The number of SMSFs employing limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBA) to acquire property has noticeably increased in the past few months as investors begin to rebalance their portfolios towards growth assets, according to an industry platform provider.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will focus a large part of its compliance activity on loans within SMSFs in the 2014 financial year.

An Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) examination into the quality of financial advice provided to SMSF trustees has found the majority of it to be of an adequate level. The “SMSFs: Improving the quality of advice given to investors” report revealed 70.3 per cent of personal advice files provided “adequate” advice, though there were […]

Advisers looking to service SMSF clients need to understand why these individuals are not engaged in the financial advice process before they can expect to make any progress to this end, according to the head of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA).

Recent CoreData SMSF research has shown as much as $6 billion will be on the move from cash trusts over the next 12 months as trustees look to rebalance their portfolios into more active investment classes.

Q: Can the trustees of an SMSF purchase a trauma policy on behalf of a member? A:The first point to consider is whether the current trust deed of the fund allows for the purchase of a trauma policy. A trauma insurance policy normally pays out a lump sum to the policy owner if the injured […]

The latest research into the SMSF sector has revealed trustees are specifically looking for specialist advice to help them manage their retirement savings. The third annual “Intimate with Self Managed Superannuation” report, commissioned by the Self-Managed Super Fund Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) and Russell Investments Australasia and conducted by Core Data, showed trustees were […]

Adelaide University has launched its new online SMSF initiative, the Specialist SMSF Course, to coincide with the 2013 Self-Managed Super Fund Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) National Conference.