Default super funds outperformed self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) in the year to last quarter’s end by two per cent before fees and tax, according to SuperGuard 360.
The SG360 SMSF Reference index showed returns of 5.4 per cent for the year to March 2018, as compared to 7.4 per cent for the SG360 Default Index, which represented MySuper products.
SuperGuard 360 put this down to SMSFs generally having lower asset class weightings to growth assets, especially international equities. The 12-month returns of international equities to last quarter’s end was around 10 per cent higher than that of their Australian counterparts.
The organisation said that three quarters of all SMSFs have assets under $1 million, and these funds have higher weightings to cash and lower weightings to equities than larger, higher-performing SMSFs.
It said that this meant that “the majority of SMSF members are in funds likely to achieve lower than ideal investment outcomes”.
In its pre-election policy document, the FSC highlighted 15 priority reforms, with superannuation featuring prominently, urging both major parties to avoid changing super taxes without a comprehensive tax review.
The Grattan Institute has labelled the Australian super system as “too complicated” and has proposed a three-pronged reform strategy to simplify superannuation in retirement.
Super funds delivered a strong 2024 result, with the median growth fund returning 11.4 per cent, driven by strong international sharemarket performance, new data has shown.
Australian Ethical has seen FUM growth of 27 per cent in the financial year to date.