Retirement
Which super fund outperformed during the COVID-19 market crash?
Despite a volatile market, Australia’s strongest performing financial funds were still able to return a profit to members, figures have revealed.
Which super fund outperformed during the COVID-19 market crash?
Despite a volatile market, Australia’s strongest performing financial funds were still able to return a profit to members, figures have revealed.

According to data from leading research house SuperRatings, Suncorp was the top returning fund over the 12 months to the end of June, with the Suncorp Multi-Manager Growth Fund returning 3.8 per cent.
This was followed by BUSSQ and Australian Ethical Super, whose balanced options returned 2.5 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.
While highlighting the strong returns for the financial year, SuperRatings told members the importance of looking long term when making financial decisions.
Over 10 years, the top performers are AustralianSuper, whose balanced option has returned 8.8 per cent per annum, followed closely by UniSuper and Hostplus. Performance for the median balanced option continues to hold strong, returning an estimated 7.6 per cent over the decade to 30 June 2020.

“Importantly, over the long term, returns remain very healthy,” said SuperRatings executive director Kirby Rappell.
“Super is a long-term game, so members should avoid chasing short-term results and ensure they are invested in a quality fund with the right investment strategy that is well positioned to deliver for their needs over the course of their working life.”
Only half of the top-performing funds over 12 months were among the top-performing funds over 10 years, which Mr Rapell believes shows the difficulty for investment strategies to outperform over the long term.
“It was pleasing to see 15 out of the 50 options in the SR50 Balanced Index generate a positive return in the 2019-20 financial year, which speaks to the quality of funds available to members,” said Mr Rappell.
“Managing risks while delivering a positive return in this environment has been a real challenge, and this is likely to continue through the rest of 2020.”
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