Early release superannuation failed to significantly erode the rate of increase in superannuation assets in Australia, with investment markets acting to drive assets to $3.1 trillion, according to the latest data released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
The data, covering the March quarter, revealed a 3.1% rise while for the 12 months to March, it revealed a 13.9% increase in the total value of superannuation assets.
The APRA data reveal that contributions in the March 2021 quarter were $29.2 billion, which was a decrease from the December 2020 quarter ($29.3 billion) but 2.5% more than in the March 2020 quarter and the highest March quarter contributions to date.
It said employer contributions ($24.0 billion) decreased by 1.1% over the quarter, during which the JobKeeper program concluded.
“Despite only increasing by $2 million over the quarter to $18.2 billion, super guarantee contributions consist of the highest per centage of total contributions (62.1%) since it was first measured in September 2014,” the APRA analysis said.
“Member contributions ($5.2 billion) increased by 4.6% over the quarter. This was due to an increase in personal contributions which totalled $4.8 billion for the March 2021 quarter, an increase of 5.5% over the December 2020 quarter (from $4.6 billion) and 9.6% over the March 2020 quarter (from $4.4 billion).
The $75 billion fund has gained exposure to decarbonisation solutions in its first listed equities impact investment.
The superannuation fund is expanding its investment exposure to industrial property through a $1 billion partnership with Barings, a global investment manager.
AustralianSuper has usurped the Future Fund as the biggest Australian asset owner, jumping from 43rd to 36th place globally, according to an annual study by the Thinking Ahead Institute.
IFM Investors, the global institutional asset manager owned by superannuation funds, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK government to invest £10 billion by 2027.
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