Superannuation is a long-term investment. Those starting in the workforce today at 18 will have 47 years of superannuation contributions and investment returns ahead of them if they retire at 65.
We often hear about the super returns for the latest month, or the top performing funds for the last year, but when looking at choosing a super fund it makes a lot more sense to look at the long-term returns.
Super funds all have slightly different investment strategies and each year one may outperform the others because of a short-term investment tactic, or due to external events such as global politics or the domestic economy. Over time though those funds may not be able to hold that performance consistently and the same investment strategy may mean they lag behind other funds. In the long run, the funds with the most consistently strong performance will rise to the top and their members will have a significantly wealthier retirement because of it.
We’re grateful to Chant West for providing the following list of top 10 performing growth funds over the last 15 calendar years up to December 2018. Chant West’s growth category includes super fund investment options with 61% to 80% of their assets invested in growth assets.
See also the best performing super funds over 10 financial years.
Top 10 performing growth funds (15 years to December 2018)
Three gold medals go to Hostplus, AustralianSuper and Cbus who all achieved an average of 7.9% per year for the last 15 years. The top 10 consists entirely of Industry funds, beating all Retail and Corporate funds.
| Fund and Option | Return per year over 15 years |
|---|---|
| Hostplus Balanced | 7.9% |
| AustralianSuper Balanced | 7.9% |
| Cbus Growth (Cbus MySuper) | 7.9% |
| Catholic Super Balanced (MySuper) | 7.8% |
| CareSuper Balanced | 7.8% |
| Qsuper Balanced | 7.8% |
| UniSuper Balanced | 7.7% |
| BUSSQ Balanced Growth | 7.7% |
| Rest Core | 7.7% |
| Equip Balanced Growth | 7.6% |
Source: Chant West
Note: The top 10 is limited to growth options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
The median performance for all Growth funds was 7.0% per year. Although the difference between the top performers and the average doesn’t seem much (0.9% per year), the difference builds up significantly over time due to compounding.
SuperGuide’s Super fees and returns calculator helps illustrate the difference that fees and returns can make over time. For example, a 45-year-old with $250,000 in super and earning $140,000 per year, paying 0.8% in fees and achieving 7.9% per year, could retire at 67 with a super balance of approximately $1,065,956. All other things being equal, achieving 7.0% instead would mean a super balance of approximately $915,390 – a difference of $150,566, or 16% less.
Top 10 performing growth funds over 10 years for previous calendar years
We are also grateful to Chant West for providing the following information on the top 10 performing growth funds over 10 years for the 2017, 2016 and 2015 calendar years.
The gold medal goes to REST which has been top of the list for the previous three calendar years. The lists are again dominated by Industry funds, plus the Telstra and Commonwealth Bank Corporate funds.
Top 10 performing growth funds (10 years to December 2017)
| Fund and Option | Return per year over 10 years |
|---|---|
| REST Core | 6.6% |
| QSuper Balanced | 6.3% |
| UniSuper Balanced | 6.3% |
| CareSuper Balanced | 6.2% |
| Catholic Super Balanced (MySuper) | 6.1% |
| Hostplus Balanced | 6.1% |
| Cbus Growth (Cbus MySuper) | 6.1% |
| AustralianSuper Balanced | 6.0% |
| Sunsuper Balanced | 5.8% |
| Telstra Super Balanced | 5.8% |
Source: Chant West
Note: The top 10 is limited to growth options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 performing growth funds (10 years to December 2016)
| Fund and Option | Return per year over 10 years |
|---|---|
| REST Core | 6.4 |
| CareSuper Balanced | 6.3 |
| Cbus Growth (Cbus MySuper) | 6.1 |
| BUSS (Q) Balanced Growth | 6.0 |
| Catholic Super Balanced (MySuper) | 6.0 |
| QSuper Balanced | 6.0 |
| Hostplus Balanced | 6.0 |
| UniSuper Balanced | 5.9 |
| Commonwealth Bank Group Super Balanced | 5.9 |
| AustralianSuper Balanced | 5.8 |
Source: Chant West
Note: The top 10 is limited to growth options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
Top 10 performing growth funds (10 years to December 2015)
| Fund and Option | Return per year over 10 years |
|---|---|
| REST Core | 6.9 |
| BUSS (Q) Balanced Growth | 6.7 |
| Telstra Super Balanced | 6.7 |
| UniSuper Balanced | 6.6 |
| CareSuper Balanced | 6.6 |
| Catholic Super Balanced (MySuper) | 6.6 |
| Commonwealth Bank Group Super Balanced | 6.6 |
| AustralianSuper Balanced | 6.5 |
| Cbus Growth (Cbus MySuper) | 6.4 |
| QSuper Balanced | 6.4 |
Source: Chant West
Note: The top 10 is limited to growth options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.
To learn more about investment performance across calendar years, see the following SuperGuide articles:
- Best performing pension funds over 5 years (to September 2019)
- Best performing super funds over 5 years (to September 2019)
- Asset sector performance: Returns over 1 to 15 calendar years (to December 2018)
- Super fund performance over 26 calendar years (to December 2018)
- Best performing super funds over 1 calendar year (to December 2018)
To learn more about investment performance across financial years, see the following SuperGuide articles:
To learn about super investing strategies, see the following SuperGuide articles:
- Risk profiling and your investment choice
- Understanding the dynamics on which your super fund invests
- SMSF investment rules: What every trustee should know
- How to create an SMSF investment strategy (including examples)
- Super investing: How to choose a responsible investment option
- Super investing: Should you change your investment option?
- Super investing: How to change your investment option
- Super investing: Are you investing in infrastructure?
- Super investing: What are listed and unlisted investments?
- Super investing: What is your risk profile?
- How to choose an investment option for your pension
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