Capstone Financial Planning has entered into a strategic partnership with the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) to provide licensing services for its members wanting to provide advice under the new regulatory framework that will take effect in just under 18 months’ time.

SMSF software specialist BGL Corporate Solutions has been registered to lodge the annual returns of funds electronically with the ATO via the government’s standard business reporting (SBR) facility for users of BGL’s Simple Fund 360.

The Financial System Inquiry’s (FSI) final report, released in December last year, focused attention on the future direction of Australia’s retirement savings policy and the role of superannuation in particular.

The SMSF sector must have been well behaved in 2014. Why? Because the report handed down by the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) on Corporations and Financial Services on the cusp of Christmas Eve was the best present our sector could have hoped for.

SMSF investors have shifted their approach to international investments, showing a willingness to use and pay for good management capabilities, instead of choosing options with the lowest management fees.

The cloud is now beginning to make a noticeable impact on the operation of SMSFs. Amreeta Abbott outlines how this is happening.

Trustee association the SMSF Owners’ Alliance has hit out at proposals to ban the use of gearing within superannuation and abolish the dividend imputation system.

SMSF investors who felt confident with their financial adviser were relying on their expertise to seek and recommend initial public offering (IPO) opportunities.

The implementation of real-time or continuous audits of SMSFs will not happen in the immediate future and will likely be offered as a service by the large administration platforms, according to a sector specialist.