Top super performers

Australian superannuation funds posted a positive result for the month of August, despite heavy market turbulence, with industry funds dominating annual performance tables.

The SuperRatings SR50 Balanced (60-76) Indices (medians) for the period ended 31 August 2007 were:

• The month of August 2007: 1.31%
• Financial year to 31 August 2007: 0.32%
• 12 months to 31 August 2007: 14.20%
• Rolling 3 year return to 31 August 2007: 14.50%pa
• Rolling 5 year return to 31 August 2007: 11.62%pa
• Rolling 7 year return to 31 August 2007: 8.40%pa
• Rolling 10 year return to 31 August 2007: 9.07%pa

The modest improvement in August came largely because of property exposure, which contributed a 3.97% gain, and international equities exposure, which contributed a 2.88% gain.

Australian shares recovered much of July’s losses with a gain of 1.52% after the sharemarket rallied at the end of August.

The top fund was the MTAA Super – Balanced super fund, which was established for workers in the motor industry, with a return of 19.2% in the 12 months to 31 August.

Catholic Super’s balanced fund came in second, with a fund offered by South Australia’s largest industry fund, Statewide, coming in third.

No retail funds made the top 10.

“Asset allocation continues to be the major factor in differentiating fund returns, with the not-for-profit sector as a whole favouring alternative asset classes against the commercial funds’ preference for fixed interest,” SuperRatings managing director Jeff Bresnahan says.

Infrastructure was the most popular alternative asset found in all funds, followed by private equity and hedge funds.

“On an overall basis, the not-for-profit sector now on average has 12% allocation to alternative asset classes, well ahead of commercial funds’ 3.7%. In both cases however, allocation to this sector continues to increase every year at the expense of fixed interest allocations.”