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Investment performance: Latest super returns (to March 2019)

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Note: For investment returns over 1 month, 3 months, 1 year, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years to 31 March 2019 for 5 main investment options offered by super funds, see Table 1 later in the article. For month-by-month performance data, going back 5 years (63 months), for the 5 main investment options offered by super funds, see Tables 2 to 6 later in the article. If you’re looking for the latest financial year performance figures (and also figures for the 8 previous financial years), see SuperGuide article Super funds gain 9.4% for 2017/2018 financial year, or looking for the latest calendar year performance figures (and previous 8 calendar years), see SuperGuide article Super funds return 0.8% for 2018 calendar year.

The median superannuation growth fund gained 0.8% in value for the month of March 2019, and gained 6% for the 3 months to March 2019, but lost 3.3% in value for the first 9 months of the 2018/2019 financial year, according to superannuation ratings agency, Chant West.

The 0.8% gain in value for March 2019, followed a 2.7% gain in value in February 2019, which followed a 2.5% gain in January 2019, according to Chant West. The median growth fund however suffered a 1.1% loss in value in December 2018, and a 0.3% loss in November, and a 3% loss in October. The median growth fund had no gain (zero return) in value for the month of September 2018, after gaining 1.0% in August 2018, and after gaining 1.1% in value for July 2018.

Note: For the 2017/2018 financial year (1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018), the median superannuation growth fund gained 9.4% in value, and the 2018 calendar year (1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018), the median growth fund gained 0.4% in value.

A return for a median fund is simply choosing the return for the fund in the middle of the list of super funds. For an explanation of a growth investment option, a balanced investment option, and a default investment option, and the other main types of investment options see SuperGuide article Superannuation investment: What is the difference between a balanced and growth option?

For the 3 months to March 2019, Australian shares jumped 10.9% in value, while international shares gained a massive 12.7% in value on a hedged basis, and gained a hefty 11.5% in value in unhedged terms (the difference, due to the Australian dollar appreciating from US$0.70 to US$0.71 over that 3-month timeframe), according to Chant West. Listed property was the top performer for the 3 months to March 2019, with Australian Listed Property (A-REITs) gaining 14.4% in value for the quarter, and Global Listed Property (REITs) gaining 14.5% in value for the 3 months to March 2019.

Note: The majority of international share investments held in super funds are unhedged (70% of all international share investments in super funds, on average). Briefly, when a super fund fully hedges your international investments against movements in the Australian dollar or foreign currency, your investment return is solely based on the merits of the investment rather than the strength or otherwise of the Australian dollar. For more information about hedged and unhedged international shares, see SuperGuide article International shares: Super fund trustees take on too much risk.

See performance table (Table 1) later in the article, for investment returns over 1 month, 3 months, 1 year, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years to 31 March 2019 for 5 main investment options.

Note: Each month, we provide updated monthly investment performance of superannuation funds. For the latest monthly returns for the 5 main types of superannuation investment options (including month-by-month returns for each investment option going back from January 2014, and current to March 2019), see Tables 2 to 6 (All Growth, High Growth, Growth, Balanced and Conservative) later in the article.

Is your super invested in a lifecycle product?

According to Mano Mohankumar, senior investment research manager at Chant West, the Growth fund category Chant West rates encompasses the funds in which most Australians have their superannuation. Previously, he has stated that the Growth fund category includes the MySuper default options for those funds that have opted for a ‘traditional’ diversified growth portfolio as well as a number of non-default options that are available to members who make their own investment choice.

Mohankumar notes however that while the Growth investment option is still where most people have their super, a ‘meaningful number’ of super funds are placing fund members who don’t actively choose an investment option, into lifecycle products. He says: “… most retail products have adopted a lifecycle design for their [default MySuper option], where members are allocated to an age-based option that is progressively de-risked as that cohort gets older”.

He says that it is difficult to make direct comparisons of the performance of these age-based options with the traditional options that are based on a single risk category, and for that reason Chant West reports the lifecycle funds separately.

Mohankumar also notes that a few not-for-profits have also gone down the lifecycle path, so that overall about a third of MySuper default money is now in a lifecycle product.

Note: For more information about lifecycle products, in particular investment performance results for such products, and how they compare to the performance of traditional default growth investment options, see SuperGuide article What are lifecycle super funds, and how do they perform?.

Quick access to investment performance tables

If you are interested in checking out the tables immediately, rather than reading the rest of the article, for your convenience, click on the relevant link below to access the performance table that interests you.

Tip: Alternatively, compare monthly investment returns from month to month, or over specific timeframes. Using the monthly investment performance data for the 5 different investment options going back nearly 5 years, we have created the SuperGuide Monthly Superannuation Returns Performance Reckoner (for 5 investment options).

Monthly performance summary: March 2019

For the month of March 2019, of the 5 main investment options offered by Australian super funds, all gained in value for the month, with 4 investment options gaining 0.8% in value, and the Balanced option gaining 0.9% in value: All Growth (0.8%), High Growth (0.8%), Growth (0.8%), followed by Balanced (0.9%) and Conservative (0.8%). The gains for March 2019 were mainly attributable to listed sharemarkets, including listed property.

Based on previous comments made by Warren Chant of Chant West, and updating these comments with reported results since December 2011, growth funds have delivered 63 positive monthly returns out of 87 up to March 2019. The month of March 2019 resulted in a gain in value of 0.8% for the median growth fund.

Table 1 below lists the performance figures for the five main asset allocations for: 1 month, 3 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 7 years, 10 years, and 15 years to 31 March 2019. For an explanation of the different investment options see SuperGuide article Superannuation investment: What is the difference between a balanced and growth option?

Top performers to 31 March 2019: Comparing 5 main investment options

Assessing 1-month returns: Over the 1-month period to 31 March 2019, all main investment options gained value: All Growth (0.8%) and High Growth (0.8%), Growth (0.8%), Balanced (0.9%) and Conservative (0.8%).

Return for 12 months to 31 March 2019: For the 12 months to 31 March 2019, the top performer was All Growth option (8.3%), followed by High Growth (7.7%), and then Growth (7.0%). The Balanced option gained 5.7% in value over the 12 months to March 2019, while the Conservative option gained 4.7% in value. (For information on the latest financial year investment returns, see SuperGuide article Super funds gain 9.4% for 2017/2018 financial year, and for the latest calendar year investment returns, see SuperGuide article Super funds return 0.8% for 2018 calendar year).

Performance over 5 years: The median All Growth option outperformed other investment options over 5 years to 31 March 2019 (9.2%), followed by the High Growth option (8.6%), the Growth option (7.7%), and then the Balanced option (6.3%), and the Conservative option (5.0%).

Performance over 10 years: Over 10 years to 31 March 2019, the All Growth option gained 11.0% in value each year, on average, the High Growth option gained, on average, 10.1% in value each year, with the Growth option gaining 9.0% each year, followed by the Balanced option (7.6%) and the Conservative option (6.3%).

Performance over 15 years: Over the 15-year period to 31 March 2019, the All Growth option gained 7.8% in value each year, followed by the High Growth option (7.7% pa). Both of these riskier options outperformed the other 3 options —Growth option (7.3% pa), the Balanced option (6.3% pa), and the Conservative option (5.8% pa).

Table 1: Summary performance table for 5 main investment options (to 31 March 2019)

Fund Category Growth Assets (%) 1 mth (%) 3 months (%) FYTD (%) 1 Yr

(%)

 3 Yrs (% pa) 5 Yrs (% pa) 7 Yrs (% pa) 10 Yrs (% pa) 15 Yrs (% pa)
All Growth 100 0.8 9.0 3.1 8.3 11.3 9.2 10.9 11.0 7.8
High Growth 81 – 100 0.8 7.5 3.1 7.7 10.2 8.6 10.0 10.1 7.7
Growth 61 – 80 0.8 6.0 3.3 7.0 8.6 7.7 8.9 9.1 7.3
Balanced 41 – 60 0.9 4.6 3.3 5.7 6.8 6.3 7.2 7.7 6.3
Conservative 21 – 40 0.8 3.2 3.0 4.7 5.3 5.0 5.7 6.3 5.8

Note: Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax. It does not include administration fees or adviser commissions.

Source: Chant West 17 April 2019 media release (www.chantwest.com.au), and subsequent information provided by Chant West.

Tables 2 to 6: Investment performance month-by-month data for 5 main investment options

Set out below is month-by-month performance data for the 5 main investment options (All Growth, High Growth, Growth, Balanced, Conservative), from January 2014 through to 31 March 2019:

Table 2: All Growth (100%) month-by-month performance to 31 March 2019

  2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
January -1.9% 2.5% -4.0% -0.5% 1.0% 4.0%
February 3.0% 4.9% -1.2% 1.7% -0.4% 4.0%
March -0.8% 0.7% 2.3% 2.3% -1.6% 0.8%
April 0.9% -0.5% 2.0% 2.1% 2.7%
May 1.3% 1.4% 3.3% 0.5% 0.5%
June -0.1% -3.3% -2.2% -0.4% 1.6%
July 1.8% 3.7% 4.1% -0.1% 1.6%
August 1.1% -4.7% 0.3% 0.8% 1.6%
September -0.9% -2.2% -0.2% 1.4% -0.2%
October 1.5% 4.9% -1.3% 3.5% -5.3%
November 1.0% -0.5% 2.2% 1.8% -1.0%
December 1.6% 0.0% 3.2% 0.8% -2.2%

Note: Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax. It does not include administration fees or adviser commissions.

Source: Chant West media releases over at least the past 5 years (www.chantwest.com.au), and subsequent information provided by Chant West.

Table 3: High Growth (81-100%) month-by-month performance to 31 March 2019

  2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
January -1.3% 2.2% -2.9% -0.3% 1.0% 3.1%
February 2.6% 4.0% -0.7% 1.3% -0.2% 3.3%
March -0.5% 0.6% 2.1% 1.9%  -1.2%
April 0.9% -0.4% 1.7% 1.8% 2.2% 0.8%
May 1.2% 1.3% 2.8% 0.5% 0.5%
June 0.1% -2.4% -1.5% 0.0% 1.4%
July 1.5% 2.9% 3.3% 0.0% 1.3%
August 1.0% -3.7% 0.4% 0.7% 1.4%
September -0.7% -1.4% 0.1% 1.2% -0.1%
October 1.4% 4.0% -0.9% 2.8% -4.0%
November 0.9% -0.4% 1.6% 1.5% -0.8%
December 1.2% 0.2% 2.8% 0.7% -0.7%

Note: Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax. It does not include administration fees or adviser commissions.

Source: Chant West media releases over at least the past 5 years (www.chantwest.com.au), and subsequent information provided by Chant West.

Table 4: Growth (61-80%) month-by-month performance to 31 March 2019

  2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
January 0.9% 2.0% -2.3% -0.1% 0.8% 2.5%
February 2.1% 3.1% -0.4% 1.2% -0.2% 2.7%
March -0.3% 0.6% 1.8% 1.5%  -0.7% 0.8%
April 0.8% -0.4% 1.4% 1.5% 1.7%
May 1.1% 1.0% 2.3% 0.5% 0.4%
June 0.2% -2.0% 2.3% 0.5% 1.2%
July 1.2% 2.3% 2.7% 0.0% 1.1%
August 1.0% -2.9% 0.3% 0.6% 1.0%
September -0.6% -1.1% 0.1% 0.9% 0.0%
October 1.2% 3.2% -0.7% 2.3% -3.0%
November 0.8% -0.3% 1.1% 1.3% -0.6%
December 1.2% 0.1% 2.3% 0.7% -1.1%

Note: Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax. It does not include administration fees or adviser commissions.

Source: Chant West media releases over at least the past 5 years (www.chantwest.com.au), and subsequent information provided by Chant West.

Table 5: Balanced (41-60%) month-by-month performance to 31 March 2019

  2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
January -0.4% 1.6% -1.4% 0.0% 0.6% 1.8%
February 1.5% 2.1% -0.2% 0.9% -0.2% 1.9%
March -0.2% 0.5% 1.4% 1.2%  -0.5% 0.9%
April 0.7% -0.3% 1.0% 1.2% 1.2%
May 0.9% 0.7% 1.7% 0.5% 0.3%
June 0.3% -1.4% -0.4% -0.1% 1.0%
July 0.9% 1.8% 2.0% 0.0% 0.8%
August 0.8% -1.9% 0.3% 0.6% 0.8%
September -0.3% -0.8% 0.1% 0.6% 0.2%
October 1.1% 2.2% -0.6% 1.7% -2.0%
November 0.7% -0.2% 0.7% 1.0% -0.3%
December 0.9% 0.1% 1.7% 0.4% -0.7%

Note: Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax. It does not include administration fees or adviser commissions.

Source: Chant West media releases over at least the past 5 years (www.chantwest.com.au), and subsequent information provided by Chant West.

Table 6: Conservative (21-40%) month-by-month performance to 31 March 2019

  2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
January 0.0% 1.2% -0.6% 0.1% 0.4% 1.2%
February 1.0% 1.3% 0.0% 0.7% 0.0% 1.2%
March 0.0% 0.4% 0.9% 0.7% -0.1% 0.8%
April 0.6% 0.2% 0.7% 0.8% 0.7%
May 0.8% 0.4% 1.1% 0.5% 0.3%
June 0.4% -0.9% 0.2% 0.0% 0.7%
July 0.7% 1.2% 1.3% 0.1% 0.5%
August 0.6% -1.1% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5%
September -0.2% -0.4% 0.1% 0.4% 0.1%
October 0.8% 1.4% -0.4% 1.2% -1.0%
November 0.6% -0.1% 0.2% 0.7% -0.2%
December 0.7% 0.1% 1.1% 0.3% -0.2%

Note: Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax. It does not include administration fees or adviser commissions.

Source: Chant West media releases over at least the past 5 years (www.chantwest.com.au), and subsequent information provided by Chant West.

For more information…

For more information about investment performance for Australian super funds, see the following SuperGuide articles:

For more specific information about investment performance for Australian super funds for the latest financial year, see the following SuperGuide articles:

For more specific information about investment performance for Australian super funds for the latest calendar year, see the following SuperGuide articles:

For more information about comparing the investment performance of Australian super funds, see the following SuperGuide articles:

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