More data confirms industry fund outflows challenge

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

29 June 2026

Industry superannuation funds continue to dominate the superannuation sector with a market share of 36.9% but new analysis has confirmed continuing significant loss of members to self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).

The analysis of the latest Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data by Padua’s WealthData has pointed to SMSFs now being the second-largest sector in the superannuation market with 24% market share.

Indeed, SMSFs have now displaced the retail superannuation segment which now accounts for just 20.2% market share and public sector funds which account for 18%. Corporate funds have now declined to just 0.8% .

The analysis suggests that the SMSF market share might be higher if it were not for the fact that a high proportion of the segment’s members move into retirement phase.

The WealthData analysis confirms that superannuation remains a ready and growing market for financial advice and suggests he opportunity for financial advisers has more than tripled over the past half-decade.

The company said it had calculated the adviser opportunity in superannuation assets by the number of advisers.

It said that while superannuation assets per adviser fell for the first time in several quarters, down $5 million to $281 million per adviser (from $286 million at December), as the market-driven dip in assets coincided with a small lift in adviser numbers to 15,119 (from 15,054).

“Despite the dip, the long-run trend is firmly up: since the peak in adviser numbers at end-2018, the opportunity has more than tripled, from $88 million to $281 million per adviser,” it said

“On a per-person basis, total super per Australian eased to $154,850 (from $156,876), again reflecting the soft quarter for markets rather than any change in the structural trajectory.

Dealing with the loss of members from industry funds to SMSFs, the WealthData analysis said that once all transfers are included (SMSFs plus movements between APRA funds), the reversal in Industry Funds is stark. Industry Funds recorded their fourth consecutive quarter of negative total net transfers: –$3.77bn, –$4.43bn, –$4.13bn and –$3.47bn (March quarter).

It said on a rolling annual basis, Industry Funds’ total net transfers swung to roughly –$15.8 billion for the year to March 2026, from –$5.6 billion for the year to December 2025. Much of that step-down is a base effect – a strongly positive March-2025 quarter (+$6.8bn) dropped out of the 12-month window -but the direction is unmistakable.

Retail Funds, by contrast, posted +$2.45 billion for the quarter and a clearly positive result on a rolling annual basis, reversing the historical pattern in which Industry Funds recorded positive net transfers and Retail Funds negative. Notably, Retail Funds are now winning transfers from other APRA funds even while losing a smaller amount to SMSFs. Our Fund-level analysis shows certain Retail platforms (e.g. HUB24) gaining significant inflows.