UniSuper Balanced took out the top spot for 2019, delivering members 18.4 per cent on its growth fund.
Tasplan Balanced, CFS FirstChoice Growth, Australian Ethical Super Balance and AustralianSuper rounded out the remaining top five spots with growth 17.0 per cent or higher.
Even the worst performer in Chant West’s growth category achieved returns of 10.5 per cent, which was nearly 9 per cent above the rate of inflation.
Commenting on the outcome, Chant West senior investment manager Mano Mohankumar said, “Very few would have predicted such a strong result 12 months ago when growth funds had just lost 4.6 per cent over the December 2018 quarter and investor sentiment was decidedly negative.”
While 2019 was a strong year for superannuation funds, Mr Mohankumar reminded investors the importance of thinking long term.
“Certainly, look at what your fund delivered over the year, but it’s even more important to know what its long-term objectives are and whether it’s achieving them,” Mr Mohankumar stated.
Hostplus Balanced was named the top-performing growth fund of the decade, growing members funds by an average of 9.2 per cent a year.
AustralianSuper Balanced, UniSuper Balanced, Cbus Growth and CareSuper Balanced rounded out the remaining top five spots with results exceeding 8.7 per cent per annum.
“Returns are important but so is risk, and most funds also set themselves a risk objective. Risk is normally expressed as the likelihood of a negative annual return, and typically a growth fund would aim to post no more than one negative return in five years on average,” Mr Mohankumar concluded.
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