Socially-responsible super funds are paying off for members with funds taking this approach offering the best rewards in the balanced sector.
The best-performing balanced super fund over one year to 30 September, 2021, was ANZ Smart Choice Super Legg Mason Diversified which returned 18.9%.
Australian Ethical Balanced Accumulation and Australian Catholic Super Socially Responsible Option were also in the top five and both focused on investing responsibly. They had returns of 18.8% and 18.6% respectively.
The Mixed Asset Balanced sector had returned 12.8% over the same period within the Australian superannuation universe.
Performance of balanced super funds versus sector over one year to 30 September 2021
Looking over three years, the best-performing balanced super fund on a total return basis was Australian Catholic Super Socially Responsible Option which returned 33.7% followed by Australian Ethical Balanced Accumulation which returned 33.4% and Australian Catholic Super MySuper Balanced Option which had returns of 31.6%.
This compared to returns of 18.3% by the Mixed Asset Balanced sector of 18.3%.
Performance of balanced super funds versus sector over three years to 30 September 2021
A member body representing some prominent wealth managers is concerned super funds’ dominance is sidelining small companies in capital markets.
Earlier this month, several Australian superannuation funds fell victim to credential stuffing attacks, which saw a small number of members lose more than $500,000.
Small- to medium-sized funds have become collateral damage in an "imperfect" model for super industry levies, a financial institution has said.
Big business has joined the chorus of opposition against the proposed Division 296 tax.