FY26 Pension performance

CFS members invested in our top-ranked balanced and growth options received industry-leading returns over the 12 months to 30 June 2026, according to independent research firm Chant West¹. 

FirstChoice Moderate was the best-performing balanced pension option for the 2025-26 financial year, and FirstChoice Growth ranked second among growth pension options, according to Chant West’s Pension Fund Performance Survey to June 2026¹.

For the 2025-26 financial year, CFS delivered the following net returns²:

• 12.1% – FirstChoice Growth pension growth option
• 10.1% – FirstChoice Moderate pension balanced option 

FirstChoice Growth and FirstChoice Moderate have delivered consistently strong returns for pension members over the past four financial years to 2025-26. Annualised net returns³ were:

• 11.2% -- FirstChoice Growth pension growth option
• 9.4% -- FirstChoice Moderate pension balanced option

Our balanced pension option FirstChoice Moderate was ranked #1 for performance among balanced pension options by Chant West for the 2025-26 financial year¹.

It was the only balanced option to achieve double-digit performance for the 2025-26 financial year, according to Chant West’s Pension Fund Performance Survey to June 2026¹. 

Our return was 1.8% above the industry median for balanced pension options over the same period, the Pension Fund Performance Survey showed¹.

Chant West defines balanced options as those with 41%-61% of assets allocated to growth investments, such as shares, and the remainder allocated to defensive investments that are less volatile when markets move.

Our growth pension option FirstChoice Growth was ranked #2 for performance among growth pension options by Chant West for the 2025-26 financial year¹, according to Chant West’s Pension Fund Performance Survey.

FirstChoice Growth’s return was 1.7% above the industry median for growth pension options over the same period, according to the Pension Fund Performance Survey¹.

Growth options are defined by Chant West as having 61%-80% of assets allocated to growth investments.  

Importantly, members invested in our FirstChoice Growth and FirstChoice Moderate pension options experienced real growth in their investments over the financial year that was well above inflation, currently running at 4%⁴. 

FirstChoice Moderate’s financial year performance came in at more than 6.0% above inflation, while FirstChoice Growth was just over 8.0% higher. 

These returns were also well above cash rate target sets by the Reserve Bank of Australia over the past financial year, which fluctuated between a low of 3.6% and the current rate of 4.35%⁵.  

The cash rate target heavily influences other interest rates, such as the rate that tends to be offered on savings accounts. 

Despite geopolitical tensions, inflation concerns and ongoing uncertainty around interest rates, CFS’ Investment team delivered strong pension returns thanks to diversified portfolios that helped to manage risk, and disciplined active investment management, CFS Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Armitage said. 

"Many investors would have been surprised by how resilient markets proved to be over the past financial year given the backdrop of geopolitical conflict, shifting interest rate expectations and economic uncertainty,” Jonathan said.

"Strong company earnings, ongoing investment in technology and artificial intelligence, and opportunities across emerging markets all contributed to positive returns,” he added. 

“Maintaining a diversified portfolio was critical to capturing those opportunities while managing risk."

CFS remains focused on long-term returns for members and a disciplined approach to valuations, Jonathan added.

“For retirees and pension members, consistency matters. While markets experienced periods of volatility throughout the year, our investment approach remained focused on helping members grow and protect their savings over the long term,” Jonathan said.

“The strong performance of our pension options reflects our focus on valuation discipline, diversification and identifying opportunities in areas of the market where we see long-term value.”