Superannuation fund returns have beaten the cash rate in the past 20 years – but only just. Tony Day asks why so many funds still passively invest so much money in equities.

For almost a generation, participants in Australia’s superannuation system have been told that the best way to maximise their wealth is to passively invest in large amounts of equity risk and wait. What’s important is “time in the market”, not market timing, which sees investors adjust their asset allocations as markets become more or less risky.