Market snapshot

After a challenging period for investment returns in the past financial year, Mine Super members were well positioned to take advantage of buoyant markets. The Fund experienced strong investment performance over FY2022-23 and achieved superior, industry leading returns in many of the investment options that our members invest in. These strong returns were very welcome and somewhat surprising given the backdrop of inflation concerns and the world’s central banks aggressively lifting interest rates to combat perceived future inflation.

The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted its cash rate from 0.85% at the start of the financial year to 4.10% in June 2023, resulting in hardship and mortgage stress for many families and communities. Against this backdrop, it’s very pleasing that Mine Super was able to grow members’ retirement balances so well, despite the challenge of increasing interest rates.

The biggest contributor to the strong performance was the strength in global and domestic equity markets and in particular the contribution from large cap growth and tech stocks. Some of this strong equity performance may be attributed to stronger economic activity than was anticipated and perhaps an expectation that the cycle of interest rate rises has mostly run its course. Some economists now predict that interest rates may fall over the next financial year.

Despite equities having such a strong year, there are still many challenges to navigate. These include continued military conflict in many areas including the Ukraine, continued concerns about inflation and future interest rate rises, US deficit issues, falling property prices in certain areas and other geo-political issues. China has also seen some challenging falls in its economic growth which is of concern to parts of the Australian economy.

Mine Super has taken (and is continuing to take) initiatives to create robust, well diversified portfolios that seek to protect members’ savings from future turbulence. This includes reducing exposure to office property, allocating additional monies to private credit strategies and unlisted real assets as well as looking for innovative strategies not available to larger superannuation funds to harness the advantage of our Fund's agility and size.

How has your investment option performed?

In terms of individual member products, a few outcomes are worth noting. The Lifecycle Investment Strategy for members aged 50 years and under was the highest performing default option in FY2022-23 with a 13.9% return, based on research by SuperRatings. This is compared to a median return of 9.15% achieved across all default options¹. The Fund’s Growth product ranked number one by Chant West in their Top 10 Performing Growth Funds in FY2022-23². The Growth option delivered a 12.0% annual return against an industry median of 9.2%. In addition, Mine Super’s International Shares, Bonds and Indexed Defensive investment options were all rated in the top 5 within their categories for FY2022-231, based on research by SuperRatings.

Strong positive returns for all Mine Super’s diversified funds helped grow our members’ retirement balances and, in most cases, resulted in returns well above CPI, meaning our members’ retirement savings made a positive real return. As mentioned before, Mine Super’s High Growth option returned 13.9% for the year, while the Balanced Option returned 10.0% and even our Conservative Option returned 7.4%. 

If you have any questions about our investment options or performance, you can reach us on 13 64 63, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, or email help@mine.com.au. We can also put you in touch with Mine Super Financial Advice for additional support to help you decide what’s right for you. Mine Super members are entitled to a complimentary appointment. And did you know? Advice on how your account is invested is at no extra cost, but there are fees associated with providing personal financial advice. During your appointment your adviser will discuss the fees and how you’d like to proceed.