September dull month for super funds: SuperRatings

Australian superannuation funds are facing an underwhelming September as it sees losses across both Australian and international equities, SuperRatings data showed.

At close of business on 23 September, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined -3.7 per cent on the back of fear of a Chinese slowdown, undoing all the gains at the start of the financial year.

By SuperRatings' estimates, the median fund has so far fallen by -0.8 per cent for September.

But the steep -5.3 per cent fall in the Australian dollar in this time period meant super fund international assets returned positively, as assets denominated in foreign currencies were more valuable in domestic dollar terms.

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August on the other hand showed a 0.9 per cent gain in the median balanced option, driven by growth assets, bringing total median return for the financial year to 2.1 per cent, and the return over the past 12 months to 31 August to 10.9 per cent.

Super funds' weighting to Australian shares meant the median super Australian shares option returned 0.7 per cent in August, while media super international shares option returned 1.5 per cent, driven by the US equity market.

Telstra Super Balanced finished on top among balanced investment options, returning 9.6 per cent over the last five years, while REST Core Strategy returned 9.5 per cent, and AustralianSuper Balanced returned 9.4 per cent.