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EXPLANATORY NOTES


INTRODUCTION

1 The statistics presented in this publication have been compiled from the ABS's Survey of Financial Information, APRA's Survey of Superannuation Funds, and the ATO's Self Managed Superannuation Fund Regulatory Return. Some brief notes on the concepts, sources and methods employed follow. A full description and glossary are provided on the ABS web site, <https://www.abs.gov.au> select Economy under Themes then Finance, then Finance Releases.


MANAGED FUNDS INSTITUTIONS AND INVESTMENT MANAGERS

2 Managed funds institutions are those financial intermediaries which operate in the managed funds market by acquiring assets and incurring liabilities on their own account. Typically, these institutions arrange for the ‘pooling’ of funds from a number of investors for the purpose of investing in a particular type or mix of assets, with a view to receiving an ongoing return or capital gain. However, funds of a speculative nature that do not offer redemption facilities (e.g. agriculture and film trusts) and funds not established for investment purposes (e.g. health funds and general insurance funds) are excluded.

3 The types of managed funds institutions covered by the statistics in this publication are: Life Insurance Offices, Superannuation Funds (which includes Approved Deposit Funds), Public Unit Trusts, Friendly Societies, Common Funds, and Cash Management Trusts.

4 Specialist investment managers do not acquire assets and incur liabilities as their main activity: they are employed on a fee-for-service basis to manage and invest in approved assets on their clients' behalf. They act in the main as the managers of pooled funds, but also manage clients' investments on an individual portfolio basis. Where possible, the assets managed by investment managers are attributed to the source of funds.


ASSETS, VALUATION AND TIME SERIES COMPARISONS

5 The data tabulated in this publication are the stocks of assets held by the various types of institution, classified by type of asset. The classification of assets in this publication follows that contained in the ABS publication Australian National Accounts, Financial Accounts (cat. no. 5232.0). Definitions of the various types of instruments are given in the glossary on the ABS web site.

6 Providers of managed funds statistics are requested to report assets at their market value.

7 Movements between periods in the levels of assets of managed funds institutions reflect two key components: transactions in particular assets; and valuation changes arising from price changes in the assets.


SUPERANNUATION FUNDS

8 From the June 1995 quarter until the December 2004 quarter, the ABS conducted a quarterly survey of superannuation funds. This survey was used by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to compile "Superannuation Trends" and by the ABS to compile superannuation fund data in Managed Funds (cat. no. 5655).

9 From the December 2004 quarter, this data source was replaced by a new quarterly data collection conducted by APRA for superannuation funds with assets greater than $50m, supplemented by estimates for other APRA regulated funds and estimates of self-managed funds regulated by the Australian Taxation Office.

10 Prior to December 2004, the ABS estimated asset detail for some superannuation funds using quarterly information from funds with total assets over $60m. From December 2004, the type of assets held by superannuation funds has been refined by the introduction of a range of compilation methods, depending on the size of the superannuation fund. Where possible, quarterly asset details provided by the superannuation fund itself is the basis of the compilation; else its annual asset detail is the basis of the compilation.


METHOD OF CONSOLIDATION

11 Estimates of the consolidated assets of managed funds are derived by eliminating any cross-investment that takes place between the various types of funds. For example, investments by superannuation funds in public unit trusts are excluded from the assets of superannuation funds in a consolidated presentation. It is not possible, however, to apportion cross-investment at the level of detail presented in the unconsolidated tables.


RELATED MATERIAL

12 Time series electronic spreadsheets for the tables in this publication are available free on the ABS web site <https://www.abs.gov.au> from the Details tab of this Issue. Users may wish to refer to material available on the ABS web site <https://www.abs.gov.au> select Economy under Themes then Finance, then Finance Releases.

• the full Explanatory Notes and Glossary of terms for this publication

• Special article Insurance Technical Reserves: Sources and Methods.