Data confirms Managed Accounts top performers

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

21 July 2026

Superannuation funds have been winning plenty of plaudits for their 2025/26 investment performance but new data confirms that managed accounts have more than matched that performance over the same period.

The data, collected by the Institute of Managed Accounts Professionals (IMAP) and Managed Accounts Newswire, covers the performance of the major managed accounts providers over the last financial year and reveals just how well they navigated both market uncertainty and resultant volatility.

The data reveals a top-end 12-month result of 15% amongst the high growth/aggressive products, with an average around 11.25% down to 5.70% for the lowest of the one-year conservative product settings.

The data traverses the offerings of Betashares, Vanguard, Russell, BlackRock, Evidentia Group, Resonant, State Street and Russell with the data showing that most of the performance momentum came in the second half. IMAP and Managed Accounts Newswire will provide further analysis of the data over coming editions.

IMAP chair, Toby Potter acknowledged the comparability of the returns with those of the major superannuation funds but pointed to the significant choice and scale differences between the superannuation funds and managed accounts providers.

The highest 12-month return of 15% was recorded by the BlackRock All Growth portfolio with a 98/2 growth/defensive mix, with another BlackRock product, the 85/15 Aggressive portfolio generating a return of 14.60% while Betashares recorded a 13.79% return for its 100% all growth portfolio.

Among the more conventional 80/20 offerings, the highest return was 12.60% also from a BlackRock product, the firm’s 70/30 Growth offering.

Asked the factors behind the returns, BlackRock Multi-Asset team director, Uwe Helmes said the largest contributors to performance had been maintaining a pro-risk stance when many investors had remained cautious.

“In particular, our preference for equities over fixed income, our overweight to U.S. equities versus Australia, and our tilt towards Emerging Markets over developed markets were key drivers of outperformance over the past year,” he said.

Looking ahead, he said pointed to the opportunities from the artificial intelligent driven transformation of the global economy but noted that BlackRock remained mindful of the risks.

“Persistent inflation, rising fiscal deficits, geopolitical fragmentation and supply-side constraints could lead to a more volatile path for markets over the next year, even if the broader growth outlook remains positive,” Helmes said.

Betashares attributed its performance to its blend of factor-based equity exposures, particularly in Australian equities.

“From a tactical perspective, our allocation to gold added the most value. We introduced a position to Gold in mid-2024 as a risk-managed tilt, and the Investment Committee subsequently exited it at the most recent rebalance in June before some of the more recent weakness. It was a good example of how dynamic asset allocation can help both capture opportunities and manage downside risk.

“Our preference for listed infrastructure over listed property also added value. Infrastructure benefited from several important tailwinds, including growing demand for the assets supporting artificial intelligence and the rise in energy prices,” the company said.