Positive investment returns in difficult times

Many funds struggled to deliver positive returns for the last financial year. Not so First Super. Our relative defensive strategy for the main Balanced option delivered 2.5% for members – a modest return, but better than most comparable funds.

A volatile, uncertain world economic climate made investing for income and growth very challenging.

According to ratings agency SuperRatings, however, First Super’s Balanced option was amongst the ten best performing balanced investment options, ahead of most of Australia’s bigger funds, including those run by the banks*.

A key factor in achieving this outcome was the First Super Board’s decision to take a more cautious approach in investing the Balanced option, in which most of our members’ super is held.

Our low fees and the fact that we pay no sales commissions to financial advisers has also been important in delivering a better result.

For full details of First Super’s 2011/12 results see Investment returns.

*SupeRatings Fund Crediting Rate Survey SR50 Balanced (60-76) Index, June 2012. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.