The 20th annual Vanguard/Investment Trends Self Managed Super Fund Report shows adviser influence is growing in new SMSF set-ups, although the broader SMSF population still has significant advice needs.
The number of SMSFs continued to climb, according to statistics from the Tax Office, with the March quarter data showing nearly another 10,000 funds were added in the three months until March 2025, taking the total number of funds to 646,168, up from 638,000 at the end of 2024.
The research found that SMSF set-up interest was rebounding, with industry fund members showing slightly higher intent, driven more by perceptions around performance than their retail peers.
Of the total SMSF inflows in 2024, 57 per cent reflected rollovers from industry super funds and a further 23 per cent from retail funds.
The report found that many who had set up an SMSF noted they still had a separate super account alongside their own fund, primarily to access cheaper insurance coverage, for diversification purposes, and in case they decide to switch back to their super in the future.
It also revealed that the number of SMSFs using financial advisers grew to 155,000 in 2024, up from 140,000 in 2023. However, this meant 483,000 SMSFs – the vast bulk of the sector – were not using a financial adviser.
Renae Smith, chief of personal investor for Vanguard Australia, said that although the SMSF sector continued to grow, the 2025 report highlighted significant advice gaps for many individuals operating their own super fund.
“Only 24 per cent of SMSFs currently use a financial adviser, which is not ideal when you think of the many complexities associated with managing superannuation including keeping track of changes in rules and regulations, administration, taxes, choosing what to invest in, and then personal considerations such as retirement income needs and estate planning,” Smith said.
The research also found that advised SMSFs were more likely to report advice gaps around intergenerational wealth transfers (29 per cent) and estate planning (37 per cent).
Newly established SMSFs are more focused on tax minimisation (37 per cent), insurance (26 per cent), and purchasing an investment property (25 per cent), while tax and retirement planning represent the largest cluster of unmet needs, impacting 280,000 SMSFs.
Furthermore, the report noted that the barriers to closing the advice gap remain complex, and among advised SMSFs, a lack of holistic advice was increasingly cited (23 per cent, up from 16 per cent), while cost (33 per cent) stands out as the primary hurdle for newly established SMSFs.
“On the bright side, the research found that 34 per cent of unadvised SMSFs now plan to seek financial advice, which is up from 25 per cent the year before,” Smith said.
