Superannuation funds deliver double-digit returns for Aussies amid AI boom: ‘Tremendous result’
Superannuation funds have delivered another strong year of returns for Aussies, buoyed by international equities and exposure to the US-led artificial intelligence boom. A number of high-growth super funds have delivered double-digit returns, with some hitting nearly 13 per cent, despite global instability.
Preliminary data from Chant West indicates the median growth fund delivered a 9.5 per cent return in the 2026 financial year, marking the fourth consecutive year of above-average returns. Meanwhile, early SuperRatings estimates indicate the median growth fund option returned about 10.6 per cent, outperforming median balanced fund options at 9.1 per cent.
AMP chief investment officer Anna Shelley told Yahoo Finance the global equities market, particularly the US, had driven strong returns for members, with most of AMP’s MySuper funds growing more than 11 per cent.
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“Global equities this year delivered about 25 per cent over the year and over the three years they’ve returned about 19.6 per cent per annum. So that’s quite high returns over that three-year period and that’s been one of the key drivers behind the returns for diversified funds and MySuper funds,” Shelley said.
Vanguard’s Asia Pacific Chief Investment Officer Duncan Burns told Yahoo Finance international shares were the strongest performing asset class, with US equities a key contributor, with the fund’s default Lifecycle option delivering a 12.29 per cent return for those under 47.
“There was some volatility in that period, especially in and around March, reflecting some global uncertainty and geopolitical developments. But wow, since March, markets have recovered strongly. We’ve seen some strong performance right into the end of financial year,” Burns said.
Burns said AI had been supporting some above-trend US growth and stronger corporate earnings expectations, while oil was another focus of the year due to the shock linked to the Middle East conflict weighing on global growth and adding inflation pressure.
Vanguard’s Duncan Burns (left) and AMP’s Anna Shelley (right). Both funds are reporting double-digit returns. ·Source: Vanguard/AMP
What returns have superannuation funds posted?
Australia’s biggest super fund, AustralianSuper, reported a 11.58 per cent return for its high growth option, and a 9.77 per cent return for its balanced fund option.
Australian Retirement Trust’s high growth accumulation option returned 9.21 per cent, while its balanced option returned 7.91 per cent.
Rest’s default growth option returned 9.81 per cent, Hesta’s MySuper balanced growth option delivered 9.46 per cent, while Cbus Super’s high growth investment option delivered 10.06 per cent and its default growth option delivered a 9.25 per cent return.
Retail fund MLC’s high growth option returned 10.2 per cent, while Colonial First State’s growth fund delivered a 12.74 per cent return and balanced fund 10.81 per cent return.
While final data on super fund performance is still a few weeks away, Chant West senior investment manager Mano Mohankumar said it was a “tremendous result” given the circumstances.
“If you think back to late May, getting in the vicinity of nine, 10 per cent, would have been very unlikely, given the significant bear market pullback sparked by the US-Iran conflict,” he told AAP.
The biggest factor influencing performance was likely the extent of its exposure to overseas markets, with growth funds having about 31 per cent of their portfolio allocated to international shares on average.
AI a ‘major driver’ of global equity markets
AustralianSuper chief investment officer Shaun Manuell said artificial intelligence continued to be a “major driver of global markets” during the financial year, with large-scale investment supporting growth and earnings.
“Importantly, as the AI cycle matures, we are seeing the benefits broaden beyond US technology stocks and into different regions, sectors and asset classes,” he said.
Shelley said the “Magnificent Seven” stocks, which include Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla, had had a large impact on equity returns in the US over the last three years and AI was continuing to be a “big influence” on equity market returns.
“At the moment the earnings, the revenue, that these companies are generating is in line with the valuations,” she said.
Burns said elevated valuations means the market could experience some “periodic corrections as the AI transformation unfolds”.
“The market implication there is nuanced. Near term, we’ve got earnings momentum that’s really strong, especially for those AI-related companies,” he said.
“But over time that market leadership could rotate as the benefits of AI broaden from the builders of AI infrastructure out to users of AI technology across the wider economy.”
