2026 figures for those former products describe the pre-transfer account.

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Based on the cited product features. These are general reasons to investigate the fund, not a personal recommendation. Supporting sources.

THE SUPERGURU VIEW

Our take on Rest

Editorial assessment

Rest is worth looking at when building a shortlist of simple indexed portfolios. The useful comparison is the whole annual cost at your balance, including administration and any spread on contributions. A zero investment-fee line can be accurate while the account still has other charges.

Who might put it on their shortlist

  • People comparing indexed investment options within a large fund.
  • Members who want help with relatively straightforward questions about their super.
  • Existing Rest members checking whether the current investment option still suits their intended risk level.

What deserves a closer look

  • Rest's reserve-funded administration costs should be disclosed even though they do not appear as a direct deduction from the account.
  • Forecast FY2027 investment and transaction cost increases make the cost period important.
  • ASIC issued two infringement notices totalling $37,560 for alleged misleading representations after insurance was inadvertently activated for more than 2,000 members. Rest paid them in September 2025. Payment of an infringement notice is not a court finding of liability.

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Based on the cited product features. These are general reasons to investigate the fund, not a personal recommendation. Supporting sources.

Before choosing between Expand and Rest

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 Rest profile · Choose another comparison