Despite a third of SMSF trustees stating they have unfulfilled advice needs, financial planners are starting to address these specific topics for clients, according to research from Investment Trends.
The “2013 SMSF Planner Report” revealed 33 per cent of SMSFs still had unmet advice needs, which was defined as topics where they would like to receive advice.
In addition, a portion of planners stated they were struggling to grow their SMSF business as much as they wanted to.
“The most commonly cited unmet advice need was around inheritance and estate planning, followed by borrowing within the SMSF and buying distressed or undervalued assets,” Investment Trends analyst King Loong Choi told selfmanagedsuper.
“The good news is that planners are already moving in this direction.
“From our latest planner research, we’re seeing more planners provide advice on estate planning and to a greater proportion of their clients, and planners are expecting this trend to continue.”
Choi said when the general demographics of SMSFs were considered, with two-thirds already in pension phase, it was no surprise inheritance and estate planning were ranked among the top most commonly cited needs where advice fell short.
The report, which was based on a survey of almost 2000 trustees in March and April, found the proportion of SMSFs using financial planners had continued to drift downward.
“The proportion of SMSFs using planners was 41 per cent in 2013, down slightly from 43 per cent in 2012,” Choi said.
“In 2011, the proportion was 49 per cent, so there was a bit of a drop off, but now it’s slowed.
“But based on the growth of the SMSF market, the absolute number of SMSFs using planners has actually remained steady over the last six months.”
