‍The financial year has ended, and it was a volatile time for investment markets. The Australian share market alone fell by more than 10% for the financial year to 30 June 2022.¹

Amid this volatility, Hostplus’ Balanced investment option – in which most of our members are invested – delivered a positive return of 1.57% for the year. This great result makes our Balanced option the top performer for the year according to SuperRatings.²

I’m delighted we were able to deliver this positive result for Hostplus members during such a volatile time in the markets. I’m delighted we were able to deliver this positive result for Hostplus members during such a volatile time in the markets.

The Hostplus Balanced option follows an actively managed, diversified investment strategy. It aims to smooth out your returns over the long term by choosing investments, in both listed and unlisted assets, based on how we believe they will perform in different market conditions.

For example, the revenue from some of our infrastructure and property investments is linked to inflation. When inflation goes up, as it has done over the past few months, that’s a good thing for those investments.

Currently, we have fewer investments in equities (shares) than most of our super fund peers, and almost no investments in fixed interest (bonds), both of which fell in 2022. In 2015, we decided to reduce our investments in bonds in the belief they wouldn’t perform well while interest rates remained so low. Our active management strategy is informed by regular and independent valuations of our listed and unlisted assets, according to our published Valuations Policy and in line with APRA standards.

Our Valuations Policy considers a range of factors, including the type of asset, its investment time frame and the economic environment. Updates to asset valuations are reflected in the unit prices of the Fund.  

The Hostplus Balanced option follows an actively managed, diversified investment strategy. It aims to smooth out your returns over the long term by choosing investments, in both listed and unlisted assets, based on how we believe they will perform in different market conditions.

For example, the revenue from some of our infrastructure and property investments is linked to inflation. When inflation goes up, as it has done over the past few months, that’s a good thing for those investments.

Currently, we have fewer investments in equities (shares) than most of our super fund peers, and almost no investments in fixed interest (bonds), both of which fell in 2022. In 2015, we decided to reduce our investments in bonds in the belief they wouldn’t perform well while interest rates remained so low. Our active management strategy is informed by regular and independent valuations of our listed and unlisted assets, according to our published Valuations Policy and in line with APRA standards.

Our Valuations Policy considers a range of factors, including the type of asset, its investment time frame and the economic environment. Updates to asset valuations are reflected in the unit prices of the Fund.  

Super is about the long term and we’ve designed our investment strategy with that in mind. I’m proud that our Balanced option is ranked number one over 1, 5, 7, 10 and 20 year periods for members in the accumulation phase.²

It’s delivered an average net return of 7.99% per year over the past 20 years – and that’s after all investment fees, costs and taxes have been paid.  And for Pension members, our Balanced option is ranked number one in Australia for the past financial year as well as over 5 and 10 year periods.³ An outstanding result for those members. 

While past performance is not a guarantee of future performance, these results speak for themselves. 

I’m excited about the future. Along with the entire team at Hostplus, I’ll continue to work tirelessly towards our goal of achieving the best possible long-term retirement outcomes for our members. Just as we have been doing for the past 34 years.

While our Balanced option delivered a positive return, our second most popular option, Indexed Balanced, fell by -5.67% over the year.  

As an indexed option, it aims to mirror the performance of the wider market. When the markets are performing well, the option will reflect this. When they are not, the option will reflect that too. 

Indexed Balanced is a passively managed option, meaning it has a much lower investment cost than our Balanced option. It’s one of the lowest-cost diversified investment options for super in Australia, featuring a total investment fee of just 0.05%.  

This is a different approach to an actively managed investment option, where we specifically choose investments based on how we believe they will perform under different market conditions. 

Though markets went down this year, over the ten years it’s been available, Indexed Balanced has performed very well, delivering an average return of 8.52% per year for accumulation members. It’s also ranked in the top quartile compared to other balanced options over the past ten years.⁴

If you’d like help understanding how your super is performing, contact us today. We offer three different levels of financial advice to ensure you get the right advice for your needs:

• easy-to-use DIY online advice through SuperAdviser
• phone-based superannuation advice from the Super Advice team 
• specialist face-to-face advice and planning.

A range of options to suit your needs? That’s a plus.