Strategies for SMSF

We are looking into establishing a SMSF for ourselves. My husband is over 55 so he will be going straight to a allocated pension. So far I have found that I can obtain a trust deed from Cleardocs and have looked at the info from the ATO re compliance. The "establishing a strategy" is a little confusing though. I thought it was part of the trust deed but now I think that maybe it isn't. Is there some way I could access sample documents to get an idea of what is required? We have an idea of how we want to invest our money but think that it would be a good idea to leave it open because in the future we may think of other ways to invest the money.

I'd also like to know from anyone else with a SMSF, as the ATO says they are so tough on ensuring compliance with their laws, do they send information on any changes that may affect compliance or are we expected just to keep informed?

Hi Holley

Some of these might help :

http://www.dover.com.au/docs/FEESTCP...ialEdPart1.pdf (page 25)

http://www.reliancecapital.com.au/do...tant_guide.pdf (page 38)

10 TRAPS OF POOR SMSF ADMINISTRATION

Superannuation: Investing in property

You (and/or your accountant) are expected to keep up to date with the legislation - the obligations of the Trustee/s are pretty clearly spelled out

Once you have created the Investment Strategy the Trustees can change it if necessary - although it will probably be broad enough that you won't usually need to

Personally I'd pay for an experienced Accountant's advice in overseeing the whole thing - could be a pretty costly long term mistake if you miss something for the sake of a few hundred bucks now (but I'm risk averse ;-) )

Cheers
Carl

We're in the process of setting one up at the moment; is there any software available to keep a track of the Investments etc..or does anyone have an excel program (or ideas for what to put in one to efficiently track the investments?)

I'm an excel novice

BGL / CAS / Sales

Good software, you can print all your minutes, investment strategies etc from it, as well as keep track of all your investments and tax.
However I wouldnt bother getting it because you will have to take it to an accountant anyway. Best thing you can do is keep your super fund's bank statements each month, write details of any transactions so your accountant doesnt waste time (and thus money for you) trying to figure it out. Ensure that the ONLY thing going through the super fund's bank account is super fund transactions.
On top of this if you give your accountant copies of all your end of year holding statements, annual tax statements, and dividend statements (particularly where reinvestments are involved). There arent usually a heap of transactions occuring during the year for a super fund so a ring binder with some plastic sleeves would be more that sufficient!
if you have to pay $330 for software each year then accounting fees on top plus audit fees, you may as well just get the accountant to do it all.

Why

You get what you pay for.

If you have gone ahead a purchased a Cleardocs deed, I would be happy to review it for you and point out any shortcomings.

Seriously please be careful.

Yes!

Remember, most accountants are simple people. Make it easy for them!

Hi Holley,

There's some great info above but to summarise -

INVESTMENT STRATEGY

Yes you need one and this should be reviewed every 6-12months at least (or as requried to ensure every investment/allocation you make falls into the parrametres you've laid down in the Strategy itself).

This is a seperate document.

You also hit the nail on the head with thinking you may want to change the ways you invest money in the future. That's where 'ranges' such as 'aiming to invest between X% - Y% in Australian Shares' helps. Or A% - B% into Alternative assets. You then may add in a 'benchmark' as something you'll aim for between those ranges.

Mines about 7 pages, mostly template stuff but it's a living document that changes as requried.

TO KEEP INFORMED

Unfortunately there's no one-way-fix for this, it's a matter of combining a couple of methods. Using a SMSF specialisit accountant/auditor should take out most of the leg work.

SMSF News subscription service - fairly new ATO, free, publication on SMSF news. Probably close to what you're after.

https://lawcentral.com.au/SecureSignup/create.asp - a law site that sends up weekly emails about services they are offering, often in regards to changes in the Super arena.


Hope that helps.

P.S. Also a couple of good booklets for SMSF Trustees on the ATO's website.

Very good advice in deed.

If you can, try to utilise a SPAA accredited specialist adviser. You can locate one close to you by going to the SPAA website SMSF Professionals' Association and searching for a specialist.

Also, in regards to any kind of adviser, trust your instincts. If you reckon someone doesn't know what they are talking about, you are probably right - regardless of the qualifications after their name!

It is crucial to get quality advice at the start when setting up an SMSF. If you get that right, you are definitely heading in the right direction.

Good luck

Even Better - Get your Accountant to use Banklink to pull in your transactions automatically. It will save both you and your accountant a lot of time and hassle collating paper and followup phone calls if theres any missing statements! Banklink pull data from the majority of Banks, Financial Institutions as well as credit unions and Rural suppliers of data. It will also interface with Super and Wealth tools such as BGL. Managing information dosnt need to be done manually these days!

You should have a look at the new SMSF software solution Class Super.

It is completely online and brings in all your bank data, share data, and platform information (if you have an adviser using one), and gives you up to date 24/7 web access to all your smsf details, including valuations, assets and liabilities, profit and loss, and members balances. The reporting is amazing - very easy to read and fully comprehensive.

Our accountant started using this system some 6 months ago and we finally now have a complete up to date picture of all our SMSF affairs so we can make informed decisions and know where our fund stands at any point.

It is definitely worth looking at.

I am not sure if you can get access to the system as a direct client, and you may have to ask your accountant if they can run your fund on it.