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Media Super vs North

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

Media Super

Industry fund brand

Media Super remains the super brand for print, media, entertainment, arts and other creative industries within Cbus.

Membership

The brand serves its creative-industry community and eligible members under its current products.

North

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.

Membership

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.

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.

Choose an investment option to see the figures

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.

How the products differ

Media Super and North: product features and conditions
What to compareMedia SuperNorth
Membership and access

The brand serves its creative-industry community and eligible members under its current products.

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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.

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Accounts and products

Media Super branded super and retirement products issued within Cbus.

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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

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Investment choices

Use the current Media Super investment menu. Historic Media Super options are not independent portfolios that remain available alongside Cbus after the merger.

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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.

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Insurance

Insurance terms are product-specific. Creative workers with contract, freelance or irregular work should read the income and employment definitions in their own guide.

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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.

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Retirement income

Check the current Media Super retirement product documents and default strategy. Compare retirement returns with retirement returns.

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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.

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Advice and support

The current site provides advice resources and member assistance. A personal plan needs an explicit scope and fee check.

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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.

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Fee details to check

Use the post-merger Media Super schedule. Its published merger explanation describes investment fee savings but does not mean every historical fee applies today.

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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.

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Comparing investment performance

Read the pre- and post-merger history note before comparing a long-run Media Super return. Show when an investment strategy changed.

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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.

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THE SUPERGURU VIEW

Our take on Media Super

Editorial assessment

A useful comparison for people in creative industries who value that industry connection and want to check the actual insurance and investment terms.

What deserves a closer look

  • Media Super and Cbus share a legal fund, so do not portray their comparison as two independent trustees.
  • Do not carry a pre-April 2022 option or fee into a current comparison.

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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 North

Editorial assessment

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.

Who might put it on their shortlist

  • People working with an adviser who need a broad investment and retirement product range.
  • Members examining lifetime-income arrangements and prepared to assess their access restrictions.
  • Families checking whether the applicable fee aggregation changes the overall cost.

What deserves a closer look

  • MyNorth requires an adviser, and advice charges are additional to investment-platform costs.
  • Money held in the cash account has its own charges.
  • Lifetime-income products have capital-access and beneficiary restrictions.
  • North and AMP SignatureSuper sit in different product and legal-fund structures; one cannot inherit the other's fee or performance result.

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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 Media Super and North

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 Media Super profile · Read the full North profile · Choose another comparison

Sources for Media Super

Checked 2026-09-11. Documents and product terms can change after this date.

  1. Media Super
  2. Investment changes after merger
  3. Cbus merger and brand background
  4. Annual reports

Sources for North

Checked 2026-09-11. Documents and product terms can change after this date.

  1. North client product and adviser requirements
  2. North fees and menu pricing
  3. MyNorth Super and Pension PDS
  4. MyNorth Lifetime FAQ
  5. MyNorth target market determination
  6. North client support