The federal government has announced it will introduce crowd source equity and debt funding legislation before the end of the calendar year to allow more individual retail investors, such as SMSF trustees, greater opportunities to participate in financing and expanding Australian businesses.

The latest research from brokerage house Invast Australia has forecast the possibility of a recovery in commodity prices in the first half of 2016. According to the “November 2015 Investment Committee Monthly Outlook”, commodity prices were close to bottoming out, affording investors the ability to benefit from a rebound in well-diversified sector stocks such as […]

Alternative trading platform Chi-X Australia has several plans in the pipeline specifically targeted at the SMSF sector, including warrants and indices to create exchange-traded funds (ETF).

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has intensified its compliance activity in regard to SMSF auditors, taking punitive action recently against three registered practitioners operating in the sector. In the first instance, the corporate watchdog disqualified Manoj Abichandani of New South Wales from being an approved SMSF auditor, after it was determined he provided […]

A strata trust that amalgamates Sydney property, launched as the first of its type in Australia, should get the attention of SMSF trustees who are looking for investments with a point of difference.

Changes to the way superannuation is taxed in Australia need not be perceived negatively despite the fact large tax incentives to certain individuals may be removed, according to the partner of an accounting firm.

The latest CommSec analysis shows diversification among SMSF share portfolios appears to be less of a concern than previously thought, with trustees holding more varied holdings than those of non-SMSF retail investors.

The SMSF Association has endorsed the federal government’s draft legislation to raise financial adviser professional standards, describing it as an important step in enabling quality financial advice to be delivered and building consumer trust in the industry.

Wealth manager Perpetual has made a plea for accountants to make a decision and take action immediately on the licensing option under which they would prefer to operate in 2016.