Australian Retirement Trust has been named the winner of not 1 but 2 categories in the 2023 Finder Awards. ART was named the best-rated Super Fund in Finder’s Customer Satisfaction Awards, as well as the winner of the Super Fund - Single Asset Classes category in the Product Awards.
The Finder Customer Satisfaction Awards is an annual awards program that seeks to find the brands and companies that Australian consumers are most happy and satisfied with.
Meanwhile, Finder’s Product Awards identifies the top super funds for several categories including low fee funds, balanced funds, conservative funds, conservative balanced funds, high growth funds and single asset class funds.
Finder's mission is to help the world make better financial decisions. Both the Customer Satisfaction and Product Awards help recognise Australia's leading brands and products.
About both the super fund awards
To judge the Customer Satisfaction Awards, Australian consumers were surveyed and asked about their personal experience and views on their super fund.
Consumers were asked to rate super funds out of 5 for each of the following: customer service, features and benefits, performance, fees and overall experience.
Australian Retirement Trust had a combined score of 4.19 out of 5 for these elements – higher than any other super fund that was surveyed.
At the end, consumers were asked, on a scale of 1 to 5, how likely they’d be to recommend the super fund to a friend.
This result was scored out of 5 as a percentage. For example, if 80% of respondents said they would recommend a product, it received a score of 4 out of 5.
Australian Retirement Trust once again scored highest for this question, with 95% of members surveyed saying they’d happily recommend the fund to a friend. The fund in second place achieved a recommendation score of 84%.
For the Product Awards, Finder experts assessed funds based on their fees and performance. In 2023, Australian Retirement Trust distinguished itself as the leading fund in the single asset class category, focusing on international equities.
The International Shares Index (unhedged) option particularly stood out due to its competitive annual fee of $192.40 on a $50,000 balance and its notable international equity performance, achieving returns of 12.26% over 10 years and 10.13% over the last 5 years, as at 30 June 2023 figures.
Benefits of Australian Retirement Trust
What makes Australian Retirement Trust a favourite among its members? Let's explore the stand-out features of the fund that contributed to its dual wins in the 2023 Finder Awards:
1. Strong long-term returns
Past performance doesn’t guarantee future performance, but Australian Retirement Trust has demonstrated robust long-term returns for its members. Over the past decade, the Balanced option for the Super Savings Accumulation account has been a strong performer with a commendable 8.4% per annum over 10 years as at 30 June 2023 . This fund option allows customers to diversify their investments to help protect their super from market volatility.
2. Investment choice
Australian Retirement Trust offers members a wide range of investment options to choose from, including a High Growth option for members wanting more exposure to growth assets and a Socially Conscious Balanced option for those wanting their investments to be made in line with an extended set of environmental, social and governance principles. Additionally, its International Shares Index (unhedged) option, the Product Awards winner in the single asset class category, showcases strong international equity performance.
3. Exceptional customer experience
As a testament to its commitment to members, Australian Retirement Trust has been recognised for its outstanding customer experience, earning the Finder Customer Satisfaction Award for 2023. This accolade highlights ART's dedication to meeting and exceeding the needs and expectations of its members, reflecting their focus on providing a positive member experience.
By Alison Banney and Shubham Pandey
Alison Banney is the money editorial manager at Finder. She covers all areas of personal finance, and her areas of expertise are superannuation, banking and saving. She has written about finance for 10 years, and has ASIC RG146 certifications for General Advice, Superannuation and Securities and Managed Investments.
Shubham Pandey is the investments and superannuation writer at Finder. Shubham has a Master's degree in Finance with minors in Communication.