Australian retirement funds suffered their largest monthly losses since 2022, with heavy stock holdings being the main reason.

Due to the market volatility triggered by the Iran war impacting some heavily invested assets, Australia's retirement funds have experienced the most severe monthly losses in over three years. Estimated data provided by research organization Chant West show that a large sample investment product averaged a loss of 3.2% in March. This is the worst monthly performance since September 2022, mainly due to heavy exposure to stocks. This sample covers most Australians' retirement savings options. In the $4.5 trillion Australian retirement fund industry, stocks make up over half of each fund's investment portfolio, with around 30% being foreign stocks. This made them unable to escape the market crash in March: the Australian benchmark stock index fell by nearly 8%, the S&P 500 index dropped by about 5%, and fears over the conflict in the Middle East, oil price shocks, and concerns about Australia raising interest rates reignited panic among investors.