Sharemarket volatility pushed super returns down by 2.1 per cent in June, leaving the financial year gain at 9.7 per cent, SuperRatings has reported.

While this is a comparatively good overall result, it is significantly down on the past two financial years, which saw average returns well into double figures.

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June’s awful sharemarket performances, both domestically and globally, disappointed hopes for another year of double-digit returns, which looked like a sure bet in May.

“Although market volatility in June prevented most funds from producing double-digit growth for the year, the 9.7 per cent return is still an impressive result,’’ SuperRatings founder Jeff Bresnahan said.

“This is the sixth consecutive year of positive results, with annual returns during this period now averaging 9.2 per cent.”

SuperRatings’ numbers refer to the average balanced option – the option that most members of industry and public sector super funds have their money in. Generally these funds allocate  between 60 and 70 per cent of members’ money to shares, and the remainder in fixed income, infrastructure, property and a small amount of cash.

The average returns across a range time periods are as follows:

Three years: 12.3 per cent
Five years: 9.2 per cent
Seven years: 5.9 per cent
Ten years: 6.5 per cent
Since inception (23 years): 7.4 per cent