At InvestSMART, we’re all about making investing simple. We believe that everyone should have the confidence to control their financial future and it shouldn’t be hard or expensive to do so. Our mission is to help all Australian’s grow and protect their wealth. Whether you’re managing your own investments or looking for a little help, we deliver straightforward, flexible and affordable solutions to ensure you are better able to meet your investment goals.

The InvestSMART investment philosophy focuses on three key concepts: Lower fees, diversification and investing in a portfolio that aligns with your investment timeframe. S&P Indices versus Active (SPIVA) research finds that active managers underperform most benchmarks. This underperformance generally aligns with the average cost of management fees, which average around 1.2- 1.7% over time. This implies that higher fees do not necessarily correlate with improved performance - research has shown that it is often the inverse.

Keeping this in mind, InvestSMART builds model portfolios using ETFs and with capped fees. The lower operating costs of ETFs translates into decreased expenses for investors. Fees on a portfolio may seem small, but compound over time and are the biggest detriment to long term performance. Evidence of this can be seen through the widening gap between the performance of InvestSMART portfolios and an average of peer funds. The effect of compounding year on year means it doesn’t take long for the small impact of fees to add up and make a meaningful difference.

You can read more on our fees report and how fees can destroy your wealth here.

We believe that by providing a range of model portfolios for clients across asset classes and with different diversified risk profiles, investors have the option of selecting a model that suits their investment objectives and timeframes. We recognise over the long term, no one asset class if guaranteed to deliver consistent returns. Instead, we offer solutions to build a diversified portfolio to minimise risk without sacrificing returns.

Further, by using ETFs, diversification and capping our fees, we are able to remove obstacles commonly faced by investors, that would otherwise impair their ability to meet financial goals. Whilst there will always be risk associated with investing in equity markets, focusing on these three core components can lessen this risk. The performance of our diversified models indicates that this statement holds true.