How often should you think about changing the investments you hold in superannuation?

Aaah! My financial regret. Not being aggressive enough, early enough, with my super.

I sat in a “balanced” fund through my 20s. Foolish. What a twit. Has already cost my retirement tens of thousands.

Gen Xers, if that’s also you, it’s not too late. And making a difference now doesn’t have to be hard.

Firstly, understand super is an ultra-long term investment – Xers can’t touch it until we’re at least 60.

Be as aggressively invested as you can stand – that means have more in the riskier assets of shares and property.

Do a risk profile. If you’re “balanced”, go for “growth”. If you’re “growth”, go a little harder than that. If you do nothing else to your super until you’re 55, this should make a huge difference.

Ongoing adjustments? How much time do you have for your investments, inside and outside super?

If watching investment markets is not your thing, hire a financial adviser to help you make adjustments. Or find a platform that meets your insurance requirements, and invest as aggressively as you can, via low-cost index funds.

Next, if you think you want to just make “the big decisions”, sit down and look at your super a few times a year. Keep an eye on markets. Get more into shares when they’re low. Take profits and go safer when they’ve run hard.

Those who actively manage their portfolios need to spend an hour or two at least once a month.

And understand the more you have in super, the more you should spend thinking about it! It’s your money. Take care of it.

Bruce Brammall is the principal adviser with Bruce Brammall Financial (www.brucebrammall.com.au) and author of Mortgages Made Easy.