A weak September capped off a disappointing quarter for super funds, with the median growth fund (61 to 80% growth assets) down 1.7% for the first three months of the financial year. However the good news for fund members is that, while listed shares – the main drivers of performance – tumbled more than 6.5%, the broad spread of assets that their funds hold provided a strong measure of protection.
Please see the attached media release for further information. Key highlights include:
• The first quarter of the new financial year was disappointing for super fund members, but they should keep in mind that the typical growth fund has just come off six consecutive years of positive returns with a number of funds delivering three straight double digit returns.
• The Australian share market fell 6.5% over the quarter. International shares fared even worse, dropping 7.7% in hedged terms, but this was more than offset by the fall in the Australian dollar. The Australian dollar dropped more than 9%, from US$0.77 to US$0.70, which was enough to turn the 7.7% loss into a small gain of 0.4% in unhedged terms.
• Industry funds and retail funds performed broadly in line with each other over the September quarter, suffering losses of 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively.
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