I am not familiar with Australian Super, but it appears to be a large industry fund advertising performance (minor consideration) and fees (major consideration). This is ideal for anyone who is disinterested in spending time on investing, given that industry funds tend to outperform retail funds over time (due to fees). In fact, balanced and aggressive APRA-regulated funds are expected to outperform Mum and Dad-style SMSFs over the medium term, due to global equities exposure.
Aside from assets and inaccessibility, probably the major deterrent in operating a SMSF is the effort and expertise required. The regulatory and auditing requirements are unforgiving, and any breaches are (heavily) penalised by the ATO.
Furthermore, the responsibility for operating a SMSF is enormous - it often represents the accumulated life savings of an individual. Without trying to unduly cause alarm, a single misjudgement in SMSF has the capacity to compromise the quality of life and medical care throughout the remainder of one's life (retirement). You can be quite sure that those with SMSF portfolios are not meddling around in small cap resources or similar!
