SMSF Benchmark Report – Class

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Class provides detailed analysis of newly established SMSFs, delivering revealing insights on key characteristics and trends.

Background-

The Class SMSF Benchmark Report, released for March 2019, is a statistical analysis of approximately 170,000 Self Managed Super Funds administered on Class Super, representing around 28% of the estimated number of SMSFs in Australia today. The quarterly Report is compiled using a selection of de-identified data extracted from across the Class Super user base.

This quarter’s special feature casts a spotlight on the characteristics and trends of newly established SMSFs, including the average number of members, establishment age, fund balances and asset allocations.

The analysis for the feature was based on a significant data set of 26,100 funds comprising 46,943 members, which were newly established on Class within a 5-year period from 2014 to 2018.

Some of the revealing insights include:

  • Over 72% of SMSFs are established as two-member funds from the outset, making it important to consider overall fund balance when determining the viability of setting up an SMSF
  • Males have a 42% higher average balance than females when funds are established, which compares with a significantly lower gap of 21% overall across all SMSFs
  • The average establishment age for newly established funds is 48.9, with a small difference occurring between gender.

Glenn Day, acting CEO at Class comments: “The Class SMSF Benchmark Report has become a key reference document for the industry, providing timely data and insights to support SMSF accountants, administrators and advisers.

“The insights on average total fund balances in this quarter’s feature were particularly interesting, in light of recent debate around how much money is needed to set up an SMSF.”

The Benchmark Report can be downloaded here.