Chant West: A solid quarter to start FY17, but markets still nervous ahead of US interest rate and election decisions

After a tumultuous finish to 2015/16, super funds have got off to a good start in the new financial year.  Over the September quarter, the median growth fund (61 to 80% allocation to growth assets) gained a solid 3.1%.

Key highlights include:

This was a solid quarter overall but the performance was far from consistent.  Of the 3.1% gain, 2.7% was achieved in July.  Since then we’ve had two months of fairly flat returns, and that’s mainly because investors are preoccupied about US interest rates and when the next rate hike will be.

Funds are finding it hard to indentify undervalued assets that will deliver real returns, and this is compounded by the pressure they’re under to reduce investment fees.
Industry funds outperformed retail funds over the quarter, returning 3.2% versus 2.9%.

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Source: Chant West

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Gap between retirement leaders and laggards has grown: ASIC

Gap between retirement leaders and laggards has grown: ASIC

A year after regulators put super funds on notice about the unacceptable gap between the best and the worst of responses to the Retirement Income Covenant, the situation has become even worse. The Retirement Leaders Summit in Canberra heard that the leading funds treat retirement as a core business, while the laggards still see it as a compliance exercise.

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