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Super funds have made a steady start to the 2026–27 financial year, with the median Growth fund (61% to 80% growth assets) returning 0.3% in July 2026. That follows a strong 9.5% gain in 2025–26. Share markets have improved since, and Chant West estimates the median Growth fund is up 1.3% over the first seven weeks of the new financial year.
Share markets were mixed in July, with wide variation across regions. Chant West’s Head of Superannuation Investment Research, Mano Mohankumar says developed market international shares returned just 0.2% in hedged terms, largely because US shares were flat as the technology sector came under pressure amid concerns about the scale of AI investment and uncertainty about future revenue growth. A stronger Australian dollar pushed the unhedged return into the red at -0.9%. On average, super funds leave about 70% of their international shares unhedged. Emerging markets fell 4.4%, as the previously strong run from the tech sector in South Korea and Taiwan reversed sharply.
Australian shares went the other way, up a healthy 2.1% over the month on the back of the financials and resources sectors, helped by the market’s relatively low exposure to tech and AI. Bonds weakened, with Australian bonds down 0.4% and international bonds down 0.9%, as yields rose on renewed inflation concerns.
The table below shows the median performance to the end of July 2026 for the five traditional diversified risk categories.
Super fund performance (results to 31 July 2026)
| Fund category (% growth assets) | 1 mth (%) | 3 mths (%) | FYTD (%) | 1 yr (% per yr) | 3 yrs (% per yr) | 5 yrs (% per yr) | 7 yrs (% per yr) | 10 yrs (% per yr) | 15 yrs (% per yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Growth (96–100%) | 0.5 | 5.1 | 0.5 | 10.1 | 12.6 | 8.3 | 8.9 | 9.3 | 9.7 |
| High Growth (81–95%) | 0.4 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 9.3 | 10.5 | 7.7 | 8.6 | 9.1 | 9.4 |
| Growth (61–80%) | 0.3 | 3.7 | 0.3 | 8.1 | 9.2 | 6.6 | 7.1 | 7.6 | 8.1 |
| Balanced (41–60%) | 0.2 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 6.8 | 7.7 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.7 |
| Conservative (21–40%) | 0.0 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 5.1 |
Source: Chant West. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, before administration fees.
Every risk category delivered a positive return over all periods from one year to 15 years. All risk categories have also generally met their typical long-term return objectives, which range from CPI (a measure of inflation) + 1.5% for Conservative funds to CPI + 4.25% for All Growth.
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MySuper products have now been running for more than 12 years, and Mohankumar says it is worth remembering that super is a far longer-term proposition than a single month or year.
The chart below shows performance of the median Growth fund since the introduction of compulsory super in July 1992. Over that period, the median Growth fund has returned 8% per year. The average annual CPI increase over the same period is 2.7%, giving a real return of 5.3% per year – well above the typical 3.5% long-term target.
Even looking at the past 20 years, which includes three major market downturns – the GFC in 2007–09, COVID in 2020, and the 2022 calendar year marked by high inflation and rising interest rates to combat it – the median Growth fund has returned 6.9% per year, comfortably ahead of the typical objective.
Growth funds have produced positive returns in 29 of the past 34 financial years. The typical risk objective for Growth funds would be no more than six negative returns during that period (there have been just five), so the risk objective has been met as well as the performance objective.
Source: Chant West
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