The latest analysis into SMSFs has shown the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) update to “Information Sheet 274 (INFO 274) Tips for giving self-managed superannuation fund advice”, released in December 2022, has had little to no effect on the set-up of funds.
In December 2022, the corporate regulator eliminated the recommended threshold member balance for SMSF establishments of $500,000, with the new guidelines instead allowing practitioner discretion to be used when advising clients as to their suitability for this type of superannuation fund.
“We asked advisers how has the revised guidance changed the number of SMSFs you have assisted in setting up, and we did ask this the year before as well, and we see that it hasn’t changed much,” Investment Trends analyst Yigit Gunhan told selfmanagedsuper.
“Only 18 per cent of advisers report some impact on SMSF establishments and among those that did, the most common impact they cite is they set up SMSFs with lower starting balances than they had done previously, but represented only around 8 per cent of respondents.”
The impact of the amended guideline was best reflected by the overwhelming majority of participants, with 81 per cent indicating the change in stance by the regulator had no impact. This cohort experienced a slight lift from 2023 when 79 per cent of practitioners answered in this manner.
Further, the research found the modification to INFO 274 had a negative impact on establishments and the provision of SMSF advice.
To this end, 4 per cent of respondents said more clients began approaching them to start an SMSF in 2024, down from 6 per cent expressing this sentiment in the previous year.
In addition, 3 per cent of those surveyed admitted they had shifted their focus to providing more SMSF advice this year compared to 5 per cent who took the same direction in 2023.
The analysis examined data collected from an online survey conducted during February and March with 652 accountants and 177 advisers taking part.
