Superannuation returns are remaining firmly in positive territory this year, with the latest data released by Sydney-based consultancy SuperRatings suggesting double digit returns are not out of the question.
The SuperRatings balanced options index for the nine months to March 31 registered a positive 8.9 per cent which the company’s managing director, Jeff Bresnahan, claimed augured well for the months ahead.
“With more than four out of five Australians invested in their fund’s default balanced investment option, it looks like members may be enjoying double digit returns for the first time since the 1999-00 financial year,” he says.
Bresnahan acknowledges that much will depend on what happens through May and June, but argues that many funds are certainly on track.
The SuperRatings data places Queensland-based SunSuper at the head of the pack in the year-to-date returns, with an 11.2 per cent result net of investment fees and tax.
However, it says that for the 12 months to the end of March, HESTA’s core default option recorded an impressive 16.3 per cent against the SuperRatings balanced index of 13.9 per cent, while over five years, HostPlus’ balanced options continued to hold down top spot with an annualised return of 7.5 per cent against the SuperRatings balanced index of 4.8 per cent.
Bresnahan notes that only the top quartile funds appear to have met their stated investment objectives over the past three and five years.
He says this suggests that some superannuants should be asking questions of their funds performance over the period.
According to the SuperRatings data, the top five funds in year-to-date terms are SunSuper (11.2 per cent) followed by IOOF Balanced Growth (11.1 per cent), and then in rank order, HESTA Core Pool (10.9 per cent), Equip Super Growth (10.9 per cent) and Print Super Prime Choice (10.2 per cent).
