According to the Satisfaction with Financial Performance of Superannuation in Australia report, SMSFs were identified as having the greatest satisfaction at 71.6 per cent in the six months to August 2013.
This was followed by 50.8 per cent for industry funds and 45.5 per cent for retail funds, the report stated.
Over the 10-year span of the survey, the level of satisfaction of SMSFs has been approximately 20 per cent higher than other fund types.
“The major reason people are switching to SMSFs is associated with the poor investment performance and the level of fees and charges and as a result, their funds are moving from retail, and to a lesser extent industry funds, into SMSFs,” said Roy Morgan Research’s industry communications director Norman Morris.
“The ease of switching super funds and the increase in people using SMSFs means the retail sector will increasingly rely on their adviser network to retain customers,” he added.
“The relatively poor long-term performance of the retail funds, however, is of concern as there is a very clear fiduciary responsibility for financial planners to act in the best interests of their clients, and yet financial planners are more likely to direct their clients to retail funds.”
