One state has jumped to first place and taken the lead in usage of self-managed superannuation funds, according to AUSIEX.
According to the firm’s SMSFs Under Advice research paper, Victoria had overtaken New South Wales in 2022 as the leading state based on the proportion of total new SMSF accounts created.
SMSFs in Victoria rose from 25% in 2021 to 30.8% in 2022 while NSW had fallen from its top spot of 31.8% in 2021 to 26.8% last year.
NSW was not the only state to report a decline with Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory also seeing falls.
Victoria was also the only state to report a rise in new advised SMSF accounts which were up 21% on 2021 in terms of proportion of new advised accounts created. However, new self-directed SMSFs were largely flat over the same period.
At the same time, new advised SMSF accounts in NSW declined 34% from 29.4% to 23.5%.
Queensland reported modest year-on-year rises in both new advised and self-directed SMSFs.
Looking at gender, the trend among women showing greater interest in SMSFs continued in 2022. Compared to 2021, where the gender ratio was 28.4% (77.8% male v 22.1% female), the gender ratio in 2022 was 32.3% (75.5% of total accounts were male, 24.4% female).
New advised SMSF accounts with a female primary account holder increased year-on-year by 14%, a greater percentage increase than that for self-directed SMSFs (5.1%).
AUSIEX said it was female Baby Boomers and Gen X cohorts which delivered the only year-on-year growth across all generation and gender groups at 3% and 14% respectively.
It also noted female interest could boost wider interest in SMSFs and present acquisition opportunities.
“Growing enthusiasm for SMSFs amongst females, in particular those in the older generations, may represent acquisition opportunities.
“Interest in advised SMSFs is resilient, and accordingly SMSF advisers may benefit by boosting efforts to lure current and would-be self-directed SMSF trustees, focusing on the practical (time saving) and potential risk/performance benefits of professional advice, as evidenced by our findings in relation to diversification, asset mix and strategies.”
