Latest news with #Mohankumar
Perth Now
21-04-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Impact of Trump chaos on Aussies revealed
The net wealth of Australians has fallen on the back of US President Donald Trump's tariff plans. Figures released by Chant West show the median superannuation balanced option, which has 61 to 80 per cent of the money invested in shares, fell 1.9 per cent in March. Worst still, these funds are currently estimated to have fallen a further 2 per cent in April following the rapid fall and recovery of shares earlier in the month. However, Chant West says this estimate could become stale quickly given some of the wild daily market movements. Chant West figures are the first showing of the cost to everyday Australians since the US President evoked his tariff policies, stoking fears of slowing economic growth. Superannuation members could be down by as much as 3.9 per cent. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar Credit: NewsWire The share sell-off began in late March off the back of Mr Trump announcing 25 per cent tariffs on select items including steel imports. President Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' blanket tariffs on April 2 sent a shockwave through share markets and then a week later, a pause on some of these tariffs resulted in a market rally. Chant West senior investment research manager Mano Mohankumar said in times of market volatility it is critical members keep in mind superannuation is a long-term investment and there are going to be periods of market weakness. 'While we appreciate that members all have different tolerance levels for seeing their account balance going backwards, the majority can afford to remain patient, even many older members,' Mr Mohankumar said. Despite the falls, the research shows retirees with the median super fund were still 5.5 per cent up over the nine months of the 2024 financial year. 'When markets fall sharply, there is a tendency for some people to think about moving to lower-risk options or cash, with a view to moving back later, either out of fear or as an attempt to time the market,' Mr Mohankumar said. 'But far more often than not, that strategy results in a worse long-term outcome than if you stay the course.' Superannuation balance would have fallen by more if it wasn't for superannuation diversification. NewsWire / John Appleyard Credit: News Corp Australia 'Not only do you convert paper losses into real ones, but you also risk missing part, or all of the subsequent market rebound.' Mr Mohankumar also pointed to superannuation members benefiting from diversification with the losses in the share market greater than what members are experiencing. 'Taking the full month of March as an example, we saw Australian shares retreat 3.3 per cent over the month while international shares were down 5 and 4.7 per cent, in hedged and unhedged terms, respectively,' he said. 'However, the median growth fund's loss was limited to 1.9 per cent, benefiting from diversification across a wide range of growth and defensive asset classes including alternative and unlisted assets.' The average median superannuation growth fund has delivered an 8 per cent return on average since the introduction of compulsory super in 1992.
News.com.au
21-04-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Out of fear': Members urged not to do one thing in sharemarket sell-off
The net wealth of Australians has fallen on the back of US President Donald Trump's tariff plans. Figures released by Chant West show the median superannuation balanced option, which has 61 to 80 per cent of the money invested in shares, fell 1.9 per cent in March. Worst still, these funds are currently estimated to have fallen a further 2 per cent in April following the rapid fall and recovery of shares earlier in the month. However, Chant West says this estimate could become stale quickly given some of the wild daily market movements. Chant West figures are the first showing of the cost to everyday Australians since the US President evoked his tariff policies, stoking fears of slowing economic growth. The share sell-off began in late March off the back of Mr Trump announcing 25 per cent tariffs on select items including steel imports. President Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' blanket tariffs on April 2 sent a shockwave through share markets and then a week later, a pause on some of these tariffs resulted in a market rally. Chant West senior investment research manager Mano Mohankumar said in times of market volatility it is critical members keep in mind superannuation is a long-term investment and there are going to be periods of market weakness. 'While we appreciate that members all have different tolerance levels for seeing their account balance going backwards, the majority can afford to remain patient, even many older members,' Mr Mohankumar said. Despite the falls, the research shows retirees with the median super fund were still 5.5 per cent up over the nine months of the 2024 financial year. 'When markets fall sharply, there is a tendency for some people to think about moving to lower-risk options or cash, with a view to moving back later, either out of fear or as an attempt to time the market,' Mr Mohankumar said. 'But far more often than not, that strategy results in a worse long-term outcome than if you stay the course.' 'Not only do you convert paper losses into real ones, but you also risk missing part, or all of the subsequent market rebound.' Mr Mohankumar also pointed to superannuation members benefiting from diversification with the losses in the share market greater than what members are experiencing. 'Taking the full month of March as an example, we saw Australian shares retreat 3.3 per cent over the month while international shares were down 5 and 4.7 per cent, in hedged and unhedged terms, respectively,' he said. 'However, the median growth fund's loss was limited to 1.9 per cent, benefiting from diversification across a wide range of growth and defensive asset classes including alternative and unlisted assets.' The average median superannuation growth fund has delivered an 8 per cent return on average since the introduction of compulsory super in 1992.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Trump move made Aussies poorer
Millions of Australians' superannuation balances fell at the end of February as US President Donald Trump announced his trade tariffs. Chant West stats show the median growth fund, which is 61 to 80 per cent invested in growth assets like shares, was down 0.9 per cent in February. This comes off the back of a strong start to the year when the median growth fund jumped 2.2 per cent in January. Chant West senior investment research manager Mano Mohankumar said volatility crept back into sharemarkets on the back of weaker US economic data and concerns about the potential impact of Trump's tariff announcements. 'In February, both Australian and international shares were down, with Australian shares falling 3.8 per cent,' he said. Despite the sharemarket wobbles continuing in March, Mr Mohankumar cautioned superannuation members from switching funds. 'With sharemarket volatility continuing into March, and an uncertain economic and geopolitical backdrop, it's an important time to remind members that superannuation is a long-term investment and that throughout their superannuation journey, there will be periods of choppiness,' he said. 'More often than not, it (switching) results in poorer long-term outcomes than if they ride out the ups and downs. And we know that over the long term, there are far more ups.' Mr Mohankumar said superannuation funds had time and time again weathered difficult periods in the market. 'Most Australians have their super invested in well diversified portfolios with their exposure spread across a wide range of growth-orientated and defensive asset classes,' Mr Mohankumar said. 'That diversification helps limit the damage during periods of sharemarket weakness as we saw in February and March to date.' Mr Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports came into effect on March 12, with no exemptions and a threat of doubling levies on steel and aluminium from Canada should the country retaliate with a surcharge on electricity exports. On March 4, the US President raised the tariff on all Chinese goods going into America by 20 per cent. He also implemented a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from both Canada and Mexico. Mr Trump said additional sectoral tariffs, as well as a global reciprocal tariff policy for countries implementing tariffs on the US, will start from April 2, 2025. Mr Mohankumar said superannuation over the long term still performed above expectations. 'Since the introduction of compulsory super in July 1992, the median growth fund has returned 8 per cent a year – well above the typical 3.5 per cent target,' he said. 'Even looking at the past 20 years, which includes three major sharemarket downturns – the GFC in 2007-2009, Covid-19 in 2020, and the high inflation and rising interest rates in 2022 – super funds have returned 7.1 per cent a year, which is still comfortably ahead of the typical objective.'
