Super funds down

Median balanced super funds dropped 1.7 per cent for the first quarter of 2015/16 financial year thanks to financial market volatility, according to SuperRatings

The result was cemented by one per cent decline in the month of September. However, some of the losses from the past two months were offset by July's 2.3 per cent return.

SuperRatings founder, Jeff Bresnahan said this loss was off the back of concerns about global growth where investors and market sentiment remained pessimistic.

"These concerns fuelled losses across most major financial markets, making September another challenging month for superannuation funds and further pulling down the quarterly result," he said.

VIEW ALL

View all

"Because most balanced options have a large exposure to equities, recent falls in domestic and international share markets have been a key drag on super fund performance."

The ASX200 Accumulation Index was down three per cent in September and 6.6 per cent for the quarter, while Australian Listed Property feel by 0.3 per cent, and finished up 1.1 per cent for the quarter.

International shares also recorded large falls, down 3.7 per cent in September, and 8.3 per cent for the quarter.

However, SuperRatings said as most super funds hedge part of their exposure to international shares, a fall In the value of the Australian dollar against the US dollar helped shield some of the international share losses.