The fund has achieved double-digit returns amid market volatility, reinforcing the value of long-term investment strategies for its members.
Cbus Super’s Growth (MySuper) option delivered a return of 10.29 per cent during the 2024–25 financial year, despite a year marked by significant turbulence.
The High Growth option, representing almost 10 per cent of the fund’s accumulation base, returned 11.80 per cent, while the Index Diversified option delivered a return of 11.68 per cent.
CIO Leigh Gavin said the returns, which coincided with Cbus Super reaching $100 billion in funds under management (FUM), highlighted the importance of maintaining a long-term perspective.
“Underneath the strong numbers is a white-knuckle story of periods of wild volatility,” Gavin said. “Following Liberation Day, we were looking at returns of 1.20 per cent for the financial year-to-date.”
“Our diversified portfolio and internal investment teams positioned us well to withstand the year’s volatility and achieved an incredible outcome for members.”
He added that it was a “very strong” financial year for both domestic and global equities, with infrastructure, private credit and a rebound in property all seeing strong returns.
Indeed, the fund’s property portfolio showed strong signs of recovery, buoyed by a focus on sustainability and quality.
Gavin highlighted key assets such as Pacific Fair and Macquarie Centre as strong performers as shopper traffic rebounds.
“Improvements were apparent in the overall conditions within the property market over the financial year,” Gavin said. “We are uniquely placed to benefit and take advantage of opportunities.”
Additionally, Cbus will be looking into easy to recycle capital across other private market asset classes.
“In particular, on the infrastructure side, we successfully exited our Bright Energy renewable platform, which produced great long-term returns for our members, and are redeploying that capital into new assets on behalf of our members.
“As the events of FY25 have demonstrated, in your accumulation phase it’s about ‘time in’ the market rather than ‘timing the market’. Even members nearing retirement in April, who stuck with their long-term goals, have ended the financial year with a solid result.”
More volatile times ahead
Looking ahead, Gavin warned that market volatility is expected to persist as US tariff policy and global instability continue to be major themes for investors.
“The range of possible returns in the US has never been wider,” he added. “That doesn’t necessarily mean lower returns, but it does likely mean a wider range of plausible outcomes.”
The fund marginally decreased its exposure to US equities last year – primarily on valuation grounds – entering 2025 underweight US and overweight Europe.
While there are short-term risks, Gavin stated the fund remains optimistic about the US as a “long-term investment destination”.
“Investing in the US is more challenging now, but it’s still the world’s most innovative economy, with some of the world’s best companies and an unmatched ability to turn GDP growth into earnings growth, which is ultimately what drives members’ returns.”
On his forward outlook, Gavin stated that AI could “reshape economics” despite geopolitical conflicts impacting markets over the short-term.
“AI is going to impact all of our portfolio and the companies within it.”
“In a decade’s time AI will have changed our economy. We are doing lots of deep thinking on how markets will change, who benefits, and how we can be in a position to capitalise on the change,” he said.
