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| Warren Chant |
Superannuation fund members, particularly those in well-diversified growth funds, can still expect double-digit returns for the current finance year, despite disappointing investment performances through both April and May, according to the latest Chant West data.
Chant West principal Warren Chant said the median growth fund had been impacted by plunging share markets in May to record a 2.6 per cent loss, which might have been even worse if it had not been for the sharp decline in the value of the Australian dollar and the broad diversification of most funds’ portfolios.
However, Chant said super fund members had no need to feel despondent in circumstances where despite the negativity in May, super fund returns were still up a healthy 11.7 per cent for the financial year to date.
What is more, he said Chant West estimated the return to the end of June would be about 12.5 per cent after investment fees and tax.
Chant said that while this represented generally good news for super fund members, it would depend on which fund they were invested in because the spread of returns would be quite wide.
“In our growth category, the returns for the financial year to date rate from a low of 7.4 per cent to a high of 16.1 per cent,” he said. “Several of the poorer performers from 2008/09 are among the top performers for 2009/10, which shows the perils of chopping and changing funds based on recent performance alone.”
The Chant West data indicated that on both a financial year to date basis and over one year, master trusts had outperformed industry funds by an average of nearly 3 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
