As the retirement phase in our superannuation system becomes increasingly important, we are bringing you monthly pension fund returns in addition to our monthly super fund performance update.
Thanks to Chant West, we are providing returns for their five diversified pension fund categories – Conservative, Balanced, Growth, High Growth and All Growth. These are the same categories Chant West uses for accumulation funds and generally hold the same underlying investments. This means pension fund returns are driven by the same factors as accumulation fund returns.
See also: Monthly super returns and annual pension performance.
As hopes for a quick end to the US-Iran war in the Middle East faded, pension fund returns slumped in March, with the median Growth fund (61–80% in growth assets) down 3.5% over the month.
Even so, returns for the first nine months of the financial year were a positive 3.1% and markets have rebounded strongly in April so far on renewed hopes for an end to hostilities, falling oil prices and solid corporate earnings.
Chant West head of superannuation investment research Mano Mohankumar urges members to keep the current short-term market turbulence in perspective, as returns tend to be positive in the long run. While it can be particularly difficult for recently retired members to stand by as their balance falls, Mohankumar says most people can afford to be patient.
“Members who panicked after seeing their balances fall in March and switched to lower-risk options or cash not only crystallised paper losses, but also missed out on the subsequent V-shaped rebound.”
“We would encourage members who are thinking of switching options to see a financial adviser,” he says.
The table below shows median pension fund performance across various timeframes for five investment categories to the end of March 2026.
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