Superannuation did very well over the last five years, with funds posting positive results across the board, according to Morningstar's Australian Superannuation Survey for 1Q 2018.

Covering the period to March 31 2018, the study found fund returns within the multisector growth category ranged from 5.9 per cent to 10.3 per cent. The median fund achieved a healthy 8.4 per cent.

AustralianSuper took the top spot, with its balanced product returning 10.3 per cent, followed by Care Balanced, Austsafe Balanced, REST Diversified and VicSuper Growth. They delivered returns of 9.9 per cent, 9.8 per cent, 9.7 per cent and 9.6 per cent, respectively.

Growth funds generally have a 60 per cent to 80 per cent allocation to growth assets, including Australian shares, international shares, property and alternative investments.

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Over a three-year risk-adjusted return basis, Care Super Balanced topped the table among growth funds, followed by AustralianSuper Conservative Balanced, AustralianSuper Balanced, HESTA Core and Austsafe Balanced.

Within the MySuper category, the top performing funds over five years to 31 March 2018 were the balanced offerings from Hostplus, Care and Austsafe, with returns of 10.6 per cent, 9.9 per cent and 9.8 per cent, respectively. CBUS Growth and AustralianSuper both returned 10.3 per cent over the period.

Fund flows

Estimated annual flows to MySuper products were generally healthy to 31 March 2018. AustralianSuper Balanced recorded the highest in-flows over the period, with member contributions up by more than $5 billion, followed by REST Core with $1.6 billion, and CBUS Growth with $1.4 billion.

Top performing multisector growth super funds: one-year returns

This table has been sorted by one-year performance (highest to lowest). chart

Top performing multisector growth super funds: five-year returns

This table has been sorted by five-year average annual performance (highest to lowest). chart

Top performing multisector growth super funds: ten-year returns

This table has been sorted by ten-year average annual performance (highest to lowest). chart

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Emma Rapaport is a reporter for Morningstar Australia.

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