A SuperRatings report revealed Australian superannuation funds regained momentum after falling to 0.6per cent in September, with the median balanced option charting a 1.2 per cent rise for the month of October and making the median return for the financial year to date to 2.9 per cent.
This is up from 1.6 per cent at the end of September, with returns over the 12 months to 31 October 2014 now sitting at 8.5 per cent.
Despite returns for calendar year 2014 remaining positive, at over 5 per cent, SuperRatings projected a fall for November, with the S&P/ASX200 recording a 2.9 per cent loss for the month to date.
SuperRatings expects the median fund to have experienced a 0.4 per cent drop in November so far.
The major driver of returns in October was Australian superannuation fund's weighting to Australian shares, seeing the median Australian Shares option rising 3.5 per cent, compared to a 4.4 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index.
The top performing balanced option funds over the last 5 years to October 2014 were Kinetic Super with 9.5 per cent and AustralianSuper, REST and Telstra Super Corp Plus all with 9.2 per cent growth.
The proposed reforms have been described as a key step towards delivering better products and retirement experiences for members, with many noting financial advice remains the “urgent missing piece” of the puzzle.
Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the Future Fund’s mandate, referring to himself as a “big supporter” of the sovereign wealth fund, amid fierce opposition from the Coalition, which has pledged to reverse any changes if it wins next year’s election.
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Chant West analysis suggests super could be well placed to deliver a double-digit result by the end of the calendar year.