December 2019 newsletter

APRA has released a ‘heatmap’ of MySuper superannuation funds designed to smoke out underperformers. We look at why it’s come about, and what insights it presents.

Saving a deposit to buy your first home is a tough task, and purchasing an affordable first home can be an even greater challenge. The First Home Super Saver (FHSS) Scheme developed by the Australian Government is one solution, but it’s not for everyone. To help you get your head around whether the FHSS Scheme is for you, check out our 10-point guide.

Knowing who to complain to when you need help resolving a problem with your super fund or financial adviser can be confusing. Whether it’s a concern about poor advice, problems with unpaid SG contributions, or questions about how your private data has been handled, there are a number of organisations that can help.

Instead of rolling up to your local Centrelink, ATO or Medicare office to ask a question or get some help, we now deal with the government via our myGov account. Here we provide a simple guide to the myGov portal.

Super funds rose for the third straight month in June, making a 6.5% comeback from the COVID cliff the previous quarter. By the end of the financial year, most funds ended up near where they started with some funds managing a modest positive return. All in all, that’s a good outcome from one of the most turbulent financial years in the past century.

Despite a partial rebound in April, all lifecycle fund age cohorts have had negative returns for the financial year to date. Younger members with higher exposure to risk assets have borne the brunt of the downturn, while older members with a more defensive asset allocation have been cushioned from the worst of the falls.

When it comes to delivering a good investment return to their fund members, super funds mix a variety of investment assets and structures together. To understand what your super fund is doing on your behalf, it’s worth learning a little more about these investments – particularly whether they are listed or unlisted.

Understanding your super balance and comparing the performance of your super fund with other funds involves more than just checking fees, super contributions and insurance premiums. It’s also knowing how – and when – your super fund calculates and applies investment earnings to the balance of your super account.

An SMSF is a private super fund you manage yourself, giving you more control over how your retirement savings are invested. We look at how they work and some of the benefits and drawbacks of going it alone.

All super funds must satisfy the sole purpose test to be eligible to receive the tax concessions available under Australian superannuation legislation. All super funds (including SMSFs) must satisfy the sole purpose test. We take a look at how the sole purpose test is administered and how you can ensure your SMSF meets the requirements.

Having your own SMSF can be a rewarding experience, provided your fund is set up correctly from the get-go. Here are the nine steps required to get your SMSF up and running.

One of the first decisions you must make when setting up an SMSF is whether to choose a corporate or an individual trustee structure. We take a look at the pros and cons and the key differences between the two structures.

While many SMSF trustees turn to their accountant for assistance, they can only provide advice on some SMSF-related matters. To help SMSF trustees navigate this tricky area we’ve compiled a checklist to help you work out if your accountant is the right person to ask for help.

There are many reasons why you might choose to wind up your self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) – you’ve retired and you’re not taking a pension, you don’t have the time to manage it efficiently anymore, or a trustee might have passed away – but, just like starting a SMSF, there is a proper process to go through.

With politicians continuing to tinker with the rules around super and retirement income, many of us find we need some help to make a decision about these important financial issues. But while knowing you need advice is one thing, figuring out what’s on offer and where to obtain it is another matter. To help, we have created a simple step-by-step checklist to guide you through your financial advice experience.

Financial advice provided by super funds to their members is “generally appropriate’’ but could be better. That’s the gist of a recent review of the sector by the regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

If you’ve decided to get professional help from a financial adviser, this is what you can expect.

Independent financial advice has been a topical issue recently, and is likely to become significantly more prominent in the coming years.

In this article you can find out who are Australia’s truly independent financial advisers. There are now nearly 90 advisers on the list, including at least one from every state.

If you think all the hard work of creating a retirement income is over once you retire, unfortunately you’re mistaken. There are still lots of decisions to make – a key one being how you are going to invest your hard-earned super savings. To help you navigate the range of super pension products, we have created a simple guide to the main investment options.

For some retirees, selling the family home can also be a great way to release built-up equity and make an extra contribution to their super account.

Asked to conduct an independent review of Australia’s retirement income system, the panel appointed by treasurer Josh Frydenberg reported that it was all tied up with the family home.