AMP SMSF administration head of technical services Philip La Greca said low interest rates continue to make cash less attractive as an investment, resulting in trustees not renewing term deposits at maturity.

Mr La Greca said while overall cash holdings are in decline, term deposits have seen the largest decline as an investment vehicle in the past 12 months, falling from 7.6 per cent in September 2013 to 5.3 per cent in September this year.

“With no sign of term deposit rates increasing in the near-term, we’ll likely see cash holdings continue to decline,” said Mr La Greca.

The survey showed asset allocation to property also fell, declining 1.5 percentage points in the past quarter with the overall asset allocation to property in an SMSF, including direct, listed property and managed funds now sitting at 16.3 per cent.

Mr La Greca also said the portion of SMSFs with direct property investments using limited recourse borrowing arrangements has declined by 3.1 percentage points to 34.4 per cent.

Overall he said 14.8 per cent of SMSF trustees are currently using a borrowing arrangement in their SMSF, a slight decline from 15.6 per cent in the previous quarter.

Australian equities rose 1.5 percentage points during the September quarter, according to the survey.

“Despite a recent downturn in the domestic market, it appears SMSF trustees are overall optimistic about long-term gains in Australian equities,” said Mr La Greca.