Individuals considering establishing an SMSF need to be wary of their compliance obligations and consider carefully who the best service provider is to assist them to meet these responsibilities, a sector administration specialist has warned.

Stuart Forsyth has relinquished his role as Australian Taxation Office (ATO) assistant deputy commissioner of superannuation and taken up a position as board member of SMSF administration specialist provider SuperIQ. Forsyth brings to the Super IQ board over a decade’s experience in policy, legislation and litigation with the SMSF sector regulator and is well-known and […]

When assessing the use of fund managers, investors should not look at the choice between active and passive management as mutually exclusive because that mindset might cause them to miss out on valuable return opportunities, according to a senior financial services executive. “As investors and advisers focus on building portfolios that are optimised for risk, […]

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has expressed its concern over the use of reserves within SMSFs and pointed out advisers need to consider these strategies carefully before recommending their implementation as they add a potentially unwanted layer of complexity to running a retirement savings fund.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is seeking interim and final orders from the Supreme Court of New South Wales to prevent property investment promoter Park Trent Properties Group from operating a financial services business without a licence.

The latest industry research into retirement incomes has shown SMSFs hold more than double the funds under management (FUM) of any other sector in the industry.

The Financial System Inquiry (FSI) has indicated its preference for a total ban on the use of gearing inside superannuation funds, but this course of action is unnecessary and would lead to poor outcomes for the SMSF sector, according to an industry expert.

Independently owned financial planning group MyPlanner Australia, formerly known as SMSF Partners, has appointed Philippa Sheehan as its new managing director.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) needs to provide further clarification about its decision to axe the use of cross-insurance within SMSFs as a number of issues have resulted from the move.