This week's chart comes from AusieX's SMSFs Under Advice report.
The report explores the SMSF landscape and the differences between advised and self-advised SMSFs.
After a drop in self-directed SMSFs in 2023, they have rebounded strongly in 2024, up 19.8%. Advised SMSFs also continued to grow strongly, up 12.3% over the year prior. Baby boomers account for over half of all SMSFs.
Brett Grant, Head of Product, Customer Experience and Marketing at AUSIEX, says, “We’ve seen advised SMSF accounts grow in number last year, and continue to grow at the start of this year – and trading more actively.”
“SMSFs traded more in 2024 than they did the previous year, up 7.5% (by number of trades) year on year, found the AUSIEX report. The increase we believe was in part due to increased additional interest in global equities, in particular global equity and US equity exchange traded funds (ETFs),” notes Mr Grant.
However, when we look at the top trades from SMSFs, they are dominated by 'sell' trades, and focused on the banks.
The trading was not consistent throughout the year. Much of the trades that occurred in SMSFs occurred in the latter half of the year, with advised accounts trading based on market and economic changes. The trading coincided with a period of strong market performance and the period surrounding the US election. Advisers appear to be repostioning their clients' portfolios, and rebalancing after strong performance would have moved allocations.
CBA was traded heavily, reflecting the markets' opinion of its stretched valuation. This is in line with Morningstar's view of Commonwealth Bank. It is currently a 1-star stock, trading at a 62% premium to Morningstar's Fair Value Estimate for CBA of $98 (at 20 February 2025).
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