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Home / SMSFs

SMSF investment: 20 most popular managed funds

November 16, 2020 by Barbara Drury Leave a Comment

Reading time: 3 minutes


This article lists the 20 most popular managed funds invested in by SMSFs as of 30 June 2020. This article uses data supplied by BGL, an SMSF administration software company, and is based on a statistical analysis of more than 25% of the 200,000 SMSFs administered using BGL software. We thank BGL for providing SuperGuide with access to such valuable data.

See also

  • SMSF investment: 20 most popular Australian shares
  • SMSF investment: 20 most popular international shares
  • SMSF investment: 20 most popular ETFs
  • Ron Lesh (CEO of BGL) discusses some of the main insights from the data

Managed funds, as the name suggests, are an investment structure where professional fund managers select and manage the fund’s investments on behalf of their investors.

Managed funds have long appealed to investors who may not have the time or the expertise to invest in certain asset classes on their own behalf. And, as investors pool their money, managed funds also give them access to a wider range of assets and asset classes than they would otherwise have access to.

When you invest in a managed fund the number of ‘units’ you receive will depend on the unit price on the day of purchase. Units are of equal value and their price will reflect the value of the fund’s assets which may change daily.

Traditionally, managed funds were ‘unlisted’ which meant units could only be purchased by applying to the fund. These days, many are listed on the ASX mFunds service so units can be bought and sold through a broker.

Investment returns come in the form of capital growth in the value of your units and income from distributions. While distributions may be declared on a regular basis, they ultimately depend on the performance of the fund and its earnings.

Importantly, fund managers will deduct management and often performance-based fees from fund earnings before distributing income.

Today there are thousands of managed funds in Australia, with $3,816.9 billion in assets according to the latest ABS statistics. The size and maturity of the managed funds industry means there is a wide variety of investment strategies on offer.

Some managed funds invest in a single asset class such as shares or fixed interest, geographical area such as Asia, or emerging markets, or using a strategy such as high yield shares or sustainability. So-called multi-sector funds invest across multiple asset classes.

Some fund managers actively select and trade investments in order to beat the market, while absolute return funds aim to not just beat the market but make positive returns every year. Passive funds aim to track a particular market or market index. Generally, the higher the degree of active management the higher the fees.

How are SMSFs using managed funds?

It is often claimed that SMSFs are not as diversified as large super funds, with too much focus on Australian shares and cash and not enough exposure to international markets. However, that view fails to take into account indirect investment by SMSFs via managed funds.

At first glance, the latest figures from BGL as of 30 June 2020 show a paltry 2.8% of SMSFs hold direct international shares. But dig a little deeper, and over 17% of SMSF hold investments in traditional managed funds. What’s more, half of the 20 most popular managed funds invest in global shares or bonds (as are more than half the most popular ETFs).

The 20 most popular managed funds invested in by SMSFs

The top 20 list of managed funds is ranked by the percentage of SMSFs that hold these managed funds, rather than the value of assets that SMSFs have invested in the funds, although both figures are provided in our table. As has been the case for some time, the top three spots are dominated by Magellan and Platinum international equity funds.

Australian equity funds are also popular, from fund managers such as Macquarie, Fidelity, Bennelong and Vanguard.

Investors are also using managed funds to gain exposure to other assets like global bonds, infrastructure and listed property via big names such as PIMCO (global bonds, diversified fixed interest), Magellan (infrastructure) and Vanguard (Australian property securities).

20 most popular managed funds invested in by SMSFs

RankSecurity codeFund name% of Funds with Domestic Listed Securities that hold this security% of total SMSF Domestic Listed Securities Investments*
1PLA0002AUPlatinum International Fund18.1%2.7%
2MGE0001AUMagellan Global Fd15.0%3.2%
3PLA0004AUPlatinum Asia Fund7.7%1.6%
4ETL0018AUPIMCO Global Bond Fd – Ws Class6.1%0.8%
5MGE0002AUMagellan Infrastructure Fd5.7%0.7%
6MAQ0277AUMacquarie Income Opp Fund5.7%0.8%
7FID0008AUFidelity Aust Equities Fd5.6%0.9%
8MAQ0410AUWalter Scott Glob Equity Fund5.3%1.1%
9VAN0004AUVanguard Aus Prop Secs Index Fd4.8%0.4%
10ETL0016AUPIMCO Div Fixed Int Fd – Ws Class4.4%0.8%
11IOF0045AUAntipodes Global Fund – Class P4.3%0.6%
12MIA0001AUMFS Global Equity Trust4.0%0.6%
13BFL0004AUBennelong Ex-20 Aust Equities Fd3.8%0.5%
14VAN0003AUVanguard International Shares Index3.8%1.3%
15VAN0002AUVanguard Australian Shares Index3.6%1.9%
16HOW0052AUKapstream Absolute Return Income Fd3.4%0.4%
17IOF0145AUJanus Henderson Tactical Income3.2%0.5%
18MAQ0482AUWinton Global Alpha Fd3.1%0.2%
19CSA0038AUBentham Global Income Fund2.8%0.3%
20APN0008AUAPN AREIT Fund2.8%0.2%

Source: BGL (bglcorp.com.au). Data as of 30 June 2020

*Percentage each security makes up of the total SMSF Managed Fund investments e.g. PLA0002AU is 2.7% of the total SMSF investments in Managed Funds.

Learn more about SMSF assets in the following SuperGuide articles:

SMSF investment: 20 most popular ETFs

SMSF investment: 20 most popular ETFs

November 16, 2020

SMSF investment: 20 most popular Australian shares

SMSF investment: 20 most popular Australian shares

November 16, 2020

SMSF investment: 20 most popular international shares

SMSF investment: 20 most popular international shares

November 16, 2020

Which asset classes are popular with SMSFs?

Which asset classes are popular with SMSFs?

April 4, 2019

SMSFs: Top 10 alternative investments

SMSFs: Top 10 alternative investments

January 22, 2019

Learn more about SMSF investment in the following SuperGuide articles:

SMSF investment rules: Collectables and personal use assets

SMSF investment rules: Collectables and personal use assets

October 15, 2020

What are the SMSF borrowing rules?

What are the SMSF borrowing rules?

August 6, 2020

How to create an SMSF investment strategy (including example documents)

How to create an SMSF investment strategy (including example documents)

August 6, 2020

How to achieve genuine diversification in an SMSF

How to achieve genuine diversification in an SMSF

August 3, 2020

How do SMSF retirees invest?

How do SMSF retirees invest?

March 14, 2020

10 steps to buying a commercial property and leasing it to your SMSF

10 steps to buying a commercial property and leasing it to your SMSF

February 12, 2020

What on earth is an in-specie transfer?

What on earth is an in-specie transfer?

January 15, 2020

How to invest in infrastructure through an SMSF

How to invest in infrastructure through an SMSF

October 1, 2019

ETFs: How do I use them and what do they cost?

ETFs: How do I use them and what do they cost?

June 19, 2019

SMSF guide to hedging

SMSF guide to hedging

May 1, 2019

SMSFs and property: A Super Guide

SMSFs and property: A Super Guide

April 5, 2019

The definitive SMSF guide to franked dividends

The definitive SMSF guide to franked dividends

April 2, 2019

SMSF investment rules: What every trustee should know

SMSF investment rules: What every trustee should know

February 15, 2019

Related topics

Most popular investments for SMSFs SMSFs

IMPORTANT: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions. Comments provided by readers that may include information relating to tax, superannuation or other rules cannot be relied upon as advice. SuperGuide does not verify the information provided within comments from readers. Learn more

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All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it.

If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.

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