Best performing super funds: Growth category (61–80%)

In this article you can discover the top 10 performing Growth super funds over one year and, more importantly, ten years. We recommend that you also read our explanatory article on the five main risk categories to help you compare the different risk categories that super investment options fall into. 

What is a Growth investment option?

Investment options with a 61–80% allocation to growth assets such as shares and property are called Growth funds by Chant West, a research company that has been analysing super fund performance for more than 20 years.

Growth investment options may appeal to people who want the high return opportunities of growth assets with the diversification provided by the inclusion of some defensive assets.

How does a Growth investment option behave?

In the short term, investment options in the Growth risk category may experience more volatility than a Balanced-style investment, but less volatility than a High Growth-style investment.

In the long run, a Growth investment option will generally return more than a Balanced investment option but not as much a High Growth investment option.

As you can see in the table below, different funds use different labels, with some that call themselves Balanced categorised as Growth options by Chant West. For this reason, it’s always important to look at the asset allocation breakdown beneath the label so you can compare like with like.

Playing the long game

It’s important to keep an eye on how your super is performing year to year (and interesting to see how it compares to other funds) but super is a long-term investment. For that reason, longer-term figures are more significant because they incorporate the ups and downs over that entire period and allow us to see which investment managers consistently deliver superior performance, regardless of market conditions. 

While the top 10 funds over one year tend to change from year to year, over 10 years the same names crop up. The table below shows the top 10 performing Growth options over 10 years. All but one of the top 10 also made the list the previous year, with Aware Super creeping in at number 10 to push out Australian Ethical.

As you can see, Hostplus held onto its top ranking despite slipping out of the top 10 over the past 12 months. Australian Retirement Trust switched places with AustralianSuper to take out second place over 10 years but comes in at number seven over one year, while Australian Super has dropped out of the one-year league table.

The top 10 Growth funds returned 7.5% or more per year on an annualised basis over the past 10 years, while the top two returned 8.3% and 8.1% respectively. This is a remarkable achievement given their typical long-term objective of beating inflation by 3.5%, which translates to 6.2% per year with long-term inflation averaging 2.7% per year.

Top 10 Growth investment options (super funds): 10 years to June 2024

Super fund	Investment option	Return (per year)
Hostplus	Balanced	8.3%
AustralianSuper	Balanced	8.1%
Australian Retirement Trust	Balanced (ART – Super Savings)	8.1%
UniSuper	Balanced	7.9%
Cbus Super	Growth (MySuper)	7.7%
Vision Super	Balanced Growth	7.6%
CareSuper	Balanced	7.6%
HESTA	Balanced Growth	7.6%
Aware Super	Balanced	7.5%

Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Growth options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.

Median figures can provide useful context. In the 10-year period to June 2024, Growth investment options as a category delivered a median return of 7.2% per year.

A small difference in performance makes a big difference over time

Although the difference between the top performer and the median may not seem that significant (around 1.1% per year), the difference builds up over time due to compounding interest.

For example, according to the Moneysmart superannuation calculator, a 25-year-old with $5,000 in super and earning $50,000 per year, paying 0.8% in fees and achieving 8.3% per year, could potentially retire at 67 with a super balance of approximately $488,765.

All other things being equal, achieving 7.2% instead would mean a super balance of approximately $373,648 – approximately 24% less.

Top 10 Growth investment options: 10-year returns for previous years

Below you can find the top 10 performing Growth investment options over 10 and 15 years for previous time periods. Click the arrow to see each the top 10 for each period or read on to discover the top 10 funds over the year to June 30.

Returns over one year highlight recent volatility

Super is best viewed as a marathon not a sprint. That said, even those members a long way from retirement should keep a watchful eye on their fund’s ongoing performance to ensure it still meets their objectives and compares favourably with other funds that share a similar risk profile.

The following table shows the top 10 funds over the 12 months to June 2024. After another year of high market volatility, only five of the top 10 appeared in the previous year’s list. If your fund is not among the top 10, don’t panic – even the best funds can have a difficult year if their strategy doesn’t suit the times. Check your fund’s long-term returns over seven, 10 and 15 years to see how it compares with the median fund’s performance. Only then should you consider switching if it is not meeting your objectives.

Top 10 Growth investment options (super funds): 1 year to June 2024

Super fund	Investment option	Return (per year)
Mine Superannuation Fund	Growth	10.7%
Colonial First State FirstChoice	CFS Growth	10.7%
IOOF Portfolio Service Superannuation Fund	IOOF Balanced Investor Trust	10.7%
Brighter Super	Balanced	10.6%
Qantas Super	Growth	10.1%
Mercer Super	Mercer Growth	10.1%
Australian Retirement Trust	Balanced (ART – Super Savings)	9.9%
Aware Super	Balanced	9.6%
MLC Super Fund	MLC Balanced	9.6%

Source: Chant West. The top 10 is limited to Growth options with assets of $1 billion or more. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, and before administration and adviser commissions.

The median 1-year return for Growth investment options to 30 June 2024 9.1%.

Top 10 Growth investment options: 1 year returns for previous years

Below you can find the top 10 performing Growth investment options over one year for previous time periods. Click the arrow to see each the top 10 for each period.