19 February 2025
GuildSuper finished the 2024 calendar year with strong results, with one of our options among the top 10 performers for the year*.
GuildSuper’s Growing Lifestage option was among the top 10 lifecycle super options* for 2024, delivering a stellar 14.1% over the year. Our Building and Consolidating Lifestage options also delivered more than 10% for the calendar year, with returns of 15.6% and 10.8% respectively.
GuildSuper’s Lifestage options are designed to suit you at different ages, adjusting your investment mix to give you more exposure to growth when you are younger and to give you a more defensive portfolio as you move closer to retirement.
Here’s everything you need to know about how the economy and share markets impacted your super.
The big picture
Of course, one of the biggest stories of 2024 was US President Donald Trump’s election in November. While not everyone was happy to see Trump return for a second term, stock markets appeared to see the upside.
The market surged following the election due to expectations of continued US economic growth, boosted profits and a friendlier environment for business deals from US deregulation.
The immediate beneficiaries were companies set to benefit from lighter regulation and the imposition of tariffs on US imports. For example, Tesla is poised to benefit from the tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles Trump has committed to imposing and its CEO’s connection to Trump.
The Trump effect
Last year’s impressive global returns were driven largely by the US technology sector while AI-driven innovation fuelled gains. However, the Trump effect combined with uncertainty over interest rates fuelled volatility in the final quarter of the year.
Big Tech (excluding Tesla) took a hit, with investors appearing unsure what a Trump presidency would mean for these companies.
Alongside tech, businesses heavily reliant on US government spending or vulnerable to tariff increases, such as steelmakers and the healthcare sector saw share prices slump.
In Australia, share markets also finished the year on a quieter note mainly due to a struggling materials sector, particularly iron ore, which suffered from decreasing demand from China’s construction industry. Our small domestic tech sector also struggled. Still, despite these issues Australian equities managed to return double digits for the year.
RBA lowers rates
In February, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cautiously lowered the cash rate by 0.25% to 4.10%. The RBA were able to do this due to inflation dropping within their target level of 2-3% faster than they expected and unemployment remaining low. The economy however remains in a delicate position.
This is the first time the RBA has dropped rates since November 2020, and it could impact everything from mortgage rates (some banks have already announced they will be passing the rate cut on to customers) to stock market performance. Lower rates also make borrowing cheaper which boosts spending and investment.
While our recent progress is a positive, it is also important to continue to keep a close eye on global economic trends, domestic demand and inflation patterns. The RBA will continue to assess potential risks to the economy including Trump’s trade war, which may contribute to a weakening Australian dollar due to our high levels of trade with China.
What to expect in 2025
Going into 2025, we’re focussed on investing more in alternative assets – these are assets you can’t buy on the stock market, like infrastructure and property.
We’re interested in this area because we see an opportunity to provide diversification (not putting all your eggs in one basket) and additional opportunities for returns. Assets that assist with securing the energy supply are particularly attractive because we will be seeing demand for energy increase to keep up with the growth in AI.
The numbers
MySuper investment performance
My Mix investment performance
Net investment returns to 31 December 2024.
Returns are not guaranteed and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Investments may be held directly, or indirectly through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and other managed investment vehicles.
*Source: SuperRatings. More information available here.