Westscheme among super fund leaders in 2005: SuperRatings

Boosted by the ongoing strong performance of the Australian share market Western Australian superannuation fund Westscheme is set to deliver a strong return in 2005.
According to superannuation research company SuperRatings, Westscheme which is the largest private-sector superannuation fund in WA, is one of the best performing funds in Australia so far this year.
Its return of 16.2 per cent along with the strong performance of other not-for-profit industry super funds, like the MTAA Super Balanced fund, overshadows the performance of the master-trust sector.
Westscheme seeks advice from Access Economics in respect of its choice of investment managers and asset allocation and the portfolio has benefited from a strategic asset allocation of 28.5 per cent to Australian shares.
Figures from SuperRatings for the year to the end of November indicate another double-digit return for the average balanced retirement fund is likely in 2005.
The average balanced retirement fund returned 11.4 per cent for the first 11 months of the year.
This follows returns of 14.9 per cent in 2004 and a more modest, but still solid, 8.2 per cent in 2003.
Despite fluctuations in super fund returns over time, the achievement of consistent double-digit returns should be seen as a measurement of good performance by fund managers and represents a good result for investors.
Super scheme returns in general have benefited from the recent bullish performance of bank and resource stocks, which have driven the benchmark S&P/ASX200 to record highs late in the year.