Shares and ETFs in your SMSF.
Your fund can hold listed shares and ETFs. The broker account you choose decides how trade and holding records reach ESUPERFUND each year.
Yes, within your strategy and our limits.
Yes. Your SMSF can invest in Australian shares and in ETFs listed on the ASX, and ESUPERFUND administers them as part of your fund. International shares are supported in four equity markets only: the US, UK, Canada and Japan.
Each investment still has to fit your fund’s Investment Strategy and trust deed. ESUPERFUND does not provide investment advice and does not recommend shares, ETFs or brokers.
What the fund owns
Australian shares, ASX-listed ETFs and international shares in the four supported markets.
How it is held and traded
A broker account in the SMSF’s name. Only the trustees place trades.
Changing broker does not change what the fund owns. It changes how the trade and holding records reach ESUPERFUND.
Jesse Hammer / Unsplash ↗
- What the law permits
- Superannuation law and your trust deed set the outer limits for any SMSF.
- What ESUPERFUND supports
- The markets and account types on this page. See the allowed and disallowed investments.
- What you decide
- You choose each investment, check it against the fund’s strategy and record that decision.
Two broker routes, two record paths.
The shares are the same either way. What changes is how the records reach us.
| Question | EBROKINGElectronic data feed to ESUPERFUND | Another Australian brokerAn account you arrange yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Do I have to use it? | Optional.EBROKING documents are included with the SMSF application. Using them is not compulsory. | Permitted.You arrange the account setup with the broker you choose. |
| Whose name is the account in? | The SMSF’s. Shares are CHESS sponsored and owned by the fund under its own HIN. | The SMSF’s, not the trustees’ personal names. |
| What ESUPERFUND receives | Electronic data files of the fund’s trades and transactions. No access to your trading platform or login. | Nothing directly. ESUPERFUND cannot access this account’s data. |
| Client Portal | Holdings reported from the data feed. | Not reported in real time, because daily data is not received. |
| At the end of the financial year | No trade or holding records needed from you.The data is already received. | You source and supply the records.Trade, settlement and holding statements, plus trades and settlement transactions in Excel or CSV, through the Annual Checklist. |
Brokerage and account fees are set by each broker and are not covered here. EBROKING is named because ESUPERFUND offers it at setup; that is not a recommendation of any broker or platform.
The Australian market, plus four international equity markets.
ESUPERFUND sets its international limit by market, because each market’s data has to arrive in a format the fund’s records can use.
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Home market
Australia
ASX-listed securities
Shares and other ASX-listed securities, including ETFs, listed investment companies and listed trusts. Any Australian broker may be used.
Supported
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InternationalUnited StatesEquity market
Supported
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InternationalUnited KingdomEquity market
Supported
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InternationalCanadaEquity market
Supported
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InternationalJapanEquity market
Supported
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ElsewhereOther marketsAny other international equity market
Not supported
For every international account: any broker may be used, with the account set up in the SMSF’s name. Other markets are excluded because the trade, corporate action, dividend and currency data required is not available in the format needed.
Check firstConsidering an ETF listed outside Australia? Check which exchange it trades on, and confirm with ESUPERFUND that it can be administered before you invest.
What trustees keep and decide.
ESUPERFUND’s administration support does not transfer the trustees’ legal responsibility. Whichever broker you use, these records and decisions stay with the fund’s trustees.
Received electronically through EBROKINGTrustee action
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Account ownership
Open every share trading account in the SMSF’s name, not the trustees’ personal names. Shares bought through EBROKING are CHESS sponsored and owned by the fund under its own HIN.
Trustee: set the account up correctly from the start
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Trades and settlements
All buy and sell trades, and all settlement account transactions, from 1 July (or the opening date) to 30 June (or the closing date).
EBROKING: received as dataAnother broker: you supply statements and an Excel or CSV file
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Holdings at 30 June
The securities held, the number of units and their unit price or market value on 30 June.
EBROKING: received as dataAnother broker: you supply a holdings statement
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Dividends and corporate actions
Keep dividend statements and corporate action notices with the fund’s other tax and super records. ESUPERFUND may request documents through the Annual Checklist.
Trustee: keep the records and supply them when requested
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Investment Strategy alignment
Decide whether each share or ETF fits the fund’s Investment Strategy, and document that decision. Revisit the strategy when the fund’s investments change significantly.
Trustee: decide and document. ESUPERFUND gives no investment advice.
Specific questions about shares, ETFs and brokers.
Short answers to the questions that decide how your fund’s share trading is set up.
Do I have to use EBROKING?
No. EBROKING documents are included with the SMSF application, but using them is optional. You can open a share trading account with another Australian broker in the SMSF’s name.
If you do, you arrange the account setup and supply its trade, settlement and holding records to ESUPERFUND each year.
Can ESUPERFUND trade on my account or see my login?
No. Only the trustees can access the trading platform and place trades. Where EBROKING is used, ESUPERFUND receives electronic data files only and has no access to the trading platform.
Can my SMSF buy ETFs listed overseas?
ESUPERFUND supports international shares in the US, UK, Canada and Japan equity markets only. Before buying an ETF listed outside Australia, check which exchange it trades on and confirm with ESUPERFUND that it can be administered.
Will holdings with another broker show in the Client Portal?
Not in real time. ESUPERFUND does not receive daily data from other brokers, so those accounts are not reported live. The records you supply each year are used for the fund’s annual compliance work.
Does ESUPERFUND recommend shares, ETFs or brokers?
No. ESUPERFUND does not provide financial product advice and does not recommend any investment, broker or platform. Consider advice from a licensed financial adviser about your own circumstances.
Where do options, warrants, bonds, IPOs and CFDs fit?
They are covered separately. See All Other Investments, and check the current allowed and disallowed investments before you invest.