Super funds lost 19.5pc in 2008
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Super Ratings found there were median losses of 0.12 per cent for super funds in December. (ABC News: Giulio Saggin)
An independent superannuation research group says Australians should prepare themselves for a second consecutive financial year of negative earnings from their super fund.
Research by Super Ratings has found there were median losses of 0.12 per cent for super funds in December, after months of record falls.
It found super funds lost an average of more than 19.5 per cent. The result caps off 12 months of substantial losses for Australian superannuation funds.
But the managing director of Super Ratings, Jeff Bresnahan, says people need to remember that superannuation is a long-term investment.
"If you had $100,000 in your super five years ago, it would have grown to $131,000 over the last five years and over the last seven years it would have grown to about $141,000 - so despite all of this economic turmoil super has actually done quite well over the medium to long term," he said.
Mr Bresnahan says the medium- to long-term performance of super funds is still sound and anyone who is tempted to move from superannuation to cash risks missing the benefits of a market rebound.
"Cash is very appealing but what it also does is it places you at risk that you miss market upturns," he said.
"Super, and I know it's a cliche, is a long-term investment and if you can afford to ride through these sort of bumps, and the five- and seven-year numbers prove that there are bumps, in this case very major ones, then we say stick with your long-term strategy."
Super Ratings says long-term results over five, seven and 10-year periods for Australia's major funds continue to hold above 5 per cent per annum in compound terms.
That means investment returns have boosted the average super fund balance by 31 per cent over five years, 41 per cent over seven years and 66 per cent over the past 10 years.
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