While recent research into the investment trends of self managed super funds (SMSFs) may indicate that exchange traded funds (ETFs) are growing in popularity, for Graeme Colley, superannuation strategy manager for OnePath, they are an investment that most trustees continue to view with caution.
"Our experience in SuperConcepts is that people are looking at them and they’re using them," he said. "But they’re certainly not being taken up with any great enthusiasm."
So despite the fact that ETFs seem to quickly be taking the place of managed funds within individual retail investors’ portfolios, it seems caution and conservatism continue to rule within self managed super.
"I don’t actually know the reason for trustees’ reluctance in the ETF space," Colley continued. "But if I had to hazard a guess, I would probably say that a lack of knowledge in the market is holding them back."
"That may come, but for the moment they’re still a somewhat unusual investment to come across in SMSF portfolios."
