Compare what each fund offers, then choose investment options to put their published costs and returns side by side.
Retail fund
MLC's MasterKey range includes employer, personal and Super & Pension Fundamentals accounts. The investment and insurance terms depend on which product you hold.
MasterKey Super Fundamentals is designed for individual members. Business Super is arranged through employers, and employer discounts or insurance subsidies can affect the comparison.
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 | MLC | UniSuper |
|---|---|---|
| Membership and access | MasterKey Super Fundamentals is designed for individual members. Business Super is arranged through employers, and employer discounts or insurance subsidies can affect the comparison. Sources24 | 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 | MLC MasterKey products in MLC Super Fund. Expand, Plum and NAB-specific plans are separate product propositions. MLC MasterKey Business Super MLC MasterKey Personal Super MLC MasterKey Super and Pension Fundamentals MLC MySuper Sources17 | 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 | MLC MySuper for eligible MasterKey Business and Personal Super members; check the selected investment in Fundamentals. MasterKey Super Fundamentals offers ready-made choices, lower-cost and socially responsible portfolios, plus asset-class options for a member-built portfolio. MLC MySuper invests across mainstream asset classes with some private and alternative assets and uses active and passive managers. Sources23 | 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 | The insurance offer differs between Business, Personal and Fundamentals accounts. Business and Personal Super can include both an insurer premium and an insurance administration fee; Fundamentals insurance charges consist of the insurer premium. Check the applicable guide rather than assuming all MLC insurance is priced the same way. Sources47 | 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 | MasterKey Pension Fundamentals provides account-based and transition-to-retirement pension pathways. A member can assess the pension menu as part of planning a move into retirement, but the pension fee schedule must be checked separately. Sources67 | 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 | Members can use MLC without a financial adviser. If they engage an adviser, fees for super-related advice may be deducted with consent and subject to product rules. Advice fees should be included in the overall cost of an advised arrangement. Sources4 | 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 | An employer may have negotiated reduced fees, shown in the plan's Features At A Glance document. Changes from 1 April 2026 removed the insurance-fee cap for affected Business and Personal Super members and reduced the cap on the percentage administration fee. These are distinct changes: lower administration fees do not necessarily mean a lower total cost for an insured member. Sources45 | 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 | Compare the exact MySuper portfolio or chosen MasterKey investment. Age and product matter, and a return from one underlying fund is not the return from an entire member account after every administration, insurance and advice charge. Show the MasterKey product name and employer discount assumptions. Separate insurance premium, insurance administration charge and adviser fee where relevant. Sources1234567 | 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
MLC deserves an account-level review rather than a verdict based on the brand. The breadth of investments can help someone with a deliberate portfolio, while a workplace subsidy may change the price materially. For current members, the 2026 insurance-fee-cap change is a practical reason to check the statement.
Sources5
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.
Read the full MLC profile · Read the full UniSuper 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.