What is a Self-Managed Super Fund?
Has 4 members or less;
- Each individual trustee of the fund is a fund member;
- Each member of the fund is a trustee;
- No member of the fund is an employee of another member of the fund, unless those members are related;
- The trustee can be a corporate entity;
- Employees cannot be in the same self managed superannuation fund as an employer member, unless they are related;
- No trustee of the fund receives remuneration for his or her services as a trustee; and
- A SMSF is registered with, reports to and is regulated by the Australian Taxation Office.
Self managed superannuation funds comprise more than 456,000 funds in existence, with the value of assets residing in these vehicles currently standing at close to $450 billion and escalating.
The average account balance of a self managed super fund is $800,000. As individuals’ super assets have grown, many people have sought to gain control over the day-to-day management of their superannuation.
The membership spread among a self managed super funds is:
- One member 21%
- Two members 65%
- Three members 7%
- Four members 7%
Why setup an SMSF?
How an SMSF could benefit you: (Without taking into consideration your individual circumstances).
- Greater control over your retirement savings with the ability to develop your own investment strategy and make decisions on when to buy and sell individual investments
- Extensive choice of investment options including cash accounts, term deposits, corporate bonds, managed investments, listed shares,Initial public offerings (IPO’s), listed investment companies (LICs), exchange traded funds (ETFs) and direct property
- Potential tax advantages over other types of super, and
- Potentially lower annual fees than retail and industry funds.
- Tailored tax management on investment income and capital gains
- Greater flexibility in investment choices and asset selection
- Control over your total investment portfolio, with the ability to take account of the risk profile of all your assets, including those held outside superannuation
- The ability to pool your resources with up to 4 fund members with similar financial objectives, such as family members
- Maximum flexibility in establishing and managing pensions, including account based, transition to retirement and term allocated pensions
- Greater flexibility for accessing Centrelink benefits such as the age pension
- Investing in direct property
- The ability to transfer personally owned listed shares, business real property and managed funds directly into your superannuation fund, and
- The ability to own business real property in your superannuation fund, to assist your business cash flow.
Financial Planners at Wyse Wealth can assist with the Investment Strategy, setting appropriate asset allocation, controlling cash flows, and selecting the managing investments. Also in conjunction with advice on strategic superannuation, tax and estate planning issues.
