New data reveals top 10 super funds this decade
The top-performing super funds over the past decade had an average annual return of 10.2% for members. If your fund hasn't achieved this, it could be time to switch.
Do you know how your super fund has performed over the past decade? If you don't, it's a good time to find out. While past performance never guarantees future returns, looking at the average returns over the past 10 years is a fairly good indication of which funds are likely to continue to perform well (and which ones aren't).
New data from industry research group Chant West has revealed the best super funds over the last decade as well as which came out on top for 2021.
Over the past 10 years, the best-performing growth super funds were AustralianSuper Balanced and Hostplus Balanced. These funds both achieved an annual average return of 10.7% for members over the last 10 years. Following closely in third place was UniSuper Balanced, which has achieved 10.6% p.a. for members over the past decade. The top 10 growth funds had an average return of 10.2% p.a. over the past 10 years.
Top-performing super funds over the past decade
| Super fund | Average 10-year return |
|---|---|
| AustralianSuper Balanced | 10.7% p.a. |
| Hostplus Balanced | 10.7% p.a. |
| UniSuper Balanced | 10.6% p.a. |
| Cbus Growth (MySuper) | 10.3% p.a. |
| VicSuper Growth (MySuper) | 10.2% p.a. |
| Sunsuper Balanced | 10.2% p.a. |
| Aware Super Growth | 9.9% p.a. |
| CareSuper Balanced | 9.8% p.a. |
| Australian Ethical Super Balanced | 9.8% p.a. |
| CFS FirstChoice Growth | 9.8% p.a. |
Growth funds are those with 60-80% allocation towards growth assets like shares, and it's where the majority of Australians have their super invested. Growth funds are, more often than not, the default MySuper options that members are invested in when joining a fund.
This list of top-performing funds doesn't include high growth super fund options. Some high growth options are likely to deliver even higher returns, but with increased volatility and increased risk of a negative return in any given year if the share market takes a fall.
Looking at just the past year alone, the top-performing growth super fund was Hostplus Balanced, which returned a huge 19.4% for members in 2021. The median return for growth funds last year was 13.4%, which is a great result considering that global share markets have been particularly volatile. The second-best performer in 2021 was Sunsuper Balanced with a return of 16.5% for the year.
If you haven't looked at your super in a while, it could be time to switch. Compare super funds to see how your current fund stacks up and, if you decide it's time to switch, you can easily change super funds with our 4-step guide. Need help deciding on a fund? Finder's best super fund picks might be a good place to start.
