Australia’s Future Fund has captured an annual return of 22.2 percent, the strongest in the fund’s history.

The fund earned A$35.7 billion (US$25.88 billion) for the year, growing to A$196.8 billion (US$142.68 billion) as of 30 June. In addition, the fund recorded A$136.3 billion (US$98.81 billion) in investment earnings on A$60.5 billion (US$43.86 billion) of capital contributed by the government.

“While the near-term economic outlook is brighter than it was a year ago, much of Australia is still in lockdown and longer-term there remains uncertainty on the unwinding of stimulus, changes to the global order and how policymakers will respond,” said Peter Costello, chair of the Future Fund board of guardians. “This creates a challenging environment for investors.”

He added, “The board remains focused on its mandate and obligation to maximise risk-adjusted returns over the long term while taking acceptable, but not excessive, levels of risk.”