The heavier exposure of industry funds to unlisted assets has again seen them outperform their retail counterparts during the March quarter, according to the latest data from Chant West.
The data pointed to industry funds returning -0.6 per cent, compared to a -1.6 per cent result on the part of retail funds.
Chant West principal, Warren Chant attributed the outperformance to the industry funds' higher allocations to unlisted assets such as unlisted infrastructure, unlisted property, and private equity which had outperformed listed markets over the period.
"Australian and international share markets, which are down 9.3 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively, over the past year, are marked to market. However, unlisted assets are valued infrequently with their valuations typically lagging listed markets by six to nine months," the Chant West analysis said.
A major super fund has defended its use of private markets in a submission to ASIC, asserting that appropriate governance and information-sharing practices are present in both public and private markets.
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.