SMSFs surge past 500,000, with nearly $500B in assets

Note: We regularly update this article with the latest data on superannuation funds issued by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). This article contains the latest statistics available, as of May 2013 (for data as at March 2013).

More than half a million self-managed super funds are now in operation, according to the latest statistics released by APRA in May 2013. The exact number of SMSFs (as at March 2013) is 503,320, and thousands of new SMSFs are being established every quarter.

The average balance of a SMSF is stampeding towards $1 million, with the ‘average’ fund balance now around $986,000, and the average account balance for a SMSF member is nearly $510,000. Note that these figures are an average calculated by dividing the total assets held by SMSFs by the number of SMSFs. In reality, around half of all SMSFs have less than $500,000 in assets (for more details on fund balances see SuperGuide article Do you fit the profile of a ‘typical’ SMSF trustee?).

Individuals running SMSFs control nearly a third ($496.2 billion) of the $1.58 trillion invested via Australian superannuation funds. Ten years ago, DIY super funds represented one-tenth (10%) of all superannuation money.

SMSFs lead in market share

The 31.5% of money held in DIY super funds, officially called self-managed super funds (SMSFs), exceeds the super money invested via retail funds (26.3%, $415 billion), industry funds (19.8%, $311.4 billion), public sector funds (15.7%, $247.2 billion) and corporate super funds (3.8%, $60.3 billion) according to figures released by APRA in May 2013, and representing fund assets as at 31 March 2013. APRA stands for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the prudential regulator of all super funds, with the exception of DIY super funds (SMSFs), which are regulated by the Australian Tax Office.

Increase in value of assets for 3 months to 31 March 2013

All superannuation sectors (SMSFs, industry funds, retail funds, public sector funds and corporate funds) grew in terms of total assets during the 3 months to March 2013, with the SMSF sector retaining its leading market share.

According to APRA statistics, over the entire superannuation sector, total fund asset values increased by 13.5% during the 12 months to March 2013, starting at $1.388 trillion (in March 2012) and growing to $1.576 trillion by March 2013.

During the March 2013 quarter, total assets increased by $68 billion (4.5%), with the assets in industry funds increasing by 5.7%, SMSF assets increasing 4.7%, public sector fund assets increasing 4.3%, assets in corporate funds increasing 4.3%, and retail fund assets increasing 4.2%,

I explain the five main super fund sectors in the article, Comparing super funds: Who’s who in the super zoo. This article is updated periodically with the latest statistics on the types of funds and how many super funds of each type are available.