The latest Investment Trends/AMP Capital 2009 SMSF Investor Report has revealed two thirds of self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees are pleased they made the decision to set up their own fund in the wake of the global economic downturn.
The study showed 64 per cent of respondents said they were glad they had an SMSF when they thought about the financial market events of the past 18 months.
“At the other end only one in 25 said they regret having an SMSF and being more engaged and in control of the investments,” Investment Trends principal Mark Johnston said.
The findings coincide with the release of new Australian Prudential Regulation Authority statistics showing another strong net establishment rate for SMSFs over the last financial quarter of 5815 funds.
The level of satisfaction in having an SMSF could be because of performance, with 40 per cent of survey participants saying their fund investment returns were positive for the 12 months to May this year.
“Even as of May, just after the market bottomed, on average they were estimating the fund was only down about 6 per cent,” Johnston said.
“Whether it is true or not in their assessment the funds have actually performed relatively well,” he said.
The lack of severity of the impact on SMSF investors would appear to have been reinforced by the fact the average expected retirement age of the group remained stable at 63. This compares to an expected retirement age of 62 when the survey was last conducted in July 2008.
“For all of the downturns in the market, very, very few SMSFs say they’ve actually had to change their retirement plans as a result,” Johnston said.
The report was carried out in May 2009. It consisted of an online survey with an overall sample size of 1623 SMSF investors.
