Financial market volatility continues to be a challenge for superannuation funds with the median Balanced Option down 1.7 per cent for the first quarter of the 2015/16 financial year.
It is only the 5th time a negative quarter has been recorded during the past 5 years. The disappointing result was cemented by a 1.0 per cent decline in the month of September. This followed on from August’s 2.9 per cent fall, which was the largest monthly loss since the GFC.
The quarterly loss comes despite a good start to the new year after July’s strong 2.3 per cent return, which helped offset some of the losses from the past two months.
“Concerns about global growth intensified in September as investors and market sentiment remained pessimistic” SuperRatings founder Jeff Bresnahan said. “Although the median Balanced Option recorded a 1.7 per cent fall during the quarter, this is substantially less than the falls seen across most growth asset classes and investment options. Once again, the diversification of a Balanced Option has helped cushion losses for the majority of superannuation members” Mr Bresnahan said.
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