Exposure to the share market rally of the last year has bolstered funds towards double-digit year-end returns.
AMP has announced a return of 11.14 per cent for members of its AMP MySuper 1970s superannuation fund option for the financial year 2024.
The option, its largest by funds under management, uses a high-growth asset allocation.
AMP MySuper 1980s and 1990s members, too, benefited from a high growth allocation, notching returns of 11.31 per cent for the financial year.
“From December to June, our portfolios had a tactical overweight to US equities which saw strong returns as our funds continued to outperform their benchmarks,” said Anna Shelley, chief investment officer at AMP.
This approach was bolstered by positive active asset allocation and security selection from several of AMP’s underlying managers, with the funds benefiting from positioning for market themes like the strong surge in AI adoption across both US and global markets.
“Sharemarket gains were once again led by the US tech sector,” Shelley said.
“Capitalising on the universal appetite for AI adoption, together with our high strategic allocation to global listed equities, allowed us to record strong performance for our members.”
Similarly, Jonathan Armitage, CIO at Colonial First State, said the members of its MySuper balanced and growth funds benefited from strong investment performance of global and domestic equities.
The FirstChoice Employer Super balanced fund (MySuper Lifestage 1965–69) delivered a 12.1 per cent return, while the FirstChoice Employer Super growth fund (MySuper Lifestage 1975–79) delivered a 14.3 per cent return.
This is the second consecutive year that CFS has delivered double digit returns for these MySuper members.
“The strength of global share markets has really been the core driver of investment returns over the last 12 months,” Armitage said.
He added CFS is also in the relatively unique position of holding no legacy unlisted assets, which served returns positively in an environment of higher interest rates.
“Looking ahead, we continue to believe that inflation data will be volatile, keeping interest rates higher for longer and creating continued headwinds for some sectors such as commercial real estate.
“Managing the evolving macro-economic environment will also be paramount over the coming year and we look forward to again delivering strong returns for members through our disciplined investment approach in FY25,” he said.
