I studied this stuff a bit, but take that with a grain of salt, as I am not licensed, and have zero practical experience. A BIG issue with Industry Funds is the insurance aspect. Some industry funds, in order to maximise headline returns, offer crappy life and TPD (total and permanent disability) insurance. For example, traditionally, if you suffered a "TPD event", you got a payout straight away. In some industry funds, I've heard (I cannot verify this), that some Industry funds make you undertake "re-habilitation" first (admittedly at their expense, I believe), to see if you "recover" - as in, they won't need to pay out if your incapacitation turns out not to be "permanent". There can be other nasties too, in the "fine print" of Super Insurance policies - be they Life, TPD, or Income Protection. Not that these issues are necessarily confined to the Industry fund sector. Research the fine print on your fund's insurance policies. Make sure you're comparing apples with apples. Caveat Emptor!