I work in the SMSF industry and $200k is the minimum balance recommend. There has been a huge growth in SMSF's over the last decade and it is tipped to grow significantly by 2050. The obvious benefit with an SMSF is the control and flexibility of choosing your investments, however, you would also need to weigh down costs as well. In the SMSF, you, yourself are the trustee of the SMSF and are ultimately responsible for its operation. Time is a factor you need to consider as well. With Australian super, for example, you don't have to sign tax returns etc.
If you are interested to know further, let me know. We also run seminars for people falling in your age bracket and wanting to know whether an SMSF is right for them.
