Welcome to 2020! I trust that you had a relaxing time over the Christmas and New Year break and that the first part of our ‘homework for the holidays’ was helpful in building an understanding of your SMSF’s asset allocation or in helping construct an investment strategy to set the investment allocations for members within…
January 16, 2020
LRBAs valuable asset for SMSFs in accumulation phase
Written by John Maroney, CEO, SMSF Association First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on 15 January 2020. Licensed by Copyright Agency. Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) have always attracted their share of critics; lack of investment acumen and excessive costs are just two of the arguments made by those opposed to this $750-billion superannuation sector.…
January 6, 2020
SMSF alert on potential to lose tax breaks
Written by John Maroney, CEO, SMSF Association First published in The Australian Financial Review on 04 January 2020. Licensed by Copyright Agency. DIY super fund trustees need to be aware of new legislation relating to a fund’s expenditure and income. However, as the prices of property continue to rise in Australia, the affordability of property…
December 16, 2019
Issue 6: Asset Allocation and your SMSF, where to start? (some homework for the holidays – Part 1)
Many of us will have heard the term ‘diversification’ and some will be familiar with the expression that it’s ‘the only free lunch in investing’. In my view, diversification, how you allocate investment assets coupled with an understanding of cash flow and the power of compounding make a pretty good meal! Simply put diversification means…
December 4, 2019
The do’s and don’ts of property investing for SMSFs
Written by John Maroney, CEO, SMSF Association First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on 04 December 2019.  Licensed by Copyright Agency. Self Managed Super Fund trustees are no different to many other Australians – they relish the opportunity to invest in direct property. Australian Taxation Office figures show property comprises about 13 per cent…
November 29, 2019
New FASEA code could spell trouble for SMSF trustees
Written by John Maroney, CEO, SMSF Association First published in The Australian Financial Review on 28 November 2019. Licensed by Copyright Agency. Changed adviser rules could lead to self-managed superannuation funds missing out on valuable advice. Will SMSF trustees have trouble buying or selling shares early next year? With the new Financial Advisers Standards and Ethics…
November 26, 2019
Issue 5: Understanding the measures of performance in your SMSF
For those who have been following our series to date, I hope the articles have been helpful in building some fundamental understanding of how to set up, run and manage an SMSF portfolio from an investing perspective. In this instalment, I thought it may be helpful to continue in this vein and discuss some of…
November 7, 2019
Typical SMSF costs ‘less than $5000’ a year to run
Written by John Maroney, CEO, SMSF Association First published in The Australian Financial Review on 06 November 2019. Licensed by Copyright Agency. Software providers to DIY funds say annual operating costs are much lower than the $13,900 cited by ASIC. What does it really cost to run your own self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF)? The Australian…
November 6, 2019
Research shows SMSFs continuing to diversify
Written by John Maroney, CEO, SMSF Association First published in The Brisbane Times on 06 November 2019. Licensed by Copyright Agency. It’s time to call a spade a shovel. When the two latest controversies surrounding Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs) – single-asset funds (typically property) and the release of an Australian Securities and Investments Commission fact sheet…
October 29, 2019
Issue 4: Incorporating active and/or passive investment styles in an SMSF
Hello again and thank you for joining us in our SMSF Connect Investment Series. This instalment continues to build on the fundamentals of investing and takes a look at the features, benefits and difference between active and passive investing. The terms ‘active’ and ‘passive’ apply to the style a manager may adopt to meet the…