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Death benefit litigation puts SMSF management in focus

Litigation involving estate planning and superannuation is ramping up, with major impacts on self-managed super funds, and in particular trustee obligations. Cooper Grace Ward partner Hayley Mitchell discusses key recent case law and what it means for estate planning and SMSF management.

Lisa Uhlman | 25th Jan 2023 | More
ASIC pullback on $500K threshold sparks SMSF narrative change

After the regulator abandoned its $500K minimum balance guidance, the SMSF Association says it hopes licensees will reconsider some of the concerns they may have had about low-balance funds.

Tahn Sharpe | 12th Dec 2022 | More
SMSFs back in vogue as investors seek control

This week saw the release of the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO’s) latest quarterly data on the self-managed super fund (SMSF) sector. The information provides a unique insight into what has been a sector under pressure for many years now, as both regulators and industry fund alternatives fine-tuned their focus.  The takeaway from the latest publicly…

Drew Meredith | 14th Jun 2021 | More
  • Industry unites against ASIC levy increase

    This week the nation’s financial advisers received news that their annual registration fees, or “adviser levies.” would increase by the equivalent of 160% over the next two years. According to the regulator’s announcement, the total cost per retail advice licence is now $1,500 plus an additional $2,426 per authorised representative under the licence. This means…

    Staff Writer | 11th Mar 2021 | More
    Advice complaints remain low despite 2020 increase

    The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) was established in 1 November 2018, combining the Financial Ombudsman Service, Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO) and Superannuation Complains Tribunal (SCT) into a more efficient and well resourced group. Covering most aspects of the financial services industry, the data was naturally tilted towards complaints against the banking sector and…

    Staff Writer | 1st Mar 2021 | More
    Performance benchmark a cloud on horizon for SMSFs

    It may be a lull between storms but the SMSF Association has no major political battle to contend with at the moment, instead focusing on smaller issues to do with regulatory change and embarking on new research about small funds’ performance in case that becomes an issue in future. John Maroney, the association’s chief executive,…

    Greg Bright | 17th Feb 2021 | More
  • Affordable advice review offers an opportunity for change

    Financial advice industry bodies including the SMSF Association (SMSFA), Association of Financial Advisers (AFA), and Financial Planning Association (FPA) have jumped on ASIC’s Affordable Advice review to call for an industry reset. This week the SMSF Association released their submission, with key concerns relating to compliance, both in terms of costs and burdens being applied,…

    The Inside Adviser | 21st Jan 2021 | More
    Advice regulation evolving before our eyes

    It’s been a busy few years for the financial advice industry and its regulators, including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Yet if the past week is anything to go by, things are only likely to be get busier in 2021. November has seen a series of announcements, submissions and potentially wide-ranging changes to…

    The Inside Adviser | 25th Nov 2020 | More
  • SMSFs cheaper to run than ASIC says

    SMSFs are not as expensive to operate as many, including ASIC and the Productivity Commission, have led us to believe, according to a report by consulting actuaries Rice Warner, and published to coincide with the start of ‘SMSF Week’. The report was commissioned by the SMSF Association (SMSFA) which has been continually irked by both…

    Greg Bright | 23rd Nov 2020 | More
    Six-member SMSFs one step closer

    It’s been a long time coming, yet it may finally be here. The arbitrary cap on the allowable number of SMSF members, limiting funds to just four people, appears set to be lifted. The legislation has been delayed due to the pandemic but the proposal to increase the maximum number of members from four to…

    Drew Meredith | 12th Nov 2020 | More