The introduction of the AQUA II trading market for managed funds on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) will improve the administrative efficiency of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), according to a specialist firm servicing the sector.
The reason why this aspect of servicing SMSFs would get better is the improvement in the number of data feeds that will eventually be available to administration service providers in the market.
"Once AQUA II is up and running we're assuming all the data feeds we need will be coming thorough the ASX. Currently we get data feeds on all of the share prices so it would just be a continuation of that," Smartsuper national sales manager Charles Magro told InvestorDaily.
"The main problem I see is initially not all of the managed funds will be on AQUA II but two or three years down the track it is conceivable that an SMSF is doing the majority of its trading of managed funds and shares through the ASX. It would mean we could get all of this data automatically on a daily basis and reconcile it daily which is a bit more difficult when it comes to the mastertrusts and wraps," he added.
Magro estimates Smartsuper currently captures 60 per cent of fund flow information through mastertrusts and wraps via automated data feeds meaning SMSF administration services are not operating to maximum efficiency.
The launch of Aqua II is likely to make the whole investment process cheaper for SMSFs as it will give trustees the ability to eliminate at least one layer of fees by investing in managed funds directly, and the increased automated data feeds will also make administration of the portfolio cheaper too, he said.
