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Home / SMSFs / SMSFs for beginners

SMSF statistics: 1.1 million members with $676bn in super

August 13, 2020 by Barbara Drury Leave a Comment

Reading time: 3 minutes

On this page

  • How many SMSFs are there?
  • What is the average SMSF balance?
  • How long has the average SMSF been operating?
  • Age of SMSF members
  • SMSF trustee structures
  • SMSF phases
  • The bottom line

Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) in Australia are privately run super funds that can currently have between one and four members (who must also be trustees of their fund). The government has proposed allowing SMSFs to have up to six members, but legislation has been delayed.

According to the ATO, 70% of SMSFs have two members, typically a married couple, followed by 23% with just a single member. Those with three or four members each made up just 4% of funds, indicating that there may not be much demand for an increase in the number of members allowed to six.

How many SMSFs are there?

The latest available ATO figures indicate there were nearly 596,180 SMSFs in Australia in March 2020. This is an increase of 15% over five years.

The table below highlights that while the total number of SMSFs and members are growing steadily, the rate of growth is slowing. The rate of growth in new funds has fallen 41% from around 34,000 in 2014/15 to 20,000 in 2018/19. Over the same period, wind-ups had been increasing although the ATO comments that the unusually low figure for 2018/19 does not include complete lodgement data.

Number of SMSFs

Year endedEstablishmentsWindupsNet establishmentsTotal number of SMSFsTotal members of SMSFs
June 201920,42713,5446,833581,2311,090,467
June 201825,38123,9271,454574,3481,076,982
June 201730,35214,50815,844572,8941,079,734
June 201632,81013,38519,425557,0501,049,544
June 201533,74313,60020,143537,6251,017,776

Source: ATO


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As at March 2020 the nearly 600,000 SMSFs in Australia had a combined total of 1.119 million members. Although this represents less than 5% of Australia’s population, they accounted for $676 billion, or about 25% of the $2.7 trillion invested in superannuation. This is less than the $717 billion invested in industry funds, but more than the $524 billion in public sector funds and the $558 billion invested in retail funds (that is, those run by financial institutions).

What is the average SMSF balance?

The average account balance of individual SMSF members has been steadily increasing in recent years, as indicated in the first row of the table below. Bearing in mind that the majority of SMSFs in Australia have two members, the average combined balance of SMSF fund members is provided in the second row of the table. These are the latest figures available.

2017/182016/172015/162014/152013/14
Average assets per member$678,621$636,926$581,355$569,988$543,556
Average assets per SMSF$1,271,356$1,199,263$1,096,521$1,076,894$1,028,682

Source: ATO

ATO figures further reveal that the average assets per member in the establishment year of an SMSF was $214,104 in 2017/18. This is consistent with the generally held view that the cost of setting up and running an SMSF may be prohibitive for members in funds with lower balances.

The vast majority (84%) of SMSFs in Australia have balances greater than $200,000, as indicated in the table below.

SMSF asset balancePercentage of SMSFs
Under $50k5.6%
$50k – $100k2.9%
$100k – $200k7.1%
$200k – $500k22.4%
$500k – $1m25.0%
$1m – $2m20.4%
$2m – $5m13.1%
$5m – $10m2.7%
More than $10m0.8%

Source: ATO

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How long has the average SMSF been operating?

More than half (53%) of the SMSFs in Australia have been operating for more than ten years, as shown in the following table.

Operating timePercentage of SMSFs
Less than 1 year3.1%
1–2 years4.0%
2–3 years4.7%
3–5 years10.1%
5–10 years24.6%
More than 10 years53.3%

Source: ATO

Age of SMSF members

Perhaps surprisingly, the age ranges of SMSF members are fairly evenly spread between the ages of 35 and 84, as indicated in the table below, but there is a concentration between the ages of 55 and 69. The average age is 59.

Age bracketPercentage of SMSF members
Under 250.5%
25–343.2%
35–4411.2%
45–4910.1%
50–5411.3%
55–5913.2%
60–6413.3%
65–6913.1%
70–7411.8%
75–8410.4%
85+1.8%

Source: ATO

SMSF trustee structures

According to the most recent statistics from the ATO, approximately 61% of all SMSFs have corporate trustees while the remainder have individual trustees. A corporate structure is becoming increasingly popular. In the three years to 30 June 2019, 82% of new funds were set up with a corporate trustee.

Learn about the difference between corporate and individual trustees.

SMSF phases

A majority of all the SMSFs in Australia (57%) were solely in the accumulation phase (that is, solely accepting contributions by or on behalf of members) in 2017/18, while the remaining 47% of funds were either partially (9%) or fully (34%) in the retirement phase (formerly called the pension phase). This was a 3% increase in members wholly in retirement phase, as the baby boomer bubble gradually leave the workforce.

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Learn more about the type of people that have SMSFs.

The bottom line

Self-managed super funds are now firmly entrenched in the Australian superannuation landscape. The number of SMSFs has continued to rise in recent years, along with individual member and overall fund balances. Most SMSFs have been operating for more than ten years and have corporate trustees, with this structure becoming increasingly popular. SMSFs typically have two members and an increasing number are moving from accumulation phase to the retirement phase, reflecting Australia’s ageing population.

You should seek independent professional advice based on your individual financial circumstances if you are considering setting up an SMSF. The information contained in this article is general in nature.

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Learn more about SMSF basics in the following SuperGuide articles:

How much super do you need to set up an SMSF?

December 3, 2020

What type of people have SMSFs?

August 11, 2020

How to evaluate whether an SMSF is right for you

August 11, 2020

What are the key differences between SMSFs and public offer funds?

December 7, 2019

What is a self-managed super fund (SMSF)?

December 5, 2019

How to set up an SMSF correctly

December 3, 2019

Quiz: SMSFs for beginners

May 10, 2019

Is $1 million really the magic number to start an SMSF?

August 20, 2018

Related topics

SMSFs SMSFs for beginners

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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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