Australian super is now one of the largest pools of investment capital in the world, so where it’s invested has real consequences. Yet most members have little idea what their fund actually owns.
A new analysis from Mindful Investing examined 15 of the largest super funds, around $2.1 trillion or 70% of the market, across 31 investment options worth $882 billion. It found $89 billion invested in what the report calls “issues of concern”: fossil fuels, human rights violations, environmental harm, social harm, animal cruelty and weapons. Extrapolated across the whole system, including SMSFs, that figure could be closer to $450 billion.
This sits at odds with what members say they want. In a 2026 survey, more than 80% of Australians wanted their super fund to avoid most of these issues and over 84% wanted their super invested ethically, yet only 36% actively choose an ethical option. Part of the problem is visibility. Three quarters of Australians say they want to know where their money goes, but most funds disclose only the minimum, often in formats that are almost impossible to interpret.
In this video interview, we speak with Barry Coates of Mindful Investing about what the analysis found, why disclosure is so limited, how ethical options compare with default MySuper funds (and where they don’t), and what you can do if your super doesn’t reflect your values.
Mindful Investing have kindly given us permission to publish the breakdown of issues of concern for each super fund.
Further details, including the specific companies in each of the categories is shown on their website at www.mindfulinvesting.au
Issues of concern in portfolios
Companies of concern, % FUM in total options analysed
| Super fund and investment option | Fossil fuels | Human rights violations | Environmental harm | Social harm | Animal cruelty | Weapons | Total issues of concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMP Future Directions Balanced | 7.51% | 3.26% | 2.51% | 1.15% | 1.29% | 1.08% | 13.48% |
| Australian Ethical Growth | 0.01% | 1.12% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 1.13% |
| Australian Ethical MySuper Balanced | 0.01% | 0.95% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.96% |
| Australian Retirement Trust Socially Conscious Balanced | 0.46% | 0.43% | 0.22% | 0.00% | 0.67% | 0.00% | 1.56% |
| Australian Retirement Trust MySuper Lifecycle (under age 50) | 6.06% | 1.95% | 2.90% | 1.16% | 1.10% | 0.80% | 10.19% |
| AustralianSuper Socially Aware | 2.25% | 2.43% | 0.84% | 0.47% | 1.62% | 1.08% | 7.49% |
| AustralianSuper MySuper – Balanced | 7.04% | 3.14% | 2.58% | 1.66% | 1.37% | 1.02% | 12.81% |
| Aware Super Balanced Socially Conscious | 0.17% | 1.39% | 0.09% | 0.00% | 0.96% | 0.06% | 2.65% |
| Aware Super High Growth Socially Conscious | 0.21% | 1.65% | 0.11% | 0.00% | 1.13% | 0.07% | 3.15% |
| Aware Super MySuper Lifecycle (under age 55) | 4.99% | 2.81% | 2.39% | 1.15% | 1.14% | 1.26% | 10.86% |
| CareSuper Sustainable Balanced | 2.62% | 1.27% | 1.96% | 0.05% | 0.37% | 0.02% | 3.91% |
| CareSuper MySuper – Balanced | 4.69% | 1.91% | 2.01% | 1.16% | 1.37% | 0.42% | 8.90% |
| Cbus MySuper – Growth | 4.11% | 2.17% | 1.99% | 1.13% | 1.03% | 0.73% | 8.87% |
| Colonial First State Thrive+ Sustainable Growth | 1.40% | 3.64% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.49% | 0.00% | 4.12% |
| Colonial First State MySuper – Lifestage 2005-2009 | 8.45% | 2.18% | 3.77% | 1.10% | 1.57% | 1.25% | 13.53% |
| HESTA MySuper – Balanced Growth | 4.58% | 2.45% | 2.11% | 0.86% | 1.16% | 0.61% | 9.11% |
| HESTA Sustainable Growth | 0.38% | 2.08% | 0.39% | 0.20% | 1.35% | 0.19% | 4.44% |
| Hostplus MySuper – Balanced | 4.03% | 0.96% | 1.44% | 1.28% | 1.09% | 0.14% | 6.83% |
| Hostplus Super Socially Responsible Balanced | 0.02% | 1.26% | 0.02% | 0.00% | 0.46% | 0.00% | 1.74% |
| Hostplus Super Socially Responsible High Growth | 0.03% | 2.11% | 0.04% | 0.00% | 0.77% | 0.00% | 2.91% |
| Mercer Super MySuper SmartPath – Born 1964-68 | 5.69% | 2.36% | 2.64% | 1.06% | 1.50% | 0.54% | 10.54% |
| Mercer Super Sustainable High Growth | 2.60% | 4.62% | 0.75% | 0.00% | 3.50% | 0.52% | 11.39% |
| MLC MySuper – Growth (under age 55) | 6.22% | 2.68% | 3.35% | 1.00% | 1.62% | 0.92% | 11.62% |
| MLC Socially Responsible Growth | 7.25% | 3.41% | 3.67% | 0.00% | 1.87% | 0.78% | 12.70% |
| Rest MySuper – Growth | 5.92% | 2.19% | 2.47% | 1.17% | 1.34% | 0.82% | 10.88% |
| Rest Sustainable Growth | 0.19% | 0.69% | 0.33% | 0.25% | 1.39% | 0.49% | 3.06% |
| UniSuper MySuper Balanced | 2.35% | 2.23% | 0.61% | 1.38% | 0.69% | 0.88% | 7.01% |
| UniSuper Sustainable Balanced | 0.18% | 2.29% | 0.43% | 0.00% | 1.81% | 0.17% | 4.53% |
| UniSuper Sustainable High Growth | 0.14% | 3.12% | 0.62% | 0.00% | 2.55% | 0.22% | 6.17% |
| Vanguard Super MySuper – Lifecycle (High Growth) | 5.40% | 3.73% | 1.18% | 1.35% | 2.03% | 0.86% | 12.26% |
| Vanguard Super Ethically Conscious Growth | 0.15% | 2.76% | 0.77% | 0.00% | 1.13% | 0.02% | 4.54% |
The analysis covers those disclosed investments that can be analysed. The level of issues of concern is likely to be higher, particularly for those funds that have low levels of disclosure coverage.
The columns may not add up to the total, since some companies are cited for more than one category of issues of concern.
Source: Mindful Investing, Inside Australia’s Super Funds: An Ethical Review of Investment Portfolios.
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