SMSFs subject to myths
Self-Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs) have been the subject of a number of myths which the industry needs to counter, according to AMP head of policy and technical, Peter Burgess.
Addressing the SMSF Association national conference in Melbourne, Burgess said that amongst the myths were that SMSFs should be prudential lay regulated and that they were guilty of asset concentration around cash and bluechip domestic equities.
He said the notion that SMSFs needed to be prudential lye regulated was misconceived because inevitably then trustees of self-managed funds were the members of those funds.
Burgess said imposing prudential regulation would be tantamount to asking those trustees to keep a promise to themselves.
He said that where allocation was concerned it needed to be remembered that recent research had suggested that most SMSF trustees held 50 per cent of their wealth outside super and that much of their exposure to bluechips such as BHP was also delivering am exposure to international markets.
On the question of Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangements (LBRAs), Burgess said it was wrong to suggest that they were running out of control and that, in any case, the regime was open to adjustment in preference to repeal.
Recommended for you
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.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
215.17 3 y p.a(%)
2
Lakehouse Small Companies
152.92 3 y p.a(%)
3
Loftus Peak Global Disruption Fund Hedged
118.15 3 y p.a(%)
4
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
75.00 3 y p.a(%)
5
UBS Solactive Global Pure Gold Miners UCITS ETF Dis USD
61.11 3 y p.a(%)
