Former company director Steven William Hill has been sentenced in the Sydney District Court to two years and nine months’ imprisonment, following an ASIC investigation that discovered Hill persuaded investors to set up SMSFs and invest in sham property investments.

The objective of superannuation should not be open-ended, the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has stated in light of the potential changes expected to hit the system in next month’s federal budget.

Class has partnered with Financial Simplicity to create an integration allowing wealth advisers to receive a data feed of portfolio assets for SMSFs and other investment portfolios.

A clear opportunity existed for SMSF advisers to proactively interpret market conditions for their clients, as well as help trustees navigate through new managed funds and investment strategies, a recent industry paper found.

The federal government needed to develop comprehensive guidelines for an equitable and flexible system that allowed Australians to live a comfortable retirement, the Actuaries Institute said in its submission to Treasury on the objective of superannuation.

The SMSF Association has called on the federal government to enshrine the objective of superannuation in stand-alone legislation and not as part of existing super or tax laws.