Complexity stops investors opening SMSFs, moomoo opens one-stop service for them
Investors want to open self-managed super funds, invest in cryptocurrency, and make use of artificial intelligence, found stockbroking firm moomoo Australia and New Zealand in its recent survey of Australian share investors.
As it launched its SMSF service, moomoo aims to address a key finding, that the complexity and cost of opening a SMSF is stopping those interested in opening a fund from doing so.
SMSF complexity holds investors back
About 24% of interested Australians say they haven’t opened a fund due to the complexity of the process. At the same time, 21% of people cite costs as their reason for not opening a SMSF. And a third reason interested Australians hold back from opening a SMSF is not knowing what to invest in (24%).
"There are clear, legitimate reasons that even those Australians familiar with share investing and interested in opening a self-managed super fund, haven’t done so. We answer these concerns head on with our trading account service, administration partner services, and sophisticated investing resources," says moomoo Australia and New Zealand chief executive officer Michael McCarthy.
Investors can use the moomoo trading platform to set up a SMSF trading account, and engage our partners for investment guidance and other services, including fund setup, rollovers, reporting, compliance and ongoing management.
They want to make use of artificial intelligence
Most Australian share investors (67%) would use artificial intelligence in their SMSF investing, found moomoo.
Specifically, survey results show a third would use AI for their SMSF investment strategy, while 37% would use it to analyse individual investments. A third would also use AI to help manage the fund, and almost 30% to meet compliance requirements. Just over a quarter of respondents would use AI tools to meet all four needs.
"Australians' recognition of the power of AI to lessen the burden of managing a SMSF is particularly interesting given that they cite the complication of opening a SMSF as a leading reason for not doing so," explains McCarthy.
"This need comes at the right time for moomoo, with our AI assistant launching this month. Combined with the platform's other AI-powered features, including our trend projection and market monitoring automation, we're using the full power of artificial intelligence to really help investors make easier, smarter, more informed trades."
An appetite for cryptocurrency
Australians interested in opening a SMSF are far more likely to trade Bitcoin than those who already own a self-managed super fund, found moomoo Australia.
Almost two thirds (60%) of those interested in SMSFs are either trading or want to trade cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin (88%) and Ethereum (56%). Almost a third are interested in stablecoins and altcoins.
But for the more conservative current SMSF owners, just over half (55%) are trading crypto or would like to. And they're far more diversified in their interest, with 40% trading or wanting to trade Bitcoin, a third focused on memecoins and a sizeable minority (27%) on stablecoins.
"There is strong investor interest in cryptocurrency. And the moomoo platform provides for them, with access to more than 26,000 securities across the Australian, US and Hong Kong markets, including a broad range of crypto-based stocks and exchange-traded funds,"says McCarthy.
Key findings from moomoo's survey of Australian share investors
Moomoo surveyed 153 sharemarket investors experienced in trading and managing superannuation (independent of the moomoo platform). About one third of respondents held a self-managed super fund, with 22% interested in opening one.
Characteristics of those that own or would like to own a SMSF are quite similar. Generally, aged over 45, they work full time with a household income between $50,000 and $150,000. Those not yet running a SMSF have less share-trading experience (about one year) and are less confident in their investment knowledge (describing themselves as 'intermediate').
Australians that invest in shares and hold a self-managed super fund, or want to:
are either intermediate (41%) or advanced (35%) in their level of investment knowledge
believe their retirement balance can be up to $200,000 (23%), $500,000 (32%) or $1m (26%)
would use AI investing tools (67%), to strategise (33%) and analyse investments (37%)
believe AI is great for SMSF reporting (37%), management (37%), but isn’t secure (31%).
Those that haven't yet set up a SMSF:
haven’t done so because they’re satisfied with their current fund (55%), see the process as too complex (23%) or don’t believe they have enough funds (23%)
would want to invest in Australian stocks (76%), property (55%), crypto (39%), ETFs (30%)
would not invest in crypto (36%), futures (24%), bonds (18%), non-US global stocks (18%).
