Super funds the 'standout buyers' of bank shares: Macquarie
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The news: Macquarie said superannuation funds have been the "clear standout buyers" of Australian bank shares over the 12 months to June, buying $6.4 billion worth of equities during the period largely thanks to net inflows and contributions.
The numbers: Macquarie's data found that super funds' ownership of the banking sector rose 1.6% to 29% over the year. This share has largely come from investment funds (-1%), as well as offshore investment (-0.3%).
In transaction terms, super funds bought $2.1 billion of bank shares in the June quarter, and $6.4 billion over the past 12 months. This largely was due to investment managers selling $7.1 billion during the period.
Macquarie noted that super funds are modestly overweight banks (0.4%), but this has not "meaningfully changed" over the past year.
However, super fund holdings for domestic equities have increased 18% during the period, faster than the overall market (9%), suggesting recent buying reflects inflows from contributions rather than changes in strategy.
The strong pace of contributions is likely to continue in the near term, Macquarie said, given the 0.5% increase in the super guarantee to 11.5% from 1 July, 2025, and the final increase to 12% from 1 July, 2025.
The context: Macquarie said that while super fund contributions and flows are likely to continue, it is unlikely to drive ongoing outperformance of banks relative to the market as they are already broadly neutral.
Analysts said they see the next potential flow catalyst being offshore selling, "likely on macro sentiment", which would result in bank sector underperformance.
The source: Macquarie research
