SMSF service provider trustdeed.com.au has launched an affordable SMSF trust deed and has slammed claims that cheaper products expose advisers to additional business risks.
According to the director of the new service, Manoj Abichandani, who recently founded onlinesmsfaudit.com.au, recent media statements about the poor quality of some low-cost SMSF trust deeds could lead advisers to believe they had to pay top dollar to access an acceptable deed for their SMSF clients.
“We agree that there are fundamental flaws in some deeds, but sweeping generalisations about cheap deeds not properly addressing areas such as payment of death benefits and voting rights do a disservice to the whole sector,” Abichandani said.
“Price is not the only factor for determining the quality of an SMSF deed, just as a low price tag doesn’t always mean a poor product or vice versa.
“It is tragic and wrong that all cheap products are being put in the same basket.”
Trustdeed.com.au charges $125 for its SMSF trust deed and $97.50 for an actuarial certificate.
Abichandani said its online delivery system enabled competitive pricing, whereas purchasers were being punished by vendors of expensive deeds, some charging up to $495 for the same document, because they failed to use technology.
“Online cloud delivery and storage is the most efficient and secure way to deliver any document,” he said.
“It saves us money, which we are able to pass onto our clients.
“Our deed is substantially more detailed and instructive than most deeds that are available for twice the price or more.”
Advisers should be looking at whether a deed was descriptive and provided the amount of depth and detail needed to ensure trustees and members were well-informed in any legal situation, including death, he said.
“Some deeds are cheap because they simply mimic and defer to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act, to the point where they could basically be one paragraph long,” he said.
“That may be a slight exaggeration, but we do agree that a handful of deeds leave a lot to be desired.”
There are now over 100 deed providers operating in the Australian market.
