The return on a median growth superannuation fund has been 9% in the 2026 financial year (FY26) with less than two weeks remaining, according to Chant West.
The research, data and analytics provider said the balance of a median growth fund (61–80% invested in growth assets) rose 2.1% last month in what it described as a “tremendous” performance.
This produced a return of 8.3% in FY26 to the end of May with the performances ranging from 5.0% for a fund with a “conservative” risk profile to 10.4% for an “all growth” fund.
Head of Super Investment Research Mano Mohankumar said the strong FY26 performance to date had largely been powered by international listed shares.
“It also helped that all asset classes have delivered positive returns over the period with the exception of Australian REITs (real estate investment trusts), to which super funds have very little exposure,” he said in a media release.
This was another timely reminder of the importance of maintaining a long-term perspective and not getting distracted by short-term market noise.
“In late March, a return in the vicinity of 9% for growth funds would have appeared unlikely following the significant share market pullback, sparked by the US-Iran conflict and concerns around interest rates amid rising inflation,” he said.
“However, since then we’ve seen international share markets rebound strongly, albeit with some volatility, supported by robust corporate earnings, optimism around easing tensions in the Middle East and continued enthusiasm for AI (artificial intelligence) investment.”
Chant West said a final return close to 9% would mark four consecutive years of strong performance, following 9.2% in FY23, 9.1% in FY24 and 10.4% in FY25, and represent the 15th positive year out of the last 17.
“Most importantly, super funds continue to meet their long-term return and risk objectives,” Mohankumar said.
Since the introduction of compulsory super, the median growth fund had returned 8% per year, giving a real return of 5.3%, well above the typical 3.5% target, after allowing for inflation of 2.7%.
Over the last 20 years, which includes three major share market downturns, super funds have returned 6.8% a year, comfortably ahead of the typical objective.
“On the risk side, there have only been five negative years over the entire period, which translates to close to one year in every seven. Again, funds have done better than their typical long-term risk objective which is one negative return in every five years, on average,” Mohankumar said.
