SMSFs lure $14bn from retail, industry super funds

Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) scored nearly $14 billion in retirement savings at the expense of industry and retail funds over recent years, a new report from Class shows.

An analysis of Class SMSF clients in its Annual Benchmark Report revealed that industry funds lost $8.2 billion to self-managed super between the 2025 and 2026 financial years.

Retail funds, meanwhile, lost $5.6 billion to SMSFs, while the public sector funds saw $0.5 billion exit.

Corporate and other vehicles saw outflows of $27 million and $66.2 million respectively.

In total, Class recorded about $14.4 billion in rollovers into SMSFs from non-SMSF sources.

The 10 largest non-SMSF rollover sources accounted for 69.3% of total rollovers in value across the period.

Five of these were industry funds and five were retail funds, with industry funds contributing the larger share of value among the top 10.

On average, members undertook 1.5 rollovers into their SMSF, with a total rollover value of about $267,000 per member.

Conversely, when it comes to moving out of SMSFs retail funds accounted for 66.7% or $3.8 billion of outflows. Industry funds snared $1.9 billion from SMSFs.

In terms of SMSFs that were wound up, Class found they had been in operation for an average of 18.1 years with members having an average age of 68.7 years.

The proportion of Class SMSFs recording adviser fees remained broadly stable at 25.1% in the 2025 financial year, while the wider SMSF population continued to grow and the number of licensed financial advisers declined.

Tim Steele, the chief executive of Class, said that as the sector grows and becomes more complex, professional support remains critical.

"The findings show that different superannuation structures may play a role for members at different stages of life. Access to advice from financial professionals is critical to help clients make those decisions with confidence.

"Digital tools are also changing how trustees access information and assess their options. This creates an opportunity for SMSF professionals to use technology to increase service capacity while focusing their expertise on areas where clients continue to value it most, including tax, retirement, estate planning, investment considerations and regulatory change," he said.