Super funds defy market turmoil to deliver strong returns

Super funds post strong gains

Australian superannuation funds have delivered strong returns for members despite a volatile year for markets.

Final performance data for 2025-26 is still a few weeks away, but preliminary figures from research provider Chant West show the median growth fund delivered a 9.5% return.

Senior investment manager Mano Mohankumar said the result was strong given the market backdrop. 

“We describe it as a tremendous result, particularly given the circumstances,” he said.

“If you think back to late May, getting in the vicinity of nine, 10 per cent, would have been very unlikely, given the significant bear market pullback sparked by the US-Iran conflict.”

Global exposure drives returns

The financial year began with lingering worries about US tariffs, while the US-Israeli war with Iran sent equities sharply lower in the final months. 

Mohankumar said the biggest factor in fund performance was likely to be how much exposure funds had to overseas markets.

Growth funds have about 31% of their portfolios allocated to international shares on average.

Those international shares delivered a return of about 25% after accounting for currency hedging.

Australian equities lag 

The strong superannuation result came despite a lacklustre year for Australian equities.

The ASX 200 rose just 6.1% over the financial year, compared with a benchmark for 23 developed markets that gained more than 21% over the same period.

The 2025-26 result follows several strong years for growth funds.

After a 3.3% loss in 2021-22, the average superannuation growth fund rose 9.2% in 2022-23, 9.1% in 2023-24 and 10.4% in 2024-25, according to Chant West data.