Returns as high as double digits continue to be announced by some of Australia’s largest superannuation funds with members of industry and retail funds sharing equally in the performance largesse.
Funds that have disclosed their 2025 financial year performance figures over the last week include industry funds AustralianSuper, Australian Retirement Trust, Aware Super, HESTA, REST, Cbus Super and Hostplus, and retail funds CFS, MLC, AMP and Mercer Super.
The recurring theme was volatile share markets with United State equities driving returns until U.S. tariffs produced a dive in prices in April, which was quickly reversed as confidence returned.
“Underneath the strong numbers is a white-knuckle story of periods of wild volatility,” Cbus Chief Investment Officer Leigh Gavin said in a media release.
Gavin said the fund was looking at returns of 1.20% for the financial year-to-date before the resurgence in the share markets.
The $100 billion fund’s Growth (MySuper) option delivered 10.29% despite a period of wild swings in investment markets.
The performance highlighted included:
- AustralianSuper: 10.61% for its High Growth option and 9.52% for its Balanced option, where most members of Australia’s largest ($365 billion of assets) fund are invested.
“It has been a challenging 12 months for active investors, so being able to deliver this strong result for members is pleasing,” Chief Investment Officer Mark Delaney said in a media release.
- Australian Retirement Trust (ART): 11.9% for its ART High Growth Option, the third consecutive year of double-digit returns for the $321 billion fund.
“Our infrastructure assets – particularly airports – and successful divestments like our stake in AirTrunk helped drive performance,” Chief Investment Officer Ian Patrick said in a media release.
- Aware Super: 11.88%, the third year in a row of double-digit growth for the $188 billion fund’s Future Saver High Growth option and 9.78% from its Conservative Balanced option for pension members.
“This year, global equities, private equity and infrastructure were again strong contributors. Even in months when markets fell, like April, our portfolio remained resilient,” Chief Investment Officer Damian Graham said in a media release.
- CFS (Colonial First State): 12.80% from the FirstChoice Employer Super Growth option (Lifestage 1975–79) and 11.36% from the Balanced (Lifestage 1965–69) option of Australia’s largest ($101 billion) retail fund, which is owned by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).
“The recovery following April’s global sell-off, triggered by rising tariffs, showed how quickly markets can shift,” Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Armitage said in a media release.
- REST: 9.85% from the MySuper Growth default investment option.
"The dominant US technology stocks continued their surge through to mid-March, before pulling back with the broader market following the US Government’s tariff announcements,” interim co-Chief Investment Officer Kiran Singh said in a media release.
- HESTA: 10.18% from the $92 billion fund’s MySuper Balanced Growth option, the third straight year of annual returns above 9%.
"While volatility has eased after a surge in March and April, geopolitical events remain an important consideration as we head into the new financial year,” Chief Investment Officer Sonya Sawtell-Rickson said in a said in a media release.
- Hostplus: 10.81% from Balance option and 12.02% from its indexed Balanced option.
“We continued to see growth in equity markets, despite periods of significant volatility, which was matched by strong performance across unlisted asset classes - including infrastructure, private equity, and credit,” the $130 billion fund's Chief Investment Officer Sam Sicilia in a media release.
- Mercer Super: 12.3%-12.6% from its Mercer SmartPath default investment option for members aged 18 to 52.
“Despite geopolitical headwinds driving market volatility, we delivered a solid outcome for the financial year. This should give members confidence as we manage the challenges to come,” Chief Investment Officer Graeme Miller said in a news release.
