The ongoing strength of the self managed super fund (SMSF) sector was reconfirmed by the release of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) quarterly superannuation statistics for 31 March 2013.
The SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australian (SPAA) Director, Technical and Professional Standard, Graeme Colley, says the March quarter saw SMSF assets increase $22 billion or 33.9% of the total $68.4 billion increase in superannuation assets in this last quarter.
Colley says this increase means the total assets in SMSFs now stands at $496.2 billion or about 31.5 per cent of the total $1.58 trillion superannuation pool.
“What these numbers say about SMSFs is positive on two fronts.
“First, that the fund trustees and their professional advisors have not missed the upswing in the equity markets in this quarter or over the past year. The investment performance of the SMSF sector has been on a par or better than the other sectors.
“Second, that despite the market volatility of the past years post the GFC, people still want to take control of their superannuation and be responsible for it.
“This reflects both a growing awareness by trustees of superannuation and their capacity to be able to get professional advice on all issues pertaining to the management of their SMSF,” he says.
