Property is an investment class much favoured by Australian investors; be it held directly via a residential investment property, through a listed A-REIT or perhaps a premise from where owners conduct a business. In many cases these investments form part of a SMSF. As at March, SMSFs held around $135 billion in non-residential and residential…
Do this after June 30 and you could boost your super by $110,000
Opinion piece written by Peter Burgess, CEO, SMSF Association First published in Financial Review on 17 May 2023. Licensed by Copyright Agency. Getting the timing right on contributions is just one of a host of things SMSF members need to pull together before the end of the tax year. With June 30 fast approaching it’s…
2023-24 Federal Budget Summary
Written by Tracey Scotchbrook, Head of Policy & Advocacy, SMSF Association As expected, the 2023-2024 Federal Budget has placed a strong emphasis on the cost of living and establishing a stronger, secure economy. From an SMSF perspective, we were pleased to see there were no unexpected changes likely to significantly impact the sector or superannuation…
Issue 44: To SMSF or not – How the sector performs against APRA funds
Probably a question asked by many contemplating starting or continuing to run an SMSF. And rightly so as the decision to directly manage you retirement savings is one that should not be taken lightly by any member of an SMSF. For some, it may also be the anticipated time involved with running an SMSF that…
One of these four things could push you over the planned $3m super cap
Opinion piece written by Peter Burgess, CEO, SMSF Association First published in Financial Review on 26 April 2023. Licensed by Copyright Agency. Capital gains tax liabilities and a sudden surge in asset prices just before June 20 are just two of them. It’s the year 2026 and Joan, a chartered accountant, has just retired from…
Issue 43: Long-term investing and how an SMSF is suited to delivering it
There has been much discussion of late regarding the shift from ‘growth’ to ‘value’ investing, perhaps prompting the question with some SMSF trustees, ‘do we need to adjust our investment portfolio along similar lines?’ My understanding of growth investing is that it’s where investors seek to grow their investments over time, often in a combination…
Think the new $3m super cap won’t affect you? Here’s how it could
Opinion piece written by Peter Burgess, CEO, SMSF Association First published in Financial Review on 23 March 2023. Licensed by Copyright Agency. Unintended consequences could include insurance payouts, non recourse property loans and even death benefits. The government’s decision to introduce a $3 million cap on super balances above which earnings will be taxed at…
Superannuation Rates and Thresholds
Written by Fabian Bussoletti, Technical Manager, SMSF Association Each year, several key superannuation rates and thresholds are indexed in line with movements to Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) or Consumer Price Index (CPI). Following the release of these key statistics by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last month, the thresholds most relevant to…
Issue 42: Is it back to the roaring ’20s again?
The Roaring ’20s, and I’m talking the 1920s, was a decade of economic growth and widespread prosperity. It followed the ‘Spanish Flu Pandemic’ which lasted two years, over a number of waves between February 1918 to and April 1920. Sound familiar? The decade following was a period of strong economic growth and technological change. Most…
Financial advice review leaves accountants out in the cold
Opinion piece written by John Maroney, CEO, SMSF Association First published in Financial Review on 23 February 2023. Licensed by Copyright Agency. The Quality of Advice Review has a lot of good stuff, but the conversation is ongoing for specialist advisers and accountants. The final report of the Quality of Advice Review has much to…