SMSF growth due to 'family wealth' strategy
Families looking for an overall 'family wealth' approach to superannuation may form part of the reason for recent rapid growth in the self-managed super fund (SMSF) sector, according to Chan & Naylor director Ken Raiss.
"More and more people are seeing super as part of their family wealth," Mr Raiss said.
"We're seeing that growth in what I call the 'enduring family super fund', that fund which is family-oriented, but the enduring part is the bit that allows them to move their balances into the next generations. You can't do that with retail funds or industry funds," he said.
Mr Raiss said that with Baby Boomers now moving into retirement, we are seeing people retire who have spent much of their lives in a two-income family - and they are retiring with much higher balances than their parents did.
"There will be a growing trend of super being part of 'family wealth'. The ability to create an enduring family super fund will become a more enticing reason for people to consider SMSFs of the enduring family ilk as opposed to 'DIY super' - which I never really liked," he said.
"By the time you have balances of $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 and there are cost savings on flat costs, we're certainly seeing that trend [to family wealth]."
A shift to focusing on family wealth also means there will be more and more pressure to increase the maximum limit of members allowed in SMSFs from four, Mr Raiss said. With blended families and larger families, more clients are having to manage multiple SMSFs.
Mr Raiss added that the ability of the accountant to have a holistic approach in which they can do super, accounting and finance in the way that Chan & Naylor does, is "very healthy" for the industry.
"It allows a person to see all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle," he said. "More of the pieces will fit together."
