The maximum 80 per cent loan to value ratio for borrowing with self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) is arbitrary and should be increased, according to national accounting firm Chan & Naylor.
Calling on the Government to increase the limit, Chan & Naylor chief executive Sal Carrero said the rule impedes the capacity of investors to make their own investment decisions.
The average SMSF member balance is $456,000, almost 20 times the average non-SMSF superannuation balance of about $25,000, meaning that SMSF trustees were in general more sophisticated investors and should be afforded the flexibility to use appropriate leveraging to build wealth, Carrero said.
The Cooper Review's two-year sunset clause on the 80 per cent LVR should also be overturned because it will create market uncertainty, he said.
"When governments intervene in the market it creates unintended consequences, which in this case will result in a last minute rush to utilise the maximum 80 per cent lend for fear of its abolition. It's against the spirit of SMSF legislation to take away individual choice in investment decisions," he said.
The impact of identity theft and its threat to superannuation savings were highlighted in a case that went before the Federal Court at the end of 2023.
A recent NSW Supreme Court decision is an important reminder that while super funds may be subject to restrictive superannuation and tax laws, in essence they are still a trust and subject to equitable and common law claims, says a legal expert.
New research from the University of Adelaide has found SMSFs outperformed APRA funds by more than 4 per cent in 2021–22.
The SMSF Association has made a number of policy recommendations for the superannuation sector in its pre-budget submission to the government.