Super funds bounce back in September

Superannuation funds gained ground in the last month, propped up by growth assets and Australian shares, a survey shows.

After a disappointing August, funds grew a median of 1.4 per cent in September and 5.5 per cent in the first quarter of the financial year, according to research from Morningstar.  

The majority of growth assets produced positive returns, with global listed property up 4.5 per cent, Australian shares up 2.2 per cent and listed property up 1.1 per cent.  

The only negative returns were recorded by international shares, which were down 0.1 per cent.  

Top-performing growth superfunds in the year to 30 September 2013 included Legg Mason Growth (28.4 per cent), Legg Mason Balanced (25.3 per cent), and Maple-Brown Abbott (21.1 per cent), while Schroders topped the performance ladder for the last five years with 8 per cent growth.

For balance funds, the best performers of the year were BT Balanced (14.7 per cent), REST Super Balanced (13.7 per cent) and AMP Moderate Growth (13.0 per cent).