Despite recent market volatility, the majority of people are confident that the sharemarket will continue its stellar performance, according to research from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).

The ANOP-conducted research found that 72 per cent of people believe investment returns will stay as high or improve while only 17 per cent of people expect the market to deliver lower returns.

Optimism was higher among industry fund members with 32 per cent of people expecting better returns for the year.

"We see a possibly overcharged set of expectations, with little indication that the volatility we have seen in recent months has done much to dampen optimism," ANOP research director Rod Cameron said.

While people were optimistic about the performance of future markets, the majority did not have a detailed knowledge of actual returns.

Only 32 per cent of people surveyed were able to nominate a figure, 68 per cent had no knowledge of their fund's returns.

"The industry may hope that a similar level of ignorance about actual returns might carry over to the times of lower returns. There is evidence in our past surveys that this will be the case, at least in the short term," Cameron said.

Investment performance was the key driver behind members' satisfaction with their fund and was rated by a substantial margin over fees and charges.  

"We know that fees and charges become more pertinent in times of lower returns," Cameron said.