FEATURE
DEEP
DIVE EXPLORING THE STATUS OF SMSFS
Despite a consistent growth rate, and a pool of savings in the hundreds of millions, SMSFs are still regarded by some as niche, and by others as under threat from competing sectors, but do the numbers support that story? Taking a deep dive into the ATO’s latest statistics, Jason Spits investigates.
Australia’s superannuation system is generally regarded as one of the best retirement income savings models in the world and while the degree of SMSF sector growth was probably the last thing on the minds of the system’s creators, it has come to occupy a dominant place alongside retail, industry and public sector funds. According to the ATO’s recently released SMSF statistical overview for 2017/18, the sector held $747.6 billion, or 26 per cent, of the total $2.87 trillion in the Australian superannuation system as at 30 June 2019. This puts SMSFs ahead of the industry fund sector at $718.7 billion (25 per cent), the retail sector at $625.7 billion (21.8 per cent) and public sector funds at $510.6 billion (17.8 per cent), and represents a 40 per cent increase in asset size for
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