Market Outlook

Market update

At the beginning of April, the US announced tariffs on its global trading partners. The tariffs are meant to protect and promote US production, but it also bumps up the price on imported goods, so inflation is also likely to rise affecting the cost of living. As a result, markets fell sharply fearing that the US economy could potentially slip into recession.

A week later, a 90-day pause on tariffs was announced and markets rebounded. These abrupt changes in economic policy create uncertainty, and given how difficult it is to predict what will happen next, we expect these market ups and downs to continue over the coming months.

Stay invested or switch options?

Volatile markets can be a difficult time, particularly if your super balance is falling. Given current conditions, people often want to change their investment options to cash, to avoid a falling market.

Cash can feel safter when markets are volatile, but the returns are lower and switching can mean locking in your losses and not benefitting when markets recover.

This can have a negative impact on your future – so often the best course of action is to stay invested and stick to your long-term strategy.

It’s good to remember that super is a long-term option. History shows that staying invested means your super can recover when markets bounce back, and recovery can come sooner than you might think. Major economic downturns like the 1970s Oil Crisis, the Dot Com Bubble bursting in 2001, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC, 2007-09), and the COVID Crisis in 2020 were all followed by recovery and market growth.

Our expert investment team is experienced at managing market ups and downs and investing your savings through all market conditions.

Investments in retirement to protect your savings

To help safeguard your balance when markets are volatile, we invest differently in our most popular diversified retirement options. We still invest in some growth assets, to help your savings keep up with the rising cost of living – but we favour shares that aren’t as volatile when markets fall.

When you’re invested in a diversified option, like most of our members, you aren’t only investing in shares. Your savings are spread across property, infrastructure, cash and bonds – so any falls you may see in your balance aren’t as large as global share markets

Performance

If you're approaching or already in retirement, it’s wise not to focus on short-term market movements, but rather look at long-term performance.

Despite the recent market volatility, long-term performance has remained strong and 1-year performance is positive.

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*Default option for retirement (pension) option, where most of our retired members are invested.

For more updates and in-depth content on how your investments are performing, visit our Investment updates.