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Our investment performance in 2021-22

Mid way through the financial year the excellent market returns were derailed by war and the pandemic.
June 29, 2022

KEY POINTS

  • Despite our first negative short-term results in 10 years, long-term results remain competitive.
  • Be cautious if you're considering making changes to your super.
  • We're managing investments in an uncertain market and expect a rebound at some point.


The first six months of 2022 were rough on investments, erasing the solid gains from the last half of 2021, with widespread decline in value across global markets.

As you can see in the table below that has affected our short-term performance. But focusing on the more important long-term results, you can also see smartMonday continues to deliver competitive returns to members.

smartMonday performance compared to peers to 30 June 2022 (%)

Super option

3 months

1 year

3 years p.a.

5 years p.a.

7 years p.a.

10 years p.a.

MySuper age 40*

-8.98

-6.41

3.83

6.75

6.87

n.a.

Peer group median

-5.84

-5.00

3.99

5.69

5.91

n.a.

MySuper age 45*

-8.77

-6.57

3.50

6.51

6.70

n.a

Peer group median

-5.84

-5.00

3.99

5.69

5.91

n.a.

High Growth - Active

-8.00

-3.86

4.97

6.90

6.81

9.86

Peer group median

-8.84

-6.87

4.61

6.59

6.66

10.03

Growth - Active

-7.15

-3.64

4.51

6.17

6.16

8.91

Peer group median

-7.41

-5.42

4.48

6.42

6.54

9.03

Balanced Growth - Active

-6.66

-4.34

3.61

5.30

5.38

7.80

Peer group median

-5.71

-3.82

4.07

5.73

5.87

7.95

Moderate - Active

-5.07

-5.29

0.67

2.45

2.92

4.51

Peer group median

-3.23

-3.44

1.57

3.01

3.35

4.59

Defensive - Active

-3.96

-5.54

-0.35

0.83

1.31

2.07

Peer group median

-1.33

-1.84

0.26

1.14

1.48

2.17

Data Source: SuperRatings Accumulation Fund Crediting Rate Survey. Notes: The ‘peer group median’ reflects the SuperRatings category that the option appears in. Highlighted figures show where smartMonday is performing above the peer group media. Performance shown net of investment fees and taxes, annualised performance shown for periods greater than 1 year. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. Average smartMonday member is 43 years of age as of June 2022.

Please review our full performance results here. We also have answers for common member questions about the market downturn, such as if it’s a good idea to switch investment options.

2021/22 is the first year in more than a decade where we have reported a negative return for members. The loss members are bearing isn’t lost on us and we are working to balance the high uncertainty driving short-term market conditions, which I explain below.


Three essential points about our performance

  • Firstly, sharemarkets have always recovered from losses in value, the duration of recovery time is what tends to differ. In recent history, the pandemic market dip of early 2020 and global financial crisis of 2008 were quick, aggressive market downturns followed by strong recoveries.

  • Secondly, our experts are managing our investments to minimise the impact of the downturn and expect long-term results to remain competitive. Our popular MySuper investment choice is designed to endure market downturns – while some loss may be inevitable, it’s a strategy you can feel secure about for the long term.

  • Thirdly, be cautious if you’re considering changing investments in response to losses in value. Time and again we see members make any losses worse by changing strategies. While it’s hard to predict when markets will recover, superannuation is a long-term investment, so it’s usually best to stick out the tough times and focus on long-term growth.

    If you’re closer to retirement, decline in value can be more of an issue, and for those members it may be worth getting advice about what is right for them to do.

What’s affected your super

We’ve put together a careful explanation of what’s happened to investments this year and why their value has fallen. So below I’ll give a quick recap on the most important points and suggest what may be ahead:

  • Central banks are hiking interest rates the world over to control fast-rising prices. They see inflation as the biggest economic threat and the pain of higher interest rates is necessary to bring prices under control.

  • It’s those interest rate rises, and their potential to cause damage, if not recession, to economies that is bringing down the value of investments, as investors pull out their money in response.

  • Unusually, this downturn affects all markets, from shares, to bonds, to property, which is why super funds are showing losses across growth and defensive options.

What will affect future performance

  • There’s much uncertainty in the global economy, especially in Europe, heightening the risk of a significant and fast recession there that could spread to the rest of the world.

  • Both the global sharemarkets and bond markets are predicting more economic pain is to come. The delivery of goods is still hampered by the pandemic and other factors (causing prices to rise), companies are struggling to increase profits and employees are struggling to increase wages.

  • Governments are deeply in debt, meaning it’s not easy to increase spending to help manage these conditions – that burden falls on central banks, who for the moment plan to keep increasing rates.

  • Investors are hoping that weaker consumer spending in response to higher interest rates, combined with falling commodity prices, will dampen inflationary pressures. We think this means central banks won’t have to tighten as aggressively as feared, offsetting the risk of recession.

How smartMonday is managing the downturn

As superannuation is a long-term investment, we know from experience that while periods of market volatility can be unsettling, they also create new investment opportunities.

It is important for you to remain focused on your long-term investment objectives and remain aware that short-term returns can sometimes see violent swings. In response to the recent downturn, smartMonday is readjusting investment in alternative assets and unlisted property to provide protection from any further inflationary surprises. We had already reduced allocations to shares as conditions become less supportive, while continuing to search for new investment opportunities where we see long-term value.

Please also review our frequently asked questions about the 2022 market downturn.

Have questions? smartCoaches have answers