AustralianSuper and the Australian Retirement Trust’s (ART) balanced options have delivered end of financial year annual returns above SuperRatings’ estimated median.
Research by SuperRatings had found that the median balanced option recorded a -3.3% fall for the financial year ending 30 June, 2022 as a result of market volatility and ongoing supply chain challenges.
However, both funds managed to beat this performance for their balanced options.
AustralianSuper delivered an annual return of -2.73% for its balanced option for the 2022 financial year while ART recorded a return of -1.06% for its QSuper balanced option and -0.96% for its Super Savings (previously Sunsuper) balanced option.
ART chief investment officer, Ian Patrick, said: “It has been a challenging year with share market conditions remaining volatile, but our diversified portfolios have weathered the storm better than most, with the Super Savings and QSuper Balanced options among the best performing products this financial year.
“As a profit-for-members fund, our investment team has remained focused on delivering the best outcomes for our two million-plus members in this tough market environment.”
Putting context to the returns, AustralianSuper CIO, Mark Delaney, said the fund had delivered a record high return of 20.4% in the 2021 financial year and that the 2022 financial year was the first negative return since the Global Financial Crisis.
Delaney said: “The focus for super members must be on the long term. Staying focused on the long term ensures we actively invest in members’ interests and means members can have a more accurate perspective of investment returns.
“As a long-term investor, we know from experience that while periods of market volatility can be unsettling, they also create new investment opportunities. AustralianSuper is actively looking for investment opportunities that have been mispriced by the market in the short term, while also making new investments where we see long-term value.
“If a member had invested in AustralianSuper’s balanced option for the past 20 years, they would have more than quadrupled their retirement savings.”
Looking historically, ART’s Super Savings balanced option, a continuation of Sunsuper’s balanced option, returned 9% per year while the QSuper account Balanced option returned 7.8% per year over 10 years to 30 June, 2022.
Meanwhile, AustralianSuper’s balanced option returned 9.32% a year over 10 years.
