At GESB, our role is to manage and invest our members' funds in GESB Super, West State Super or Retirement Income Pension on their behalf. As a member, you can rest assured that we follow a careful process to help us grow your investment and give you every chance of reaching your financial goals.

Members who wish to take an active role in their investment can choose from our range of Readymade and tailored investment plans. If you haven't made a choice, your super or retirement income will be currently invested in the default plan for your product.

Choosing an investment plan may not be a difficult decision but it's an important one. The plan you are in now can make a difference to the lifestyle you'll be able to afford and your income in retirement.

Whenever you are reviewing or thinking about changing your investment plan, here are some things you should consider.

There are risks with all types of investments

We invest your super or your retirement income into a range of financial assets such as Shares and Bonds. The performance of these assets, as well as any contributions, withdrawals or deductions from your account will influence your balance.

Every type of investment, including super and retirement income products, involves some form of risk. Risk is the potential for loss in the value of your investment, or your investment returns. For your super, this means there is a chance you may lose some of your money, and over time the returns may not be enough to give you an adequate income in retirement.

Financial markets can change quickly

Changes in market, economic or political conditions, or even public opinion can result in the value of your investment moving up or down. Sometimes these changes can occur quickly. The amount an investment rises or falls over a period of time is known as its volatility.

Despite recent volatility, markets over the past four years have delivered sound performance. Most of our members have received returns far exceeding the objectives of their Readymade plans.

Some periods of negative return are to be expected

When you invest in both growth and defensive assets, there is a chance you will experience periods of significant negative returns.  However, if you take your money out of an investment when the markets have declined, you may miss the opportunity for positive returns if markets recover. Often, those who hold onto their investment over the long term are more likely to recover from the low points, and may outperform those who try to time their buying and selling of assets based on short-term results. Predicting returns or timing strategy changes to coincide with market changes is very difficult.

It's important to make sure your plan is right for you

When looking at past investment plan returns, you should keep in mind that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Rather than automatically choosing the investment plan that is performing best at any point in time, you should choose one that you're comfortable with, based on your risk profile. Your risk profile determines how much risk you're willing to take with your investments. This will depend on your age, investment timeframe, your other assets outside super and how they are invested, and how comfortable you are with the possibility of losing some of your investment in some years. Our investment personality quiz may help you work out what kind of investor you are.

If you have a long investment timeframe (more than 10 years), you may be able to bear greater short-term volatility of returns, with the knowledge that your investment should grow over the long term. Alternatively, a shorter investment timeframe may call for a more conservative approach, to help you avoid realising losses and give you greater confidence in the value of your investment.

More information

This website has many useful resources to help you review and manage your investment:

• Login to Member Online to find out which plan you are currently invested in
• Learn more about our investment approach and performance in our investment and performance section
• We recommend that you talk to a financial adviser before deciding which investment plan best suits you