MySuper makes it four on the trot

“The Rainmaker MySuper Index demonstrates the value of staying invested through market volatility,” said Dr Camille Schmidt, associate director of research at Rainmaker Information.

“Despite short-term shocks, including geopolitical events earlier this year, the strong recovery highlights how default settings are working in members’ favour, delivering consistent and competitive outcomes.”

“For many Australians, that has translated into real gains, with balances growing meaningfully over the year.”

The Rainmaker MySuper Index contains all MySuper and default options. For MySuper lifecycle offerings, only the option applicable to a 40 year-old member is included.

The Rainmaker MySuper Index only recorded two months of negative returns over the financial year, while the highest monthly return of 2.7% occurred in April 2026.

MySuper is designed for members who do not actively choose their superannuation fund and that default setting appears to have supported outcomes through recent volatility.

Following a -3.4% decline in March after the outbreak of conflict in Iran, the Rainmaker MySuper Index rebounded by 2.7% in April and a further 2.3% in May, supporting a full recovery.

As a result, a member with a balance of $100,000 at the start of July 2025 that switched to cash at the start of April 2026, following the March dip, would be over $5,000 worse off by financial year end, compared to if they had stayed the course and benefited from the recovery.  

Over the last five years, MySuper membership increased by 10% to 15 million accounts, while assets rose 38% to almost $1.2 trillion.

The chart below highlights the Rainmaker MySuper Index’s performance over the past 10 financial years, with 2025/26 marking the fourth consecutive financial year of positive performance and sitting above the 10-year average for the index of 7.9% pa.

MySuper products typically benchmark their long-term performance against CPI plus 3.0% to 4.0% over a rolling 10-year period.

With CPI at 4.0% as at May 2026, this implies CPI plus 3-4% targets of around 7-8%; the Rainmaker MySuper Index has finished above that range.

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Analysis of market benchmarks indicates that domestic and global equities were the key drivers of performance over the year to June 2026.

In particular, international equities (AUD hedged) delivered stellar performance of 15.4%, underpinned by US tech stocks and the AI boom. However, unhedged returns are materially lower due to the AUD appreciating by 8.1% over this period. The S&P ASX 200 rose 6.1%, underperforming MySuper returns

Listed property posted a negative return of -2.2%, consistent with the RBA cash rate increases in early 2026 and the sector’s sensitivity to rates. Australian fixed interest, international fixed interest and cash returned 0.2%, 2.9% and 4.1% respectively.  

According to APRA’s latest March 2026 data, the average MySuper asset allocation invests 61.7% in domestic and international equities, while property, infrastructure and alternatives represent 7.1%, 11.3% and 1.1% respectively. Cash and fixed interest account for the remainder.

“The average MySuper portfolio is heavily growth-oriented, with around three-quarters invested in equities and other return-seeking assets, underpinning its ability to deliver strong, long-term outcomes for members.”  Dr Schmidt said.

Growth, balanced, capital stable

Rainmaker’s suite of diversified indices also benefited from the strong performance of equities over the financial year.

Rainmaker’s Growth  Index (>75% growth assets) achieved an estimated return of 10.8%, while the Balanced Index (55-75% growth assets) and the Capital Stable Index (<55% growth assets) are expected to deliver 8.7% and 5.8% respectively over the 12 months to June 2026.