Accountants must be wary of the opportunity costs associated with acquiring an Australian financial services licence (AFSL) in assessing their course of action when the exemption regarding SMSF advice was abolished, according to the head of an accounting firm.

Rules governing the acquisition of assets from related parties are strict but there is a little flexibility stemming from various exceptions, according to an SMSF specialist auditor.

The indexation of compliance penalty units announced in last week’s budget has reinforced the case for SMSFs to have a corporate trustee structure in place, a specialist lawyer has said.

Independent SMSF administration and advisory firm Selfmanagedsuper.com.au is aiming to put greater emphasis on its conservative clients’ investment needs this year and to address their requirement for a more targeted portfolio.

Advisers should place more emphasis on the cash and deposit segment of portfolios as part of clients’ investment strategies and try to avoid parking cash, according to one executive.

The ability to change asset allocations significantly, both in applying and removing risk in portfolios, was essential to thrive in the current economic environment, an investment executive has said.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has made submissions to the Federal Court seeking orders to impose bans on parties involved with ActiveSuper and Royale Capital, who are deemed to have been in breach of the Corporations Act and to have been carrying on an unlicensed financial services business.

The 2015 budget announcement that the government would fund ASIC to execute a framework around the burgeoning crowdsourcing movement will give rise to new SMSF investment opportunities, a sector expert has said.