Data from Chant West reinforced on Friday that super funds finished April in positive territory despite ‘Liberation Day’-driven market turmoil.
The median super fund – those holding 61–80 per cent in growth assets – rose 0.6 per cent last month despite market volatility from President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.
The positive April result brought the return for the first 10 months of the 24–25 financial year to 5.8 per cent.
Commenting on the data, senior investment research manager, Mano Mohankumar, said while markets shook violently on the back of Trump’s initial reciprocal tariff announcements, over the full month of April, developed international shares were only down 1.8 per cent, while Australian shares gained 3.6 per cent.
“The higher-than and broader-than expected tariff announcements made by Trump early in the month sparked extreme market volatility, with Australian shares and hedged international shares down 6.5 per cent and 10.2 per cent respectively over the first week of April,” Mohankumar said.
“However, his subsequent pause on tariffs on most countries resulted in a strong market rally, which has continued into May so far.”
Chant West data put the all-growth super option up 0.4 per cent on the month in April, while the high growth added 0.5 per cent.
“If you panicked in early April and switched to a lower risk option or cash, not only would you have crystalised your losses, you would have also missed out on the market rebound,” the research manager said.
“That’s why we remind members that super is a long-term investment and encourage them to see a financial adviser if they’re thinking of switching options.”
Earlier this month, SuperRatings similarly said the median balanced super option returned 0.6 per cent for the month following a strong response from markets to Trump’s pause on tariffs.
The research house said that members are on track for a solid 6 per cent gain so far this financial year.
“Despite the pause on tariffs, we continue to believe there will be ups and downs over the coming months, however funds have consistently demonstrated their ability to navigate changing markets and provide strong long-term outcomes for members,” said Kirby Rappell, executive director of SuperRatings.
“Setting and sticking to a long-term strategy remains the best approach to achieving long-term success, and we encourage any member thinking of changing their strategy to seek advice from their fund or a trusted financial adviser.”
