The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) acted on its taskforce's finding of “room for improvement” in the SMSF advice sector, recommending additional disclosure requirements be placed on professional advisers working with SMSF trustees. Industry associations have welcomed ASIC’s proposed additional disclosure, but have questioned...
Notwithstanding acknowledging the fact that a majority of SMSF trustees are responsible and compliant, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has warned that it will be taking a comprehensive approach to loans, related party transactions and audits. ATO assistant deputy commissioner of superannuation Stuart Forsyth said...
The average SMSF contributions for 2013 have declined and the trend of funds holding substantial amounts of cash has continued to taper. On average SMSF contributions dropped $12,300 to $35,200 per fund in 2013, compared with $47,500 this time last year, according to an investment...
The Self-Managed Super Fund Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) recently opposed any form of mandatory education for SMSF trustees, as raised by the Cooper Review into Superannuation efficiency. SPAA believes that mandatory training would impose an unnecessary barrier to entry, be discriminatory against the SMSF...