Colonial First State and AMP are tracking to deliver returns of approximately 12 per cent for the current financial year, significantly outperforming their union-affiliated competitors in the Australian superannuation sector.
The strong performance is being driven by a strategic overweight in emerging markets, a positioning that has rewarded investors as global growth proves more resilient than anticipated.
The divergence in returns highlights a growing split in the Australian retirement savings landscape.
While union-backed funds have maintained more conservative allocations, the for-profit giants have leaned into higher-risk, higher-reward assets.
Colonial First State has explicitly credited this relative exposure to emerging markets for the outperformance, noting that the asset class has benefited from sustained global economic momentum.
This performance comes amid a backdrop of persistent geopolitical tensions, which many analysts had feared would dampen global growth.