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Super funds slipped in September, with the median Growth fund (61% to 80% growth assets) down 0.4% for the month. That brings the median return for the first three months of the 2026–27 financial year back to 0.8%.
All five risk categories finished the month lower, with All Growth funds down 0.6% and the other four categories each down 0.4%.
Chant West head of superannuation investment research, Mano Mohankumar says September was a challenging month for investment markets, with both shares and bonds retreating amid rising bond yields, higher oil prices and sticky inflation. “Australian shares slipped 2.4% while developed market international shares fell 0.7% in hedged terms,” he says.
With yields rising, bonds offered little protection. Australian bonds fell 0.9% and international bonds were down 1.7%.
Mohankumar says the loss for the median Growth fund was limited to 0.4% thanks largely to the Australian dollar, which fell from US$0.72 to US$0.69 over the month. That turned the 0.7% hedged loss on developed market international shares into a solid gain of 1.9% in unhedged terms. On average, super funds leave about 70% of their international shares unhedged. Emerging markets shares rose 2.4%, and funds’ unlisted assets also helped cushion the impact.
The table below shows the median performance to the end of September 2026 for the five traditional diversified risk categories.
Super fund performance (results to 30 September 2026)
| Fund category (% growth assets) | 1 mth (%) | 3 mths (%) | FYTD (%) | 1 yr (% per yr) | 3 yrs (% per yr) | 5 yrs (% per yr) | 7 yrs (% per yr) | 10 yrs (% per yr) | 15 yrs (% per yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Growth (96–100%) | -0.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 7.7 | 13.6 | 8.9 | 10.0 | 10.3 | 11.0 |
| High Growth (81–95%) | -0.4 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 7.2 | 11.7 | 7.7 | 8.6 | 9.3 | 9.9 |
| Growth (61–80%) | -0.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 6.3 | 10.0 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 7.6 | 8.4 |
| Balanced (41–60%) | -0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 5.2 | 8.4 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.9 |
| Conservative (21–40%) | -0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 3.8 | 6.3 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 5.3 |
Source: Chant West. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, before administration fees.
Every risk category delivered a positive return over all periods from one year to 15 years. All risk categories have also generally met their typical long-term return objectives, which range from CPI (a measure of inflation) + 1.5% for Conservative funds to CPI + 4.25% for All Growth.
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Long-term performance remains above target
MySuper products have now been running for more than 12½ years, and Mohankumar says it is worth remembering that super is a far longer-term proposition than a single month or year.
The chart below shows performance of the median Growth fund since the introduction of compulsory super in July 1992. Over that period, the median Growth fund has returned 8% per year. The average annual CPI increase over the same period is 2.7%, giving a real return of 5.3% per year – well above the typical 3.5% long-term target.
Even looking at the past 20 years, which includes three major market downturns – the GFC in 2007–09, COVID in 2020, and the 2022 calendar year marked by high inflation and rising interest rates to combat it – the median Growth fund has returned 6.7% per year, still ahead of the typical objective.
Growth funds have produced positive returns in 29 of the past 34 financial years. The typical risk objective for Growth funds would be no more than six negative returns during that period (there have been just five), so the risk objective has been met as well as the performance objective.
Source: Chant West
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