Superannuation soars

Australian super funds have shrugged off one of the most turbulent quarters in memory to come out the other side with strong gains, according to SuperRatings.

The median balanced investment option posted an overall median gain of 2.01% for the September quarter, assisted by an incredibly strong Australian sharemarket over the last six weeks.

Super funds’ long term performance continues to climb. The 10 year median result shows that investors have enjoyed a 9.9% per annum compound return since September 1997.

Jeff Bresnahan, managing director of SuperRatings, says it is remarkable how the five and 10 year figures for super fund returns keep climbing. “They are just shy of a 10% increase per annum compound for 10 years,” he says. Bresnahan says that somewhere down the track the strength of returns will wane. History will repeat, he says.

The top five super returns for 12 months ended 30 September 2007:

1. Catholic Super Fund 19.6%
2. MTAA Super 19.1%
3. AustralianSuper 18.2%
4. CBus 18.1%
5. Intrust Core Super 18.1%