News

financial advice, Financial Planning, Tax

ATO updates advice fee deduction rules

Financial advice fees Tax deduction ATO Tax determination FAAA Financial Advice Association of Australia Sarah Abood

The ATO has released new rules around the deductibility of financial advice fees, which should reduce the upfront cost of advice.

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ASIC, Compliance, ESG, Investments

Vanguard to pay $12.9m greenwashing penalty

Greenwashing ESG Vanguard Mercer ASIC Federal court

Vanguard Investments Australia has been ordered to pay a multi-million-dollar penalty for false statements regarding the application of ESG screens to a bond index fund.

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Pensions, Retirement, SMSF

Trustees retiring earlier with more

Class SMSF TRIS Transition-to-retirement income streams APRA Pension

Research has found a much higher percentage of SMSF trustees are in pension phase and have larger member balances compared to those in APRA-regulated funds.

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BDBNs, Tax, Trusts

BDBNs may hinder estate plans

BDBN Superannuation proceeds trust Binding death benefit nomination SMSF

A BDBN may not always be the best option for handling superannuation death benefits as it can lack the flexibility a trust structure provides.

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Downsizer

New partners eligible for downsizer

Downsizer contributions Remarriage Second relationship BT Technical Services Tim Howard

Downsizer contributions are not closed off to superannuants who have remarried, even if they are not on the title of a property, with eligibility to contribute, not ownership, the key criteria.

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financial advice, Regulation

Dixon parent company to delist

FAAA Dixon Advisory E&P Financial Group CSLR Compensation Scheme of Last Resort ASX

The parent company of Dixon Advisory has announced plans to move into private ownership, but this is unlikely to prevent public scrutiny during the inquiry into the collapse of the advice firm.

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Auditing, SMSF

Qualified audit isn’t non-compliance

ATO Audit Valuation Qualification

SMSF trustees may overestimate the consequences of a compliance breach related to asset valuations, but they are still required to make efforts to obtain sufficient evidence.

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ATO, Regulation, SMSF

Non-residency must be reported

Annual return ATO SMSF Residency Central management and control test

The non-resident status of an SMSF must be reported to the ATO rather than it informing practitioners of that fact as they would have the information before the regulator.

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financial advice, Retirement

Australians forgoing retirement advice

ASFA Retirement Advice

New research shows nearly half of Australian adults have not sought retirement planning information, with a significant gap between those trusting professional advice and those actually using it.

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