Socially-responsible super funds are paying off for members with funds taking this approach offering the best rewards in the balanced sector.
The best-performing balanced super fund over one year to 30 September, 2021, was ANZ Smart Choice Super Legg Mason Diversified which returned 18.9%.
Australian Ethical Balanced Accumulation and Australian Catholic Super Socially Responsible Option were also in the top five and both focused on investing responsibly. They had returns of 18.8% and 18.6% respectively.
The Mixed Asset Balanced sector had returned 12.8% over the same period within the Australian superannuation universe.
Performance of balanced super funds versus sector over one year to 30 September 2021
Looking over three years, the best-performing balanced super fund on a total return basis was Australian Catholic Super Socially Responsible Option which returned 33.7% followed by Australian Ethical Balanced Accumulation which returned 33.4% and Australian Catholic Super MySuper Balanced Option which had returns of 31.6%.
This compared to returns of 18.3% by the Mixed Asset Balanced sector of 18.3%.
Performance of balanced super funds versus sector over three years to 30 September 2021
Super funds had a “tremendous month” in November, according to new data.
Australia faces a decade of deficits, with the sum of deficits over the next four years expected to overshoot forecasts by $21.8 billion.
APRA has raised an alarm about gaps in how superannuation trustees are managing the risks associated with unlisted assets, after releasing the findings of its latest review.
Compared to how funds were allocated to March this year, industry super funds have slightly decreased their allocation to infrastructure in the six months to September – dropping from 11 per cent to 10.6 per cent, according to the latest APRA data.