Super returns closing on record



Jeff Bresnahan
Australian superannuation funds are now well on their way to generating a further round of double digit returns for members, according to the latest data released by Sydney-based ratings firm SuperRatings.
SuperRatings managing director Jeff Bresnahan has even suggested that it is possible that returns for the current financial year may emerge as the best in a decade.
The SuperRatings analysis said booming markets across virtually all main asset classes in April had helped take the median balanced super return to 13.53 per cent for the 10 months to the end of April — just 1 per cent below last year’s final industry median, which was the highest since the late 1990s.
SuperRatings said the month’s “stellar” 1.7 per cent gain after fees and taxes had been driven by strong gains in domestic equities (up 2.7 per cent), property (up 2.11 per cent) and international shares, which had gained 1.61 per cent during the month.
According to SuperRatings, Catholic Super emerged as the leading balanced investment option fund, with a return of 17.2 per cent for the 10 months to April 30, followed by Telstra Super Corp Plus with 15.8 per cent, Legg Mason with 15.6 per cent, Navigator SuperSolutions with 15.5 per cent and NGS Super Diversified with 14.8 per cent.
Recommended for you
Shaw and Partners has merged with Sydney wealth manager Kennedy Partners Wealth, while Ord Minnett has hired a private wealth adviser from Morgan Stanley.
Australian investors are more confident than their APAC peers in reaching their financial goals and are targeting annual gains of more than 10 per cent, according to Fidelity.
Digital advice tools are on the rise, but licensees will need to ensure they still meet adviser obligations or potentially risk a class action if clients lose money from a rogue algorithm.
Zenith Investment Partners has lost its head of portfolio solutions Steven Tang after 17 years with the firm, the latest in a series of senior exits from the research house.