It’s that time of year again, our annual statements have just been sent out to your employees with Rest, making it a good time for them to jump in and see how their super savings are tracking. For employees invested in the default, Core Strategy delivered a positive gain of 5.96% for the year ending 30 June. Over the 10 years to the end of June 2019, Core Strategy delivered 8.95% p.a. This long-term result is over and above the Core Strategy’s investment objective of CPI +3%.
Our philosophy – growing member’s savings over the long term
Rest’s investment approach is different from some other super funds as we actively manage our portfolio based on opportunities and risk, and focus on long-term performance above short-term growth.
This was evident in the way our Core Strategy was defensively positioned during the recent statement period in its exposure to shares compared to similar investment options of some of our peers. Although this means that we didn’t benefit as much from the short-term market growth, it also means we shouldn’t be impacted as severely if a significant downturn occurs in the future. We believe there are many factors in the market today suggesting it’s time for caution, such as the ongoing US-China trade war and slowing global growth.
Investing in infrastructure to deliver stable returns
Consistent with our investment philosophy, in 2019 we continued to invest in infrastructure and property assets to deliver stable long term returns for members. Such (direct or indirect) infrastructure investments included:
- increasing our stake in Western Australia’s biggest renewable energy producer, Collgar Windfarm from 40% to 100% in June 2019. Collgar has been delivering strong returns for Rest members and the deal makes it one of the largest local renewable energy projects directly owned by an Australian super fund; and
- acquiring a stake in Port of Long Beach, California which is part of the largest container port complex in the US.
Long-term track record of performance
Rest has followed this risk-managed, long-term investment approach for many years and it has served our members successfully during previous periods of market turmoil such as the Global Financial Crisis. According to SuperRatings, Rest Core Strategy’s performance ranked 3rd out of 21 with an annualised return of 7.92% compared to the median fund which returned 7.22% over the 20 years to 30 June 20191. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.
When reflecting on investment performance it’s important to remember that we apply the same philosophy to our business as you apply to yours: it’s not just about today, it’s about planning for tomorrow.
1 SuperRatings Fund Crediting Rate Survey – June 2019, SR50 Balanced (60-76) Index. Returns are net of investment fees, tax and implicit asset-based administration fees. Explicit fees such as fixed dollar administration fees, exit fees, contribution fees and switching fees are excluded. Ratings, awards or investment returns are only some of the factors that you should consider when deciding how to invest your super. SuperRatings Pty Limited does not issue, sell, guarantee or underwrite this product. Go to superratings.com.au for details of its ratings criteria.