SMSFs

According to Chant West Research, the median ‘Balanced’ industry super fund delivered a return of 3.0% for the entirety of 2020; not a bad result but not shooting the lights out either. There is little doubt it was a very difficult year for investors and the world in general, faced with a health crisis that…

Geoff Wilson of Wilson Asset Management fame and the Stock Brokers and Financial Advisers Association have joined with the SMSF Association in attempting to get fairer access for small investors in company capital raisings. ASIC is in their sights. In a webinar organised by the SMSF body yesterday (November 25), coinciding with SMSF Week, Geoff…

There has been somewhat of a Cold War between the industry and self-managed sectors of Australia’s superannuation environment over the last decade. Words have been exchanged on a near daily basis, discussing with a particular focus on SMSFs coming at a significantly higher cost than the alternatives and requiring a substantial amount of input from…

New option for MySuper products allows mass customisation Russell Investments has developed what it says is a ‘game changer’ for superannuation in Australia – the first mass customised retirement solution. It is currently available only to members in the Russell Master Trust, but the firm will offer access through other super funds down the track….

The pandemic has been devastating to everyone around the world, but among those hardest-hit have been self-funded retirees. The combination of dividend cuts and near-zero interest rates is forcing more Australians to eat into their capital, as they deal with higher prices for everything from food and water to basic services. The 50 per cent…

The ATO delivered some positive news, approving fractional property investment platform Domacom’s’ application to broaden the use of the $300,000 downsizer contribution.

Opening infrastructure investment to SMSFs and superannuation investors would democratise investment in critical domestic infrastructure

COVID-19 has had incredible impacts on the superannuation sector, in fact it has become somewhat of an existential crisis for many involved. The Government’s well-meaning but ultimately poorly structured and timed announcement to allow those impacted by the economic shutdowns to access their superannuation early has seen the ‘industry super versus everyone else’ war of…

AustralianSuper chief investment officer and deputy chief executive, Mark Delaney, says bonds provide a diversification benefit but not as much as in the past because now yields are so low. Speaking at a Bloomberg investment webinar last week, Delaney said: “We will be looking for other sources of diversification. Those might include unlisted assets, currency…

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has set out the test it will apply when determining whether an “intermediary limited recourse borrowing arrangement” is an in-house asset of a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF). The ATO has issued a legislative instrument to clarify the position of SMST trustees who use intermediary arrangements to structure fund borrowings. Such…

There has been a surge in the number of investors opening an online brokerage account during the recent lockdown period. But investors making their own trades should ensure they are getting good value with their online broker. Comparison site Canstar has updated its ratings for online share trading and CMC Markets comes out on top…

The changes to valuations in SMSF trustee portfolios as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak marks an appropriate time to review their investment strategy. A review of the investment strategy document in this context does not need a complete rewrite. Nicholas Ali, executive manager of SMSF technical support at SuperConcepts, says: “It could be done…