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.
Industry fund
UniSuper offers a public Personal Account alongside its university-sector products. The Defined Benefit Division is fundamentally different from an ordinary investment account.
The Personal Account is available to people living in Australia aged over 15. Employer-linked products and the Defined Benefit Division have their own entry rules.
Choose the actual investment pathway for each account. For lifecycle products, select the named stage relevant to you. No stage is selected automatically.
| Measure | Choose an investment option | MySuper Offering |
|---|---|---|
| Return basis | Choose an option | MySuper net return after administration costs, $50,000 representative member |
| 3-year return, per year | Choose an option | 9.80% |
| 5-year return, per year | Choose an option | 6.89% |
| 7-year return, per year | Choose an option | 7.41% |
| 10-year return, per year | Choose an option | 8.11% |
| APRA strategic growth allocation | Choose an option | 76.73% |
| Reported total fees, net of tax, at $50,000 | Choose an option | $340 a year (0.68%) |
| Administration and advice costs, net of tax (included in total) | Choose an option | $80 a year |
| 2026 performance test | Choose an option | Pass |
| New-member status at reporting date | Check the current product eligibility rules | Check 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.
| What to compare | Expand | UniSuper |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | The Personal Account is available to people living in Australia aged over 15. Employer-linked products and the Defined Benefit Division have their own entry rules. Sources1 |
| 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 | Public Personal Account and employer accumulation products; Defined Benefit Division must be assessed separately. Personal Account Accumulation 1 Accumulation 2 Defined Benefit Division Flexi Pension Sources14 |
| 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 | Balanced (MySuper) for Personal Account and eligible accumulation products; MySuper does not apply to the DBD or pension. Accumulation members, Personal Account members and Flexi Pension members can select from UniSuper's investment options. A Defined Benefit Division account has two components: a formula-based defined benefit, whose investments the member cannot choose, and an accumulation component that can use the normal menu. Sources247 |
| 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 | The insurance position depends on the product. Ordinary insured cover and the inbuilt benefits associated with the Defined Benefit Division should be compared separately. Check the current product PDS and your member statement before making a transfer. Sources34 |
| 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 | Flexi Pension provides retirement-phase and transition-to-retirement accounts. The retirement-phase product requires an eligible condition of release and a minimum opening balance. Moving the entire UniSuper balance into a pension ends any insurance or DBD inbuilt benefits attached to the former account. Sources3 |
| 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 | UniSuper offers advice services covering super and retirement as well as broader financial matters. Advice fee deductions have rules, limits and consent requirements; an agreement to pay an adviser is not a universal feature that applies the same way to every product. Sources56 |
| 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 | Compare Personal Account with other public accumulation products, using the cost of the chosen investment option. Employer products, the DBD and retirement-phase Flexi Pension can have different fees. Do not transplant one product's fee figure onto the whole UniSuper brand. Sources4 |
| 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 | Investment returns describe accumulation investments. The defined-benefit component uses a formula, rather than crediting the chosen market return to an account. A DBD-versus-accumulation decision cannot be reduced to two ten-year investment returns. Keep UniSuper Personal Account and DBD comparisons separate. Do not display a DBD benefit as a guaranteed investment return or infer its value from accumulation performance. Sources27 |
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
UniSuper belongs on a public-fund shortlist, but the product distinction is essential. For an ordinary Personal Account member, compare the investment menu, cost and service in the usual way. For a DBD member, the more consequential question is what rights, benefits and future entitlements a change would affect.
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.
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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.