SuperGuard 360’s self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) performance indices for the year to 30 September 2017 shows that the default index consistently outperforms the reference index.
SG360 default index, which described the post-fee post-tax investment return an SMSF investor would have achieved if they invested in the same way the typical MySuper product invested, achieved performance indices of 8.6 per cent for the year.
The SG360 reference index, which looks at the post-fee investment return an SMSF trustee would receive if they had invested passively using the asset allocation represented by SMSF asset distribution published by the Australian Tax Office (ATO), lagged in contrast, returning 7.3 per cent.
SuperGuard said that difference in asset allocation, particularly in equities, drove the lower returns for the reference index. SMSFs give a higher weighting to Australian equities, which returned 9.2 per cent over the 12-month period, than it does to international equities, which returned 16 per cent.
The default index also outperformed the reference index across longer periods. It returned 0.1 per cent per annum more that the reference index over 10 years, and 1.8 per cent per annum over the last five years to 30 September 2017.
In monetary terms, this means that over the last decade, both SMSF members and a member of the average workplace superannuation default option would have seen a $100,000 investment grow to $143,000.
SuperGuard also looked at a range of general market trends across the month to 30 September 2017. It founds that the Australian stock market was largely unchanged over the month, according to the S&P/ASX200 index. This hid changes within sectors though, as resources lost 1.3 per cent. Australian equities continue to fall behind their international counterparts. The MSCI All Countries Index returned 3.5 per cent, taking its annual return to 16 per cent.
The impact of identity theft and its threat to superannuation savings were highlighted in a case that went before the Federal Court at the end of 2023.
A recent NSW Supreme Court decision is an important reminder that while super funds may be subject to restrictive superannuation and tax laws, in essence they are still a trust and subject to equitable and common law claims, says a legal expert.
New research from the University of Adelaide has found SMSFs outperformed APRA funds by more than 4 per cent in 2021–22.
The SMSF Association has made a number of policy recommendations for the superannuation sector in its pre-budget submission to the government.