The data from APRA’s December 2013 Quarterly Superannuation Performance publication revealed that assets for superannuation entities with more than four members increased from $987.7 billion at the end of December 2012 to $1,212.2 billion at the end of 2013.
SMSF assets also rose significantly, increasing from $471.8 billion at the end of 2012 to $543.4 billion at the end of 2013.
Contributions for all super funds declined over the 12 months, however, falling 0.9 per cent from $92.3 billion for the 2012 calendar year down to $91.5 billion for 2013.
Net contribution flows were also down, falling 2.3 per cent from $34.9 billion in 2012 to $34.1 billion in 2013.
The statistics also indicated an increase in total benefit payments for the year ending 31 December 2013, with payments up by 7.7 per cent from $49.4 billion in 2012 to $53.3 billion in 2013.
In terms of the results for the 2013 December quarter, the data from APRA indicated that the rate of return for entities with over $50 million in assets for the December 2013 quarter was 3.7 per cent.
APRA also revealed net contribution flows for the December quarter totalled $8.8 billion, while total benefits payments were $13.8 billion.
