The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has pointed to the continuing growth in the Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) sector as part of a year in review bulletin.
The bulleting revealed that in 2014 the number of SMSF members exceeded one million for the first time and that, in September, there were 1,023,964 members and 539,375 registered SMSFs accounting for assets of $559 billion.
It said the number of SMSFs had grown by 30 per cent since 2010 — averaging nearly 27,000 newly established funds a year.
"SMSFs directly invest 78 per cent of their assets. They mainly invest in cash and term deposits and Australian listed shares," the bulletin said.
"SMSFs are an increasingly important part of the Australian superannuation industry — 99 per cent of all Australian super funds are SMSFs and 30 per cent of the $1.9 trillion of total superannuation industry assets are in SMSFs."
"SMSFs are increasingly appealing to younger people. For the first time in 2013, the median age of members in newly established funds was under 50 years of age — with 36 per cent of members younger than 45 years old."
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A recent NSW Supreme Court decision is an important reminder that while super funds may be subject to restrictive superannuation and tax laws, in essence they are still a trust and subject to equitable and common law claims, says a legal expert.
New research from the University of Adelaide has found SMSFs outperformed APRA funds by more than 4 per cent in 2021–22.
The SMSF Association has made a number of policy recommendations for the superannuation sector in its pre-budget submission to the government.