A SuperRatings report revealed Australian superannuation funds regained momentum after falling to 0.6per cent in September, with the median balanced option charting a 1.2 per cent rise for the month of October and making the median return for the financial year to date to 2.9 per cent.
This is up from 1.6 per cent at the end of September, with returns over the 12 months to 31 October 2014 now sitting at 8.5 per cent.
Despite returns for calendar year 2014 remaining positive, at over 5 per cent, SuperRatings projected a fall for November, with the S&P/ASX200 recording a 2.9 per cent loss for the month to date.
SuperRatings expects the median fund to have experienced a 0.4 per cent drop in November so far.
The major driver of returns in October was Australian superannuation fund's weighting to Australian shares, seeing the median Australian Shares option rising 3.5 per cent, compared to a 4.4 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index.
The top performing balanced option funds over the last 5 years to October 2014 were Kinetic Super with 9.5 per cent and AustralianSuper, REST and Telstra Super Corp Plus all with 9.2 per cent growth.
The two funds have announced the signing of a non-binding MOU to explore a potential merger.
The board must shift its focus from managing inflation to stimulating the economy with the trimmed mean inflation figure edging closer to the 2.5 per cent target, economists have said.
ASIC chair Joe Longo says superannuation trustees must do more to protect members from misconduct and high-risk schemes.
Super fund mergers are rising, but poor planning during successor fund transfers has left members and employers exposed to serious risks.