There are often very good reasons for making an investment switch

This is especially the case if you have a properly considered investment plan in place, and making the investment switch is simply part of sticking to your plan.

For example, if you are getting close to retirement age, you’ll likely be relying on the money you’ve saved in your super account to help fund your retirement, and you may want to reduce the likelihood of losses in value during this time.

This means you might look to switch into an investment option that still allows your super to grow, but which has a greater allocation to defensive assets to help to reduce the level of investment risk in your super.

Not all investment switches are good switches

While Vanguard Super provides the ability to make an investment switch at any time, keep in mind that super is a long-term investment, so it’s a good idea to maintain a long-term view.

When markets are volatile, it may be tempting to seek the perceived safety of lower-risk investments. Reacting to short-term market movements is rarely a good idea however, and you should try to avoid being swayed into making hasty decisions based on day-to-day market movements.

When markets go up, it may be just as tempting to switch into investments that are currently performing well.

But making switches to try to ‘time’ investment markets and chase anticipated short-term returns can make it harder to reach your long-term goals. In fact, history tells us that investors with the patience and discipline to stay the course are well rewarded over the long term – and that’s the time frame that matters when it comes to an investment like super.

A couple of charts worth looking at

Not convinced yet? Here are a couple of charts worth considering.

Over the long-term, markets recover lost ground

This first chart shows asset class performance over the 20-year period to 30 June 2025. It demonstrates that while markets will have periods of volatility, it pays to look beyond the news headlines and daily market movements.

In fact, while recent events such as the GFC, COVID-19 pandemic and tariff announcements have triggered significant fluctuations in asset values in the short term, over the long-term, markets recovered their lost ground.

Take some time to explore the 2025 Vanguard Index Chart and you will see that while market ups and downs are unavoidable, asset values have steadily increased over the past 30 years.

Missing a few days of market rallies drastically reduces returns

As we have seen, markets inevitably recover their lost ground over the long-term.

And if you miss even a few days of market rallies, it can drastically reduce returns.

This chart demonstrates that over the period 1928 to 2024, the US share market’s best 30 days have accounted for almost half the long-term returns. What’s more, the best days are often clustered near the worst days.

Still want to make the switch? It’s easy with Vanguard Super

With Vanguard Super you can change the way your account is invested any time, by switching between different Vanguard Super investment options.

When you make your change (or ‘switch’), you can change how your:

existing account balance with us is invested, as well as any future contributions, or
existing account balance is invested only, or
future contributions will be invested only.

Visit our website at vanguard.com.au/super and log in to Vanguard Online. Or log in to your Vanguard Super account using the Vanguard app. You’ll be able to see your current investment arrangements and find everything you need to make a switch.

You can also complete a Change my super investments form and send it to us by attaching the form to a secure message. Secure message is when you send us a message directly from your Vanguard Online account. If you’re unable to access Vanguard Online you can request a copy of the form from our team and send it to us via the post. Please note that using post or secure message is not as fast as online switching.

Something to think about before you switch investments