Key SMSF stakeholders have refuted claims the sector is on the decline as a result of a decrease in fund establishments, noting the trend in the most recent ATO statistics demonstrates the degree to which the sector is a leader in the industry.
The conclusion suggesting SMSFs are no longer as popular as they once were is based upon the perception public offer funds are now able to offer exactly what SMSFs can, meaning their point of difference has been eroded, but Heffron managing director Meg Heffron interpreted the situation differently and in a positive light.
“[Providing solutions for the industry] is exactly how the SMSF sector contributes to the wider superannuation industry. SMSFs are a little hothouse of innovation – always have been, always [will be],” Heffron told delegates as a panellist of the SMSF Association National Conference 2023 Thought Leadership Breakfast in Melbourne today.
“The new strategies, the new ideas, the new things that people value come from SMSFs first.
“So all the great stuff starts in SMSFs and then the other funds catch up and so, of course, we should never see just a steady growth in SMSFs. We should see ups and downs because that just says the system is working.
“That says innovation is coming from SMSFs, big funds are catching up and then naturally SMSFs will innovate around something else.”
Fellow panellist SMSF Association deputy chief executive and director of policy and education Peter Burgess agreed the sector should receive more credit for being a leader in the superannuation industry.
“I absolutely agree with Meg. Innovation is what makes this industry such an exciting industry to work in. We have been trailblazers in my view for the best part of three decades,” Burgess noted.
“The SMSF sector doesn’t always get enough credit for that.”
With regard to the decrease in the number of fund set-ups, he pointed out the statistics had to be examined within the right context.
“I think we need to keep in perspective the sector is coming off almost record high numbers of establishments in 2020 and 2021 so we were always going to see some coming back to the normal average that we’re expecting for SMSFs,” he noted.
