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Game changer to invest
your super dollars in
property
Super is the often
forgotten and
ever-growing lump
sum behind all
working Australians
– and it can
now be
leveraged
as your entrance to
the property
market.
We’re pretty well
versed on how tough it is to
get a leg on the property
ladder – especially in
Australia’s capital
cities, and particularly if
you’re a young,
aspiring first-homebuyer.
One organisation,
Superestate, is aiming to
level the playing field and
revolutionise how
Australians engage with
their super.
“We have torn down the
barriers and made property
investment easy and possible
for everyone, no matter how
small your super
balance,” says Grant
Brits, a former investment
banker and
Superestate’s CEO.
“We believe that all
Australians should be
empowered to choose where
their money is
invested.”
In a nutshell, Superstate
allows you to invest your
super in residential
property and understand
where your super is actually
going (the company displays
its property investments on
their website).
Superestate – founded
by Brits, with input from
property expert Dr Andrew
Wilson and auctioneer Damien
Cooley – is currently
the only super fund focused
on investing in residential
property.
“We saw many friends
and family struggling to get
onto the property ladder, so
we wanted to help find a new
way for them to do it.
Whether you’re looking
for a home or to invest
– it’s extremely
challenging, especially for
younger Australians,”
says Brits.
“We figured out how we
could make it possible for
all Australians to gain
access to property
investment, so we knew we
just had to do it.”
Breaking boundaries
 
One of the biggest obstacles
in property investment is
not having enough money or
savings to start off with,
Brits says.
“We wanted to make
sure that we built a product
that would allow everyone to
have access, no matter their
current financial position.
This is what lead us to
super,’ he says.
“It’s easy to
overlook your super, but at
the end of the day
it’s your money. This
is why we wanted to enable
people to use this sometimes
forgotten means to invest in
something they’re
really interested in.”
Also, something tangible.
“One of our best
experiences to date was
taking our members through
the fund’s first
property. Actually walking
around a property where
their super is invested was
a very unique experience for
them. Some of our members
had all but given up on ever
investing in
property.”
Where does your super go?
Traditionally,
superannuation funds are
invested in a broad range of
assets including: cash,
fixed interest, Australian
or international shares and
infrastructure.
Superstate also spreads its
investment, but their asset
mix uniquely includes
residential property
too. 
When other super funds say
they invest in property,
this typically means through
property trusts investing in
office and commercial
property, which financially,
performs differently to
residential property.
“Most people
don’t even realise and
are normally pretty shocked
when they learn how much of
their super is being
invested in the stock
market,” says Brits.
“If we look at the
long-term historical
performance of residential
property, all of our super
might have performed even
better had the traditional
super funds invested in
residential property.
“Superestate never
uses debt to purchase
properties for the super
fund. This means our members
benefit from both any
long-term capital gains,
plus the steady rental
income.”
The company looks to invest
in high-quality properties
in high-demand areas with
limited supply (i.e. houses
with land near the CBD), as
they will likely do very
well over the long term.
“When we consider
specific suburbs we take
into account location,
demographics, resilience and
growth drivers. This
typically means we’re
focusing on properties in
our inner-city markets close
to our major CBDs,”
said Brits.
“We prefer our
investments to come with
land, meaning we’re
mostly focused on houses.
However, we’re always
on the look out for good
investment
opportunities.”
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