Surging share markets in December, both in Australia and overseas, have contributed to the strong results for Australia’s super funds over the past six months revealed in the final figures for 2010 from SuperRatings.
After finally reversing the negative results of both the 2007/08 and 2008/09 financial years with a positive 9.8 per cent result for 2009/10, Australians have seen their super funds continue to grow, with another 7.5 per cent being added over the last 6 months, giving a much needed fill up to those heading for retirement, according to SuperRatings CEO Jeff Bresnahan.
The gains once again have been driven largely by the share markets, with Australian shares adding 3.7 per cent to the average balanced option and international shares, thanks to a steady Australian dollar, recording a net return of close to 4 per cent for the month.
But there is still plenty of nervousness within the funds, according to Bresnahan, where the hope is that this strong start to the financial year can be followed with a solid second half, unlike last financial year where the strong first six months of 11.9 per cent was immediately followed by losses of 2.3 per cent over the ensuing six months.
Notwithstanding the positive news on returns, medium term results are still in the red with Australians seeing their super decrease by approximately 6.5 per cent over the last three years. However, longer term results show solid growth with Australians’ super balances increasing by 16.5 per cent, 55.4 per cent and 61.3 per cent when compounded over the last 5, 7 and 10 years respectively.
