SMSF

Marius Wentzel, Head of Client Solutions & Distribution at AMP and Graeme Colley, Executive Manager, SMSF Technical and Private Wealth from SuperConcepts delivered an insightful presentation this week, offering an update on the macroeconomic outlook and an EOFY checklist for SMSF trustees. Disruption caused from COVID-19 to local economy and the fast-approaching financial year end,…

According to Chant West Research, the median ‘Balanced’ industry super fund delivered a return of 3.0% for the entirety of 2020; not a bad result but not shooting the lights out either. There is little doubt it was a very difficult year for investors and the world in general, faced with a health crisis that…

WLTH is a brand-new financial services neo-platform providing Australians with a smarter, sustainability-focused solution to financial products but particular residential and commercial loans. WLTH is the latest ‘non-bank’ digital lending and payments platform seeking to disrupt the financial services industry in Australia. The launch follows the recent shutdown of neo-bank Xinja after it failed to…

Geoff Wilson of Wilson Asset Management fame and the Stock Brokers and Financial Advisers Association have joined with the SMSF Association in attempting to get fairer access for small investors in company capital raisings. ASIC is in their sights. In a webinar organised by the SMSF body yesterday (November 25), coinciding with SMSF Week, Geoff…

There has been somewhat of a Cold War between the industry and self-managed sectors of Australia’s superannuation environment over the last decade. Words have been exchanged on a near daily basis, discussing with a particular focus on SMSFs coming at a significantly higher cost than the alternatives and requiring a substantial amount of input from…

Delivering value in spades It has been a difficult few years for financial advisers following the Royal Commission. The Commission uncovered some long-standing issues that were predominantly associated with the vertical integration of advice and investment management, resulting in a much needed professionalisation and cleanout of the industry. This has continued into 2020 with thousands…

The term balanced fund has been somewhat maligned after being the core product of insurance salesmen throughout the 70s and 80s to the catch all for high and low risk superannuation options it is today. Yet with uncertainty comes opportunity, and a new breed of ‘balanced fund’ is emerging. The All-Weather portfolio, run by Melbourne-based…

Preliminary unofficial data on registrations of self-managed super funds (SMSFs) points to resurgent popularity of the vehicle. While Australian Taxation Office (ATO) data has not been officially updated, unofficial numbers have been shared at conferences showing a spike in registrations, reversing a trend of the last few years – indicating that Australia’s army of 1.1…

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has set out the test it will apply when determining whether an “intermediary limited recourse borrowing arrangement” is an in-house asset of a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF). The ATO has issued a legislative instrument to clarify the position of SMST trustees who use intermediary arrangements to structure fund borrowings. Such…

If financial advice is provided to an SMSF it is important that the adviser consider both the personal circumstances of the members and of the fund itself, the ombudsman has ruled. A husband and wife, both directors of a self-managed super fund corporate trustee and also the members of the fund, visited a financial planner…