Australia’s superannuation savings totaled $2.9 trillion at the end of the September quarter as the superannuation industry staged a comeback in the wake of extreme volatility in March. Assets increased 0.6 per cent during the quarter.
“There was a 1.6 per cent reduction in the value of total superannuation assets over the 12 months to 30 September 2020 which was primarily a result of investment losses sustained across the industry during the March quarter,” APRA said.
“Total contributions increased 2.9 per cent over the year to 30 September 2020. Whilst annual member contributions of $23.3 billion were 1.8 per cent lower than the previous year, employer contributions were buoyed by JobKeeper payments and increased by 4.1 per cent.”
The rate of return for entities with more than four members for the September 2020 quarter was 1.9 per cent, while the annual rate of return to September 2020 was -1.1 per cent. Contributions in September 2020 totaled $120.2 billion, compared to $116.8 billion in 2019. Net contribution flows were down -73.4 per cent to $10.2 billion from $38.5 billion for the previous year.
“As at the end of the September 2020 quarter, 50 per cent of the $1.9 trillion investments were invested in equities, with 25 per cent in international listed equities, 21 per cent in Australian listed equities and 4 per cent in unlisted equities. Fixed income and cash investments accounted for 33 per cent of investments, with 21 per cent in fixed income and 12 per cent in cash,” APRA said.
