Record growth in newly established SMSFs has pushed their overall number to an all-time high of more than 680,000, with administration software provider Class noting a significant proportion of rollovers into these retirement savings vehicles on its platform were driven by industry fund defections.
Class chief executive Tim Steele said the total number of SMSFs in existence in the 2026 financial year, 680,301, was boosted by the establishment of 52,020 new funds in that period and was a clear sign many Australians preferred the flexibility and control of such a retirement savings vehicle and were undeterred by recent regulatory changes.
“Despite some of the uncertainty that’s created from the regulatory backdrop, sector growth has just continued to charge,” Steele said in reference to the commencement of Division 296, Payday Super and changes to limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBA).
The new figures were part of the “Class 2026 Annual Benchmark Report” released today, which showed establishments were being driven by a younger cohort, with those aged 25 to 49 making up the majority, or 63.2 per cent, of members in new SMSFs in the last financial year, up from 59.5 per cent the previous year.
The report also analysed rollovers into and out of SMSFs on its platform and found between 2022/23 and 2025/26, $14.4 billion was rolled into Class SMSFs, with a large part of that figure coming from industry funds, compared to the $5.7 billion rolled out.
“The fact that 57 per cent of flows over that 2023 to 2025 financial year period came from industry funds is really interesting, and sort of on the flip side, we had just over 65 per cent of rollovers out into retail funds,” Steele said, noting retail funds received two-thirds of rollover outflows.
Class observed the rollover data indicated many SMSFs were established by members with significant existing superannuation savings and between 2023 and 2026, they consolidated an average of $267,000, while newly established Class funds recorded an average balance of $467,000 in the 2025 financial year.
Further analysis of the asset allocation of newly established funds highlighted that while initial allocations to cash may be high, over three years trustees adopt a much more diverse asset allocation.
“The fact we had such profound shifts in cash shows they are quite quickly looking to diversify and put that in other investments,” Steele said.
Allocations to direct property still tend to be higher among newly established funds at 35.4 per cent, compared to 22.1 per cent for existing funds in 2024/25.
However, Steele pointed out just one in three new LRBAs on Class originated from newly established funds in the same financial year, with the majority, or two-thirds, coming from existing funds, and, based on Class data, an estimated 11,500 new residential property LRBAs were established across the SMSF sector in the 2025 financial year, compared with the ATO’s updated estimate of around 8700.
