Flagship Aware Super investment option chalks up strong 11.02% return

The High Growth accumulation option, where the majority of members are invested, has returned 11.02% for the 2024 financial year, extending Aware Super’s run as one of Australia’s top-performing funds. High Growth is the default option for Aware Super members aged 55 and under with the fund’s MySuper product, which has a lifecycle design.

It is the second consecutive year that Aware Super – one of Australia’s largest funds, with $175 billion under management – has delivered a double-digit return for its flagship option. Over 10 years, the option has delivered an annual average return of 8.82%. Of the fund’s 1.1 million members, more than 750,000 are invested in the High Growth accumulation option.

Aware Super Chief Investment Officer Damian Graham said: “We’re delighted to have yet again delivered such a strong return in our most popular option. It highlights how the lifecycle design we adopted several years ago is playing an incredibly powerful role in helping members maximise their retirement savings.

“It means they have more exposure to growth assets while they’re younger and can accommodate more risk, so they can benefit greatly in years like this – when equity markets have proven robust and, indeed, returns have also been strong across other asset classes.

Under the lifecyle design, members who are aged 56 to 65 with Aware Super’s MySuper product have their investments gradually shifted from High Growth into Balanced and then into Conservative Balanced in a process that mixes and matches a percentage of each option.

“As pleased as we are to announce another impressive return in our High Growth option for the past financial year, we always stress how important it is to focus on long-term returns, and we’re delighted with the 8.82% return that the option has averaged annually over the past decade,” Mr Graham said.

He said the fund had slightly more exposure to international equities than some peers, which had helped in delivering the strong result for the year. The US share market in particular had a bullish year, with the S&P 500 rising 22.7% over the 12 months to 30 June.

"It’s important to note, however, that resilient equity markets have been just part of the picture. Diversification has been a pivotal factor in our strong results over the past year and across the longer term. Infrastructure, private equity and other unlisted assets have performed well and made an important contribution.

“Members with our High Growth option are invested in a vast range of assets – everything from graphic design powerhouse Canva and burgeoning takeaway chain Guzman y Gomez to data centre operators, energy transition companies, build-to-rent housing and so much more in markets around the world.

“It’s no coincidence that this strong result comes as we expand globally, having opened our first international investment office late last year, in London. We’ve done this to bolster our capacity to source great investments offshore on behalf of all our members, and achieve the best returns we can from those investments, and this initiative will continue to play out in our longer-term results.”

Among other Aware Super investment options, the Conservative Balanced pension option – the core option for members in the retirement phase – returned 7.66% for the financial year, and has delivered an annual return of 6.64% on average over the past decade.

The High Growth Indexed option – a low-cost option that was launched last year and is quickly growing in popularity – returned 14.62% for the financial year, buoyed by the strong growth in equity markets. The High Growth Socially Conscious option, one of the four socially conscious options on Aware Super’s investment menu, returned 12.73% for the financial year.

Media enquiries: media@aware.com.au

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