Investing for a home deposit
How to invest for a home deposit. We’re here to help
Congratulations! You’re saving to buy a home, but it will take a while to get there. Investing in a conservative portfolio will reduce your risk of loss, while giving you a better return than cash over time.
Power-up your home deposit with InvestSMART
It takes 5+ years on average to save for a deposit. It’s a slog. An InvestSMART diversified portfolio of ETFs may knock time off the saving process and keep you on track with your goal.
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Exchange traded fundsOur portfolios invest in ETFs. ETFs provide access to a huge range of Australian and global shares and bonds. Most track an index (eg: the ASX 200), so you invest in hundreds of companies in one transaction.Learn more about ETFs
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Diversified investmentsDiversified investments are important. It can reduce or increase the level of risk and return you’re comfortable with. Our portfolios are diversified across Australian, global, bonds and property investments.Learn how diversification works
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Low costFees eat into returns. We’ve done away with most fees so you keep more of your own money, which is important when saving for a deposit. Our fees start at $55 p.a and are capped* at $550 p.a.Learn more about capped fees
InvestSMART property savings calculator
Calculate how much and how often you need to invest to reach your property deposit goal.
InvestSMART Portfolios
Ranging from conservative to high growth, we have a portfolio to help you meet your property purchase goal. We invest in ETFs, so you get best in class diversification.
InvestSMART portfolio planner
Not sure what investments are right for you? We can recommend a portfolio
Simply tell us about yourself, your goals, savings, any other investments, and how long you think you’ll invest. We’ll recommend a suitable InvestSMART portfolio for you.
Investing for a home deposit insights
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Investing for a home deposit FAQs
You should read the PMA target market determination to see the target market for each portfolio. In addition to this, InvestSMART has several tools and guides to help you select the right portfolio.
You will notice a common thread throughout the guides, the investment time frame. We recommend investors look at the suggested time frame associated with each portfolio to see if it aligns with their investment goal.
Here is a list of tools and guides to help select the right portfolio:
- InvestSMART's statement of advice
- Our Statement of Advice will provide you with an Investment Plan detailing a number of steps for you to implement in stages to achieve your financial goal.
- InvestSMART's guide to growing your wealth
- InvestSMART's guide to investing in retirement
- InvestSMART's investor pack
Calculators
- Wealth savings calculator
- Saving to buy a property calculator
- Saving for kids education calculator
- Saving for retirement calculator
Additionally, we have InvestSMART Bootcamp, which is a comprehensive investment course designed to get you started on the right foot.
The InvestSMART Professionally Managed Account (PMA) is established and offered within the registered managed investment scheme known as the Professionally Managed Accounts.
Each investor has a separate account to which their investments are allocated. You will require a different PMA for each investment entity you have e.g. individual, joint, SMSF etc.
A client will open an InvestSMART PMA and can then choose between the various InvestSMART Diversified Portfolios. An account can hold one or more models. The management fee is charged at the account level, not per portfolio.
Once you decide which model portfolio(s) are best suited to your investment needs and objectives, we will purchase the investment to be included in your account to reflect the model portfolio or combination of model portfolios that you have selected.
When you open an InvestSMART Professionally Managed Account (PMA), you choose from InvestSMART's range of Diversified Portfolios to invest in.
A list of the portfolios can be found here.
These managed portfolios comprise of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) or, in some cases direct shares. In particular, the InvestSMART Hybrid Income Portfolio invests in Australian listed hybrids and listed debt securities.
What is an Exchange Traded Fund?
An Exchange Traded Fund, or ETF, is a managed fund that trades on the stock market.
There are different types of ETFs, each with its own purpose, but most commonly, they will track or follow a particular index.
For example, if you want to follow or track the S&P ASX 200 (the top 200 Australian shares by market capitalisation), you could either buy each individual share (200 shares) or one ETF. The one ETF wraps up the 200 shares into one holding. By holding this one ETF, you get exposure to the movements of the ASX 200, less any fees.
Investing in ETFs is a form of passive investing, and they generally incur cheaper management fees, as fewer investment decisions are required to manage an ETF. They are also quite liquid and traded easily on an exchange.
You can see the holdings of each InvestSMART managed portfolio by navigating to its product page and scrolling to Key Facts > Holdings.
Yes, all investments held within your InvestSMART PMA are held in your name (or chosen entity e.g. SMSF) in a CHESS sponsored broking account.
You are the registered legal and beneficial owner of a portfolio of securities. You can log into the investor website at any time to view the individual securities that make up your Account.
This is the most common question we get from experienced and inexperienced investors alike.
No matter when you are looking to invest, there will always be something in the news that will have you asking this question. Whether it is a commentary on our local housing market, geopolitical uncertainty, or fears of a global pandemic. Uncertainty is constant, yet history shows us investment markets and asset classes continue to grow over the long term.
Having an investment plan and sticking to it is far more important than picking the exact day or week to invest. Developing good investment habits by investing for the long-term, in the right mix of asset classes, adding to your investment over time and rebalancing in a systematic fashion will see you reach your goal. In addition, chopping and changing your portfolio will chew up returns with transactions costs and potentially reduce your invested capital by paying additional taxes.
InvestSMART can help you select and stick to a plan with:
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Provides simple contribution and income reinvestment options
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Transparent online monitoring through your My Account
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Consolidated annual tax reporting direct to your inbox
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CHESS sponsored ownership of your portfolio holdings
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Our famous low fees starting at just over $1 a week, capped* at $550 per year.
The current minimum investment amount for the InvestSMART Professionally Managed Account (PMA) starts at $10,000 per model portfolio; unless otherwise stated in the Investment Menu, Key Facts section of the online information page or the Key Details section of the Investor Pack.
If you already have an InvestSMART PMA and just wish to add to your existing investment model, you do not require another $10,000 to contribute to that same investment.
Example: In your InvestSMART PMA you have $15,000 in the InvestSMART Conservative Portfolio and $11,000 in the InvestSMART Interest Income Portfolio.
You wish to withdraw $6,000 from the total portfolio.
Each portfolio requires a $10,000 minimum balance, so $5,000 would be withdrawn from the InvestSMART Conservative Portfolio and $1,000 from the InvestSMART Interest Income Portfolio.
We can't tell you how much to contribute as we can provide general financial product advice only about the products that InvestSMART offers.
We cannot provide any personal financial advice and you should consider your own financial objectives, financial situation and needs before making an investment decision and submitting an application.
We have a number of tools you can use at InvestSMART including the Portfolio Manager and online calculators.
These links will take you to our various calculators:
If you have a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF), you can apply for an InvestSMART PMA.
We offer two types of SMSF accounts depending on how your SMSF is structured. If you're unsure how your SMSF is structured, it's best to contact your tax or financial advisor. Alternatively, you can email a copy of the SMSF Trust Deed to invest@investsmart.com.au.
Above: Account choice shown during application
SMSF Individual
- You have two to four individuals listed as trustees of the SMSF
SMSF Corporate
- a company, such as a Pty Ltd, is listed as the trustee
- the company will have one or more directors
InvestSMART will require different details depending on the structure of your SMSF, so please see the relevant option below to see the correct requirements for you.
What do I need to apply for my SMSF (Individual Trustees)?
For each individual listed as a trustee, we'll need:
- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- Residential Address
- Phone Number (Landline/Mobile)
- Email Address
- One Additional Source of Identification (License/Medicare/Passport)
To verify the SMSF as an entity, we need:
- Superannuation Fund Name
- The SMSF's Australian Business Number (ABN)
- The Superannuation Fund's Bank Account
- BSB & Account Number
What do I need to apply for my SMSF (Corporate Trustee)?
For each individual(s) listed as director(s) of the corporate entity acting as the trustee for the SMSF, we'll need:
- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- Residential Address
- Phone Number (Landline/Mobile)
- Email Address
- One Additional Source of Identification (License/Medicare/Passport)
To verify the SMSF as an entity, we need:
- Superannuation Fund Name
- The SMSF's Australian Business Number (ABN)
- The Superannuation Fund's Bank Account
- BSB & Account Number
We will also require the following details to verify the corporate trustee as an entity.
- The name of the company that is the trustee of the SMSF
- Australian Company Number (ACN)
- Principal Place of Business Address
- Registered Office Address
Like all account types, you'll be asked to specify:
- an initial Investment Amount
- the Investment Model(s)
- the Investment Allocation(s)
- any Income Preference
- a Regular Contribution Plan
- a Regular Withdrawal Plan
Our capped management fees are tiered depending on your investment amount.
Fees matter and have a significant impact on your net investment returns. We have a simplified fee structure of 0.55% p.a. capped at $550 per year no matter how much you invest*.
Account balance tiers |
Investment management fees p.a. |
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$0 to $100,000 |
0.55% |
More than $100,000 |
$550 |
See the interactive slider here: https://www.investsmart.com.au/capped-fees
* InvestSMART's capped Management Fee (capped at $550 p.a.) does not include fees charged within any ETF held in this portfolio, estimated to be approximately 0.18% (indirect cost ratio). Brokerage costs are not included in this calculation. For more information about fees and costs, please see the Product Disclosure Statement and Investment Menu.
