It was a bumpy ride, but super funds finished the 2018/19 financial year with the median growth fund up 7%, marking a decade of positive returns.
The result is even more remarkable given that growth funds typically suggest members could expect a negative return every five years on average.
Chant West senior investment manager, Mano Mohankumar says: “Fund members should be very pleased… It’s better than what most experts predicted a year ago and it’s about 5.5% above the current rate of inflation – well above the typical long-term objective which is to beat inflation by 3.5%.
“It was an interesting year in that all asset sectors produced positive returns and the dispersion of returns across most major sectors wasn’t as wide as it normally is.”
The best performing assets over the year were Australian listed property (+19.4%), global listed infrastructure (hedged, +14.9%), private equity (+12.7%), international shares (unhedged, +11.9%) and Australian shares (+11.4%).
“Highlighting this is the fact that QSuper and UniSuper, who were equal top performers in our growth category, achieved that performance with vastly different investment portfolios,” he says.
QSuper has a large allocation to unlisted assets such as property, infrastructure and private equity, like most not-for-profit funds, counter-balanced by a significant allocation to long duration bonds. By contrast, UniSuper has a stronger focus on listed assets, preferring to gain exposure to property and infrastructure by investing in quality listed companies.
“This supports our assertion that there is no single best approach to investing,” says Mohankumar.
“While this year’s result hasn’t reached the heights of some recent years, the average return over the past 10 financial years (including this one) has been 8% per annum. That’s a tremendous run…but it would be a mistake to assume that the level of returns we’ve seen recently is sustainable. With many asset sectors looking to be fully valued or close to it, we’re expecting some challenging times ahead.”
We’re grateful to Chant West for providing the following list of top 10 performing growth funds over the last financial year up to June 2019. Chant West’s growth category includes super fund investment options with 61% to 80% of their assets invested in growth assets, the options most Australians are invested in.
Top 10 performing growth funds (1 year to June 2019)
QSuper and UniSuper share the top spot for 2018/19, returning 9.9%, well ahead of the third placed MediaSuper with 8.8%. Unlike the previous year when industry funds took out all top 10 positions, retail fund IOOF (+8.2%) entered the list at number 7.
| Fund and option | Return |
|---|---|
| QSuper Balanced | 9.9% |
| UniSuper Balanced | 9.9% |
| MediaSuper Balanced (MySuper) | 8.8% |
| AustralianSuper Balanced | 8.7% |
| Tasplan Balanced | 8.6% |
| Sunsuper Balanced | 8.6% |
| IOOF Balanced Investor Trust | 8.2% |
| VicSuper Growth (MySuper) | 8.2% |
| FirstState Super Growth | 7.7% |
| PSSap MySuper Balanced | 7.7% |
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.
Important: Superannuation is a long-term investment. The top performers one year may not be the same the next. While it’s useful to know the top performers over one year, it will make much more difference to your final retirement balance if your super fund is a consistently strong performer over the long term.
See the following SuperGuide articles to discover which super funds perform over the long-term:
- Best performing super funds over 10 financial years (to June 2019)
- Best performing super funds over 10 calendar years (to December 2019)
Top 10 performing growth funds over 1 year for previous financial years
We are also grateful to Chant West for providing the following information on the top 10 performing growth funds for the 2017/18, 2016/17 and 2015/16 financial years.
Top 10 performing growth funds (1 year to June 2018)
| Fund and Option | Return |
|---|---|
| Hostplus Balanced | 12.5% |
| AustSafe MySuper (Balanced) | 11.4% |
| Statewide Super MySuper | 11.3% |
| AustralianSuper Balanced | 11.1% |
| Cbus Growth (Cbus MySuper) | 11.0% |
| Club Plus MySuper/Balanced | 10.8% |
| Equip Balancced Growth | 10.7% |
| Sunsuper Balanced | 10.7% |
| HESTA Core Pool | 10.6% |
| NGS Super Diversified (MySuper) | 10.5% |
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 (1 year to June 2017)
| Fund and Option | Return |
|---|---|
| Hostplus Balanced | 13.2% |
| AustralianSuper Balanced | 12.4% |
| Sunsuper Balanced | 12.3% |
| First State Super Growth | 12.3% |
| Intrust Balanced | 12.1% |
| Cbus Growth (Cbus MySuper) | 11.9% |
| Kinetic Super Growth | 11.9% |
| Catholic Super Balanced (MySuper) | 11.8% |
| Vision Super Balanced Growth | 11.7% |
| Energy Super Balanced | 11.7% |
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 (1 year to June 2016)
| Fund and Option | Return |
|---|---|
| QSuper Balanced | 7.6% |
| BUSSQ Balanced Growth | 7.0% |
| UniSuper Balanced | 5.9% |
| Catholic Super Balanced (MySuper) | 5.7% |
| MTAA My AutoSuper (Balanced) | 5.5% |
| Cbus Growth (Cbus MySuper) | 5.5% |
| REI Super Trustee Super Balanced | 5.4% |
| Statewide Super MySuper | 5.1% |
| HOSTPLUS Balanced | 5.0% |
| Australian Super Balanced | 4.5% |
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 financial years, see the following SuperGuide articles:
To learn more about investment performance across calendar years, see the following SuperGuide articles:
To learn about super investing strategies, see the following SuperGuide articles:
- How investing in infrastructure boosts your super account
- What are listed and unlisted investments and why does it matter?
- How to choose an investment option for your super pension
- 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)
Note: Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. This information about returns can change and readers should continue to monitor their super’s performance.
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not provide any recommendation for any specific super fund. It is important to get independent financial advice when considering what financial products may be suitable for you.



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