SMSF portfolio allocations to the fixed interest sector have grown via managed funds in the first quarter of the year, according to a recent industry report.
The SuperConcepts “SMSF Investment Patterns Survey March 2018” revealed exposure increased from 12.2 per cent to 12.5 per cent during the quarter.
“This mainly comes from the increase in managed fund allocation from 4.3 per cent to 4.6 per cent, whilst the term deposit allocation has reduced from 1.2 per cent to 1 per cent,” the report said.
“This shows term deposits are not being rolled over due to lower interest rates currently available for investors.”
When it came to fixed interest exposure via hybrids and other direct holdings, SMSFs also increased their exposure from 6.7 per cent to 6.9 per cent during the quarter.
The total allocation to fixed interest grew from 12.2 per cent to 12.5 per cent as of 31 March.
Meanwhile, allocations to Australian equities decreased from 36.9 per cent to 35.9 per cent, the survey found.
“When taking into consideration the performance in the different sectors, if trustees left their allocation unchanged, their theoretical allocation to Australian equities for the quarter should have decreased to 36.1 per cent,” it said.
“This shows trustees have largely left their allocation unchanged.”
SMSFs accessed Australian equities via direct shares at 29.6 per cent, managed funds at 5 per cent and exchange-traded funds at 1.3 per cent during the quarter.
The survey covers around 2600 funds, a sample of SMSFs administered by SuperConcepts, and their investments held at 31 March.
The assets of the funds surveyed represent about $3.1 billion.
