Financial Performance Trends of Australian Superannuation: System and Sectors

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the financial performance trends of the Australian superannuation system in the period 1997-2016, based on audited accounting data. Strong contribution flows have allowed total assets to grow at an average annual rate of about ten percent to $2 trillion by June 2016. However, the system is rapidly approaching the withdrawal phase due to demographic and policy factors when net contributions to the system may be negative, in which case investment performance will be critical to sustain the system. Historically, the lacklustre performance of the system, at about 0.7 percent per annum over cash return (before tax), may be attributed significantly to Retail funds which underperform other Public offer funds, on long-term averages, by about two percent per annum.