ATO reports SMSFs and APRA-funds deliver same returns
Self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) have delivered returns in-line with those of Australian Prudential Regulatory (APRA)-regulated funds, according to the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO’s) latest statistics on the SMSF sector.
The ATO report on SMSFs for 2015-16, which was released yesterday, showed SMSFs and APRA funds of more than four members both reported the same return of 2.9 per cent for the 2016-16 financial year.
Kasey Macfarlane, ATO assistant commissioner said that the data showed that the SMSF sector continues to grow, with increasing fund and member numbers and positive returns on assets.
In the five years to 2016-17, the number of SMSFs grew by 26 per cent to 597,000, with total assets worth $697 billion. They now account for 30 per cent of the total superannuation assets in Australia.
Member balances grew by 26 per cent over the last five years, with women growing their balances at a rate eight per cent higher than male members.
Borrowing within super by SMSFs rose modestly, with seven per cent of SMSFs holding assets under limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) in 2016-15, which was up one per cent from the previous year.
The value of assets held under LRBAs as a proportion of total SMSF assets remained relatively low however, coming in at approximately four per cent.
The median age of members had also decreased by three years from 2012 to 2016. Macfarlane said that this showed that more trustees were entering the SMSF sector at an earlier stage of their working life.
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