Investment markets shrugged off their worries in the closing weeks of 2025, capping off another strongly positive year for super funds. The median Growth fund (61% to 80% growth assets) was up 0.4% in December, taking the annual return to a remarkable 9.3%. This followed gains of 9.9% in 2023 and 11.4% in 2024, or nearly 35% over three years.
Chant West head of superannuation investment research, Mano Mohankumar says the good 2025 result has been driven primarily by international share markets which delivered 18.6% on a currency-hedged basis, despite uncertainty around tariffs and geopolitical tensions.
International shares in unhedged terms were lower, at 12.5%, due to the strengthening Aussie dollar (up from US62c to US67c). Australian shares returned a respectable 10.7%. Mohankumar says Growth funds have 31% of their total investments in international shares on average, and a further 25% in Australian shares.
Remarkably, given the difficult investment environment, all major asset classes produced positive returns in 2025. Traditional defensive assets such as cash, Australian bonds and international bonds returned 4%, 3.2% and 4.4% respectively. Australian and international listed property were up 9.7% and 7.5% respectively while international listed infrastructure returned 11.6%.
Unlisted assets also performed well. While final returns are still being calculated, Chant West estimates that unlisted infrastructure gained 7-10% over the year and private equity finished with a low double-digit return. Even unlisted property was back in positive territory with an estimated return of 3-6%, after two years in the red,
Free eBook
Retirement planning for beginners
Our easy-to-follow guide walks you through the fundamentals, giving you the confidence to start your own retirement plans.
"*" indicates required fields
Given the stellar performance of international shares, funds with a higher allocation to shares were the strongest performers. That said, positive returns from all major asset classes lifted all boats.
The table below shows the median performance to the end of December 2025 for the five traditional diversified risk categories.
Super fund performance (results to 31 December 2025)
| 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%) | 0.4 | 1.3 | 6.7 | 11.6 | 13.4 | 9.9 | 10.3 | 9.0 | 9.2 |
| High Growth (81–95%) | 0.4 | 1.2 | 5.6 | 10.4 | 12.1 | 9.1 | 9.9 | 9.1 | 9.2 |
| Growth (61–80%) | 0.4 | 1.1 | 4.8 | 9.3 | 10.3 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 7.8 |
| Balanced (41–60%) | 0.3 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 6.6 |
| Conservative (21–40%) | 0.1 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 5.3 |
Source: Chant West. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, before administration fees and adviser commissions.
As you can see in the table above, returns for all periods from one to 15 years remain positive. And all risk categories have 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.
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. So, while the median Growth fund has delivered returns of 9.3% or more per year over the past three years, Mohankumar stresses that that level of return should not be thought of as normal and urges super fund members to think long term.
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 6.9% per year, comfortably ahead of the typical objective.
2026 SMSF calendar
Our free calendar includes due dates for important documents plus suggested dates for trustee meetings and other strategic issues for your SMSF.
"*" indicates required fields
Growth funds have produced positive returns in 28 of the past 33 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
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.