Heavy exposure to international equities was the secret sauce for superannuation funds in the 2022-23 financial year, with leading research house Chant West finding the asset class was the biggest contributor to the best performing funds’ returns.

Growth funds delivered a median return of 9.2 per cent for the financial year, Chant West revealed on Wednesday, putting funds well ahead of typical long-term return objectives of around 6 per cent (most funds aim for 3-4 per cent above inflation over 10 years).