Industry funds dominate 2016
Industry superannuation funds dominated the balanced super option in 2016 as not a single retail fund made the top 10 SuperRatings super fund list.
The data for 2016 showed Catholic Super and HOSTPLUS topped the list with returns of 10.1 per cent, compared to the median balanced option return of 7.3 per cent.
SuperRatings said Catholic Super's success was due to its allocations to high-performing property, infrastructure and private equity investments while HOSTPLUS' strong returns were from unlisted investments in infrastructure and property and a zero allocation to bonds.
The top funds were followed by Cbus (9.6 per cent), CareSuper (9.4 per cent), and Sunsuper for Life (8.9 per cent).
SuperRatings said property was one of the main beneficiaries of falling interest rates and was seen by investors as a source of stability as well as much needed yield.
SuperRatings chairman, Jeff Bresnahan, said: "Political upsets were the dominating theme of 2016, and this year we will see whether these trends carry over to the European continent".
"There will be no shortage of political events in 2017, and based on last year's experience we can expect continued bouts of heightened volatility. However, like 2016, we may be surprised at the resilience of super funds and their ability to perform in a range of market conditions," he said.
Bresnahan noted that while 2017 would have its own challenges, the research house expected long-term performance to hold up.
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