Top 10 best super funds in 2019 revealed
The best-performing growth super fund returned an impressive 18.4% in 2019.
The best-performing growth super fund returned an impressive 18.4% in 2019.Australian super funds had a great year in 2019, thanks to the strong performance of local and global stock markets. In fact, super funds just had their best year since 2013 and it was one of the best years ever since superannuation was first introduced in the early 1990s.
The best-performing growth fund, UniSuper Balanced, returned a huge 18.4% in the 2019 calendar year, according to Chant West. Its data reveals that even the worst-performing growth fund achieved a 10.5% return.
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Along with UniSuper Balanced, other top performing growth funds were Tasplan Balanced, Australian Ethical Super Balanced and AustralianSuper Balanced. According to Chant West, a growth super fund is one with a 61-80% asset allocation to growth assets like shares and property.
10 best performing growth super funds in 2019
| Fund name | Annual performance 2019 |
|---|---|
| UniSuper Balanced | 18.4% |
| Tasplan Balanced | 17.6% |
| CFS FirstChoice Growth | 17.4% |
| Australian Ethical Super Balanced | 17.2% |
| AustralianSuper Balanced | 17.0% |
| BT Multi-Manager Balanced | 16.9% |
| Aon smartMonday Balanced Growth | 16.4% |
| IOOF MultiMix Balanced Growth | 16.2% |
| LGIAsuper Diversified Growth | 16.1% |
| Legalsuper MySuper Balanced | 16.0% |
Chant West's senior investment manager Mano Mohankumar said the positive result for super funds was mainly driven by local and global stock markets. Just last week the ASX200 index (comprised of the ASX's top 200 companies) hit an all-time high of 7,000 points.
"Shares remain the main contributors to growth fund performance with about a 53% allocation on average. But today's funds are well-diversified across a range of other assets as well, and in 2019 all asset sectors delivered positive returns. The better performing funds were generally those that maintained higher allocations to listed shares, which had a terrific year," he said.
However, Mohankumar stressed that 2019 was an out-of-the-ordinary year and, we shouldn't expect these exceptional returns every year.
"The 2019 result brings the average return over the past 10 years to 7.9% per annum. That's a tremendous run, but we should remember that it partly represents the recovery from the GFC when the median growth fund fell about 26%. So it would be a mistake to assume that the level of returns over the past decade will continue. At some stage they're going to revert to more 'normal' levels, and there will be more challenging times ahead," he said.
If you're not happy with how your super fund is performing, compare your options and consider making the switch in 2020.
