About SMSF Adviser

SMSF Adviser

Overview

SMSF Adviser is an Australian trade news service for professionals who advise self-managed superannuation funds, published online at smsfadviser.com. Based in Sydney, it covers the SMSF sector — trustees' advisers, accountants, auditors, lawyers, administrators and financial planners — with news, technical strategy and educational content on superannuation law, taxation, contributions, pensions, borrowing arrangements, auditing and estate planning. The title began life in 2013 as a print magazine and website published by Sterling Publishing, winning Launch of the Year at the Publishers Australia Excellence Awards in its first year, and it developed into a multimedia brand spanning a news website, an email bulletin, the SMSF Adviser Show podcast, webcasts and a national events program that includes the SMSF Technical Strategy Day and the SMSF Awards. Since October 2025, SMSF Adviser has been owned by Prime Creative Media, which acquired it from Momentum Media as part of a seven-title wealth portfolio. Its present-day offer is centred on digital publishing and events rather than the print magazine with which it launched.

History

SMSF Adviser's origins lie in the reorganisation of Australia's financial services trade press in the early 2010s. In October 2012, Sterling Publishing acquired Morningstar Australasia's financial services trade publishing business, whose titles included InvestorDaily and IFA, the latter then described as incorporating SMSF coverage. Sterling, the publisher behind The Adviser and Smart Property Investment, was building a stable of vertical titles for financial services professionals, and in 2013 it launched SMSF Adviser as a dedicated publication for the self-managed super fund sector, at that time the fastest-growing segment of Australian superannuation. The magazine launched alongside a website, initially at smsfadviseronline.com.au, with Russell Stephenson as publisher.

The launch was immediately recognised by the industry. At the Publishers Australia Excellence Awards in 2013, held at the Sydney Hilton with more than 400 guests, SMSF Adviser was named Launch of the Year, with judges praising its focused editorial content and targeted distribution: "Clean lines, clear message and sharply targeted. Good use of industry experts." Stephenson said the team had invested heavily in understanding the market, and that the print magazine and website had quickly become a "turn to" resource for planners, advisers, accountants and lawyers working with SMSFs. The title's growth also contributed to Sterling Publishing's recognition in the BRW Fast 100 rankings of fast-growing businesses in the same period.

Sterling Publishing subsequently took the name of its parent company, Momentum Media, and SMSF Adviser sat within Momentum's financial services stable alongside ifa, InvestorDaily and Accountants Daily. Journalist Miranda Brownlee joined the title in 2014 and became its deputy editor, building a reputation for breaking major superannuation stories and reporting extensively on technical strategy and legislative change; she later moved within Momentum Media to edit Accountants Daily and Accounting Times. When Momentum acquired Money Management and Super Review from FE fundinfo in September 2022, a redefined editorial team placed Laura Dew in the editor's chair for SMSF Adviser alongside Money Management and Super Review, within a financial services division headed by director Russell Stephenson and managing editor Phillip Tarrant.

In October 2025, Momentum Media sold its B2B wealth management titles and events to Prime Creative Media. The transaction, reported by Mumbrella, covered Money Management, Investor Daily, IFA, SMSF Adviser, Fintech Business, Adviser Innovation and Super Review, together with their awards, conferences and events franchises, and 16 staff across sales, events and editorial transferred to the new owner. SMSF Adviser continues to publish under Prime Creative Media: the site carries a 2026 copyright notice in the new owner's name, its podcast is distributed under Prime Creative Media's Wealth Management Podcast Network, and the 2026 SMSF Technical Strategy Day was promoted by the group's head of awards and conferences, Caitlyn Douglas.

Programming and Content

SMSF Adviser's editorial program is organised around the working needs of SMSF professionals. Its website sections span News, Money, Education, Strategy, Webcasts, Features and Podcasts, together with promoted content and event coverage. The news agenda is dominated by superannuation legislation and regulation: the Division 296 tax on large super balances, capital gains tax changes, contribution caps and carry-forward rules, pension and death benefit issues, ATO guidance and audit requirements. Technical strategy articles by contributing lawyers, accountants and SMSF specialists translate that material into practice guidance, covering areas such as limited recourse borrowing arrangements, property investment, estate planning and fund compliance. In 2026 its reporting ranged from the implications of a CGT overhaul for contribution strategies to the effect of higher interest rates on SMSF property strategies, reflecting the title's mix of staff journalism and expert commentary.

The brand's audio offering is the SMSF Adviser Show, a podcast in which members of the editorial team — journalists Keith Ford and Keeli Cambourne among its hosts, joined regularly by Smarter SMSF's Aaron Dunn — interview technical experts and review the biggest themes in the sector; the podcast passed its 100th episode and, in late 2025, was reviewing the year's dominant stories, from the federal election to Division 296 and tighter regulatory scrutiny. The events program includes the SMSF Technical Strategy Day, a full-day technical conference for SMSF professionals; the SMSF Awards; and the Australian Wealth Management Awards, which sit within the same portfolio. A free email bulletin, the SMSF Adviser bulletin, distributes the title's headlines to subscribers.

Audience and Reach

SMSF Adviser serves the professional community around Australia's self-managed superannuation sector: financial advisers, accountants, auditors, administrators, lawyers and other specialists who establish, run and advise SMSFs. The size of that market frames the title's audience. In its own description of the sector, SMSF Adviser notes that self-managed funds now represent more than one million members and approximately one third of Australia's superannuation savings, and that SMSF membership has grown by close to 30 per cent over five years — the publication's own characterisation of its market rather than an audited readership figure, and no audited audience number is published for the title. Its reach is otherwise evidenced by the longevity of its events franchises, the run of its podcast beyond 100 episodes, and its role as a reference point in sector coverage, with its reporting cited by other financial services publications and professional firms.

Digital Presence

The title's home is smsfadviser.com, which carries daily news, strategy and education content, webcasts, podcast episodes and event information, and invites readers to subscribe to the SMSF Adviser bulletin. The SMSF Adviser Show is distributed through the major podcast platforms and forms part of Prime Creative Media's Wealth Management Podcast Network, alongside shows from sister titles such as The ifa Show and Relative Return. The site's footer records that all content published on it is the property of Prime Creative Media. The title also maintains a presence in professional media directories and is syndicated through industry news monitoring services.

Ownership and Organisation

SMSF Adviser is owned by Prime Creative Media, the Melbourne-based B2B publisher that acquired it from Momentum Media in October 2025. Prime Creative Media's chairman is John Murphy and its chief executive is Christine Clancy; the group's wealth portfolio comprises Money Management, Investor Daily, Independent Financial Adviser, Super Review and SMSF Adviser, with events including the Fund Manager of the Year Awards and the Australian Wealth Management Summit. Before the sale, the title was published by Momentum Media, the group that grew out of Sterling Publishing, which had launched the magazine in 2013. Editorially, the title has operated within a shared wealth newsroom: Laura Dew was named editor of SMSF Adviser, Money Management and Super Review in the 2022 team restructure under Momentum Media, and Keeli Cambourne was credited as deputy editor of SMSF Adviser in February 2026, after the change of ownership. The title's editorial operations have historically been based in Sydney, where it was launched and where its flagship Technical Strategy Day is held, while Prime Creative Media is headquartered in Melbourne.

Contact and Availability

SMSF Adviser is available free online at smsfadviser.com, publishing news and strategy content daily, with the SMSF Adviser bulletin available by subscription through the website. The SMSF Adviser Show podcast is available on major podcast platforms, and details of the SMSF Technical Strategy Day, the SMSF Awards and related events are published on the site. The website carries About, Advertise and Contact pages for reader and commercial enquiries.