Super funds delivered another strong result in the year to June 2026, with the median Growth fund (61% to 80% growth assets) returning 9.5% for the 2026 financial year. This followed gains of 9.2% in 2022-23, 9.1% in 2023-24 and 10.4% in 2024-25, taking the cumulative return to 44% over the past four years.
International shares were once again the main driver of the result, though it also helped that almost every asset class produced a positive return over the year. Chant West’s Head of Superannuation Investment Research, Mano Mohankumar says international shares surged 25.5% in hedged terms, supported by continued enthusiasm for AI and robust corporate earnings. Despite a stronger Australian dollar, the unhedged return was still an impressive 17%. International shares carry the highest allocation within a typical growth fund at about 31% on average, while Australian shares, with an average weighting of 24%, returned a more modest 6.2% for the year.
Diversification also paid off given the wide dispersion of returns across asset classes. Australian bonds, international bonds and cash returned 1.5%, 2.9% and 3.9% respectively, making them among the weakest performing asset classes over the year. The only asset class to finish in negative territory was Australian listed property, down 1.8%, while international listed infrastructure and listed property returned a strong 17.2% and 14.3% respectively.
Final returns for unlisted assets such as unlisted property, unlisted infrastructure and private equity are still being finalised. Chant West expects unlisted infrastructure to return 7% to 9% and private equity 8% to 11%, while unlisted property is expected to post a return of 5% to 7% as its recovery continues.
The table below shows the median performance to the end of June 2026 for the five traditional diversified risk categories.
Super fund performance (results to 30 June 2026)
| Fund category (% growth assets) | 1 mth (%) | 3 mths (%) | CYTD (%) | 1 yr (% per yr) | 3 yrs (% per yr) | 5 yrs (% per yr) | 7 yrs (% per yr) | 10 yrs (% per yr) | 15 yrs (% per yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Growth (96–100%) | 2.0 | 8.8 | 5.2 | 12.4 | 13.2 | 8.4 | 9.0 | 9.6 | 9.5 |
| High Growth (81–95%) | 1.3 | 7.3 | 4.5 | 10.9 | 11.0 | 7.9 | 8.8 | 9.5 | 9.4 |
| Growth (61–80%) | 1.2 | 6.2 | 4.3 | 9.5 | 9.7 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 7.9 |
| Balanced (41–60%) | 1.1 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 6.7 |
| Conservative (21–40%) | 0.9 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 5.1 |
Source: Chant West. Performance is shown net of investment fees and tax, before administration fees and adviser commissions.
Returns for all periods from one to 15 years remain positive, a remarkably long positive run. And all risk categories have met their typical long-term return objectives, which range from CPI (a measure of inflation) + 1.5% for Conservative funds to CPI + 4.25% for All Growth.
The chart below shows performance of the median Growth fund since the introduction of compulsory super in July 1992. Over that period, the median Growth fund has returned 8% per year. The average annual CPI increase over the same period is 2.7%, giving a real return of 5.3% per year – well above the typical 3.5% long-term target. While the median Growth fund has delivered returns of 9% or more per year over the past four financial years, Mohankumar stresses that that level of return should not be thought of as normal and urges super fund members to think long term.
Even looking at the past 20 years, which includes three major market downturns – the GFC in 2007–09, COVID in 2020, and the 2022 calendar year marked by high inflation and rising interest rates to combat it – the median Growth fund has returned 6.9% per year, comfortably ahead of the typical objective.
Growth funds have produced positive returns in 29 of the past 34 financial years. The typical risk objective for Growth funds would be no more than six negative returns during that period (there have been just five), so the risk objective has been met as well as the performance objective.
Source: Chant West
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