A

Administration fee
A fee to cover the cost of running the Fund on a day-to-day basis. This is a flat fee deducted from your super or pension account.

Asset allocation
The apportionment of an investment portfolio among different asset classes (shares, fixed interest, property, cash etc).

Asset class
A broadly defined category of financial assets, e.g. Australian shares, overseas shares, property, fixed interest, cash etc.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)
A Commonwealth agency responsible for the prudential regulation of banks, life insurance companies, general insurance companies and superannuation funds.

Australian shares
Represent partial ownership of companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Award superannuation
Superannuation entitlements which are determined by a Federal or State industrial award. In some cases these entitlements may provide entitlements to employees which are additional to the minimum requirement of the Superannuation Guarantee.

B

Benchmark
An index or other market measurement which is used to assess the risk and performance of a portfolio.

Beneficiary
A person entitled to or in receipt of a benefit under the fund, which is normally the member and his/her dependants.

Benefit
The amount of money a member is entitled to receive from the Fund upon their retirement, death, disablement, or other circumstances specified in the Trust Deed.

Binding Death Benefit Nomination
A current and valid Binding Death Benefit Nomination is legally enforceable and requires (or "binds") the Catholic Super Trustee to pay your death benefit to the persons you have nominated in a Binding Death Nomination Form as your beneficiaries. If you have nominated more than one beneficiary, the Trustee is also required to pay each beneficiary the proportion you have nominated in your Binding Death Nomination Form.

BPAY
A method of making payments by phone directly from a bank, building society, credit union, or credit card account.

C

Capital gain/loss
The difference between the sale price of a capital asset and its cost.

Choice of Fund
Choice of Fund laws, which came into effect on 1 July 2005, allow many Australians to choose which super fund will receive the 9% Super Guarantee (SG) contributions that their employers make on their behalf.

Co-contribution
A co-contribution is a payment made by the Commonwealth government to the superannuation account of eligible members who have made a personal after-tax contribution (including compulsory member contributions) to their superannuation fund in the previous financial year. If you are eligible for a super co-contribution, the Australian Taxation Office will pay it directly into your super account, after you have submitted your tax return for the financial year.

D

E

Excess returns
The return above or below the nominated benchmark return. It is calculated as the difference between the return achieved and the benchmark return.

F

Fixed interest
Any debt security which has a fixed flow of income. Fixed interest represents money loaned by the investor (government and corporations) to various borrowers, usually in the form of interest bearing bonds.

G

H

1

Inflation
Change in the cost of living.

Investment Choice
Arrangement whereby members of a fund are offered a choice of investment options within the fund. The choices generally give members a range of options in terms of risk and expected return.

Investment Risk
The degree by which returns are likely to vary over a given period. Can include the likelihood of a negative return over short periods.

Investment manager
An organisation that specialises in the investment of a portfolio of securities on behalf of individuals and/or organisations subject to the guidelines and directions of the investor.

J

K

L

Lump Sum
A benefit payable in a single payment rather than as a pension.

M

Member Protection
A legal requirement for funds complying with the Superannuation Industry Supervision (SIS) Act, whereby administration fees cannot be deducted from accounts wi th a balance below $1,000 if these fees are in excess of the investment returns credited to the account. Member protection does not apply to tax on employer contributions or any insurance premiums deducted from the member's account. See Eligible Rollover Fund (ERF)

N

O

Overseas shares
Similar to Australian shares but represent a partial ownership in companies listed on foreign stock exchanges (e.g. US, Japan, Europe etc)

P

Property
Represents the ownership or partial ownership of real property assets. Investment in property is typically undertaken through a unitised vehicle, where the investor buys units representing partial ownership of a diversified ‘package’ of properties. Examples of properties are major shopping centres, industrial distribution facilities and major capital city office buildings.

Preservation age
The age at which you can access (in cash) preserved superannuation benefits, provided you have retired permanently from the workforce.

Q

R

Risk
In its simple sense, risk is the variability of returns. Investments with greater inherent risk usually deliver higher investment returns.

S

Shares
An investment in a company or mix of companies.

T

Transition to Retirement
A period in which a member, who is over their preservation age but under age 65 can receive some or all of their superannuation as an income stream (not a lump sum) while they are still working. 

U

Unit trust
A pooled investment fund or collective investment, established under a trust deed, that continually offers new units and stands ready to redeem existing ones from the owners.

V

Volatility
The extent of fluctuation in share prices, exchange rates, interest rates etc. The higher the volatility, the less certain an investor is of return.

W

Y

X

Z