Most growth superannuation funds achieved double-digit returns last financial year, buoyed by a strong performance by equities despite trade tensions and war in the Middle East, a new report says.
The median growth fund posted a 10.5 per cent return in 2024/25, superannuation consultant Chant West said in research released on Thursday.
"A tremendous result," Chant West senior investment research manager Mano Mohankumar told AAP.
"It also comes on the back of two better than expected years, taking three-year performance in excess of 30 per cent."
The performance is for what Chant West defines as growth funds, those with between 61 and 80 per cent of their funds in growth assets.
"So if you're in a high-risk option, you would have done even better," Mr Mohankumar said. "But I think in terms of risk, everyone has a different threshold."
High growth funds - which Chant West defines as those invested 81 per cent to 95 per cent in growth assets - posted a 11.7 per cent return, while funds all or nearly all in growth assets grew by 13.5 per cent.
The top performing growth fund in 2024/25, according to Chant West, was the legalsuper MySuper Balanced fund, which posted a 12.9 per cent return.
Vanguard's Super SaveSmart Growth fund was number two at 11.8 per cent, followed by CFS FirstChoice Growth, the Australian Retirement Trust Balanced and NGS Super Diversified, all of which posted a return of 11.2 per cent.
Mr Mohankumar said long-term performance was far more important than a single year's returns.
He added that a key lesson from the financial year was the resilience of share markets and the importance of maintaining that long-term focus, rather than getting distracted by short-term volatility.
The Australian market dropped 13.9 per cent from mid-February to early April as US President Donald Trump's tariffs and Middle East fighting unnerved investors.
However, the ASX rebounded from there and by early June had made up all it had lost, closing Tuesday at record levels.
"We appreciate that everyone has a different threshold for how much they can see their account balances down during periods of market turbulence, but we'd say during periods of market volatility, riding it out far more often than not pays off in the long run," Mr Mohankumar said.