Quiz: Can an SMSF invest in this?

The ATO’s latest Self-managed super fund quarterly statistical report shows that 1,142,957 Australians are members of SMSFs, with total assets estimated at $884.6 billion.

Between the June and September quarters in 2023, the number of fund members increased by just over 1%, while total assets rose by just under 1%. 

While the gender split of fund members is fairly even between male and female, a look at the age of SMSF members shows that they do tend to skew older. Hover over each bubble below to see the percentage of super fund members in each age range.

However, this does not mean that the 75-84 age group is switching en masse to SMSFs from industry or retail funds. In fact, the 35-44 age group was the largest cohort of individual members joining new SMSFs in the quarter to September 2023. 

With more than 1 million fund members and $800 billion worth of assets invested, the onus is on trustees to administer the funds in compliance with regulations and their obligations.

The ATO reports that it disqualified 223 SMSF trustees in the September 2023 quarter, adding each to the disqualified trustees register. The ATO also encourages any trustee who thinks they may be in breach of superannuation laws to disclose breaches voluntarily, before an audit. 

Need to brush up on your SMSF investment knowledge? Or just keen to test yourself? Take our quiz: Can an SMSF invest in this? We’ll share the results next month so you can compare your scores.