SMSF account openings shift from self-directed to advised clients

The statistics have begun to change coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new findings from Australian Investment Exchange Limited (AUSIEX).

The Australian provider has reported that SMSF growth has continued following the peak of the pandemic. However, most notably the shift has moved from self-directed to advised clients with a particular spike coming in September 2021.

According to AUSIEX, the advised book is 51.3 per cent of all SMSF accounts, the self-directed segment makes up 43.9 per cent and the remaining 4.8 per cent is attributed to advised wrap platform accounts.

“Self-directed investors who not long ago had the time to set up and manage the compliance obligations and direct their investments, may be finding themselves facing both challenging investment conditions and time poor once again,” AUSIEX CEO Eric Blewitt said.

“As a consequence, they may now be again seeing the value in and actively seeking professional advice.

“Advised clients are a distinct group within SMSF accounts and have regained ascendancy over new self-directed SMSF accounts in the second half of 2021.

Advised SMSF clients are far more likely than self-directed SMSF clients to trade ETFs and are also more bullish on AREITs, hybrids and exchange-traded physical commodities.”

Meanwhile, the number of millennial-advised SMSF clients has quadrupled in the last ten years, while females accounted for 28 per cent of new advised principal contact SMSF clients as at February 2022.

The figure is an impressive spike, given females made up just 18.5 per cent of new advised clients in 2012.

The findings come after this month’s SMSF Association 2022 national conference, where CEO John Maroney urged trustees to be cautious of technology changes in the sector.

Speaking at the event, Mr Maroney said that technology advances will benefit the sector, however, they “will be evolutionary, not revolutionary” and that “any change must benefit the SMSF trustee”.

“The building blocks for a strong integration between technological change – I include Artificial Intelligence (AI) in this – the advice community and trustees are in place, and now we must focus on maximising the benefits for both the industry and trustees,” he said.

Neil Griffiths
29 April 2022
smsfadviser.com