Australian managed funds world beaters

Australian managed fund balances rose by almost 14 per cent in 2006, with an average of just under $50,000, trouncing our nearest rival the United States, which grew by only 10 per cent with managed fund balances averaging just over $40,000 per individual.

The study conducted by AFG Financial Planning looks at quarterly international data, ranking the average managed fund balances of the top 10 world economies, with figures drawn from the World Bank.

According to Ross Nayler, AFG Financial Planning dealer principal, it is no accident that Australian managed funds compare so well across the international spectrum.

“Australia’s world-beating performance has come about by design rather than by accident. Government, the financial services industry and ordinary Australian investors have all pulled together to make this happen,” he said.

He singled out a number of factors that have positively influenced the situation in Australia, including the mandatory 9 per cent superannuation contribution, innovative margin lending and wrap platform products and the normalising relationship between interest rates and taxation.

“Investors continue to look at managed funds as an adjunct to direct property and shares,” Nayler said.

Also rounding out the upper echelon of managed fund growth over 12 months were the United Kingdom (33 per cent), Sweden (22 per cent), and France (15.9 per cent).

Over five years, the AFG FP research indicated an increase of 114 per cent in Australian managed funds per capita, the third highest growth after Sweden (181 per cent) and Spain (115 per cent).