Our 'hardest' SMSF tasks
What are the hardest aspects of running your self-managed super fund (SMSF)? There are certainly more and more tasks and professional help my be needed to manage them properly.
Are they the seemingly ever-changing rules, the paperwork and administration or the challenge of choosing where to invest?
If you named dealing with the changing rules and choosing investments as your two hardest jobs, you are among hundreds of thousands of other trustees.
Comprehensive surveys for the 2017 Vanguard/Investment Trends Self Managed Super Fund Reports, released during the past week, asked SMSF trustees to list the hardest aspects of running an SMSF. Their responses include:
- Choosing investments (31 per cent).
- Dealing with regulatory uncertainty (31 per cent).
- Finding time to research investments (16 per cent).
- Handling paperwork and administration (16 per cent).
- Finding time to plan and review for their SMSFs (12 per cent).
The most positive finding was that a quarter do not find any aspect of running their fund hard.
It should be emphasised that trustees could give multiple responses to the survey conducted by specialist researcher Investment Trends. For instance, other responses dealt with such specific challenges as having too much exposure to certain asset types (9 per cent) and sticking to an investment strategy (4 per cent).
The findings that many SMSF trustees have difficulty choosing investments and in dealing with regulatory uncertainty partly explains another finding from the survey that a large proportion of SMSFs recognise that they have unmet needs for advice.
Investment Trends estimates that 277,000 SMSFs – out of 585,000 funds at the time of the survey – had unmet needs for advice. This is the highest number to date based on past annual surveys.
An estimated 152,000 SMSFs have broad unmet needs for advice on tax and super while 113,000 have unmet needs for advice on retirement strategies. And an estimated 103,000 funds have unmet needs for investment advice.
Many SMSFs recognise their unmet need for advice on inheritance and estate planning (an estimated 59,000 funds), strategies in response to recent super changes (51,000), tax planning (50,000), investment strategy/portfolio review (50,000) and identifying undervalued assets (50,000).
Other unmet advice needs include investing for a regular income (46,000 funds), Exchange Traded Funds (46,000), SMSF pension strategies (45,000), offshore investing (43,000) and longevity protection (38,000).
The finding that almost half of Australia’s SMSFs recognise that they have unmet needs for professional advice is a critical acknowledgement by trustees that they need professional guidance.
In turn, this will hopefully lead to more trustees actually going the next step of gaining that advice.
Robin Bowerman,
Head of Market Strategy and Communications at Vanguard.
22 August 2017
www.vanguard.com.au
Hot Issues
- ATO encourages trustees to use voluntary disclosure service
- Beware of terminal illness payout time frame
- Capital losses can help reduce NALI
- Investment and economic outlook, August 2024
- What the Reserve Bank’s rates stance means for property borrowers
- How investing regularly can propel your returns
- Super sector in ASIC’s sights
- Most Popular Operating Systems 1999 - 2022
- Our investment and economic outlook, July 2024
- Striking a balance in the new financial year
- The five reasons why the $A is likely to rise further - if recession is avoided
- What super fund members should know when comparing returns
- Insurance inside super has tax advantages
- It’s never too early to start talking about aged care with clients
- Capacity doubts now more common
- Most Gold Medals in Summer Olympic Games (1896-2024)
- SMSF assets reach record levels amid share market rally
- Many Australians have a fear of running out
- How to get into the retirement comfort zone
- NALE bill passed by parliament
- Compliance focus impacts wind-ups
- LRBA interest rates increase for 2025
- Income-free areas set to increase from 1 July
- Most Spoken Languages in the World
- Middle-to-higher incomes boosting SMSF growth
- Investment and economic outlook, May 2024
- Transitioning into retirement: What you should know
- Plan now to take advantage of stage 3 tax cuts
- Deeming freeze a win for Age Pensioners
Article archive
- April - June 2024
- January - March 2024
- October - December 2023
- July - September 2023
- April - June 2023
- January - March 2023
- October - December 2022
- July - September 2022
- April - June 2022
- January - March 2022
- October - December 2021
- July - September 2021
- April - June 2021
- January - March 2021
- October - December 2020
- July - September 2020
- April - June 2020
- January - March 2020
- October - December 2019
- July - September 2019
- April - June 2019
- January - March 2019
- October - December 2018
- July - September 2018
- April - June 2018
- January - March 2018
- October - December 2017
- July - September 2017
- April - June 2017
- January - March 2017
- October - December 2016
- July - September 2016
- April - June 2016
- January - March 2016
- October - December 2015
- July - September 2015
- April - June 2015
- January - March 2015
- October - December 2014
July - September 2017 archive
- ATO to release further guidance on reserves
- A real-world benchmark for SMSF performance
- How is your super going, ready for retirement?
- Our 'hardest' SMSF tasks
- Lack of literacy promotes unrealistic goals
- Young investors: Time is on your side
- Is your SMSF retirement-ready?
- Key Economic Indicators, 2017 - updated
- Investors acting their age
- ATO locks in details, addresses panic on real-time reporting
- Government ‘undermines’ tax system in new moves on property expenses
- Multiple super accounts in a 'gig' society
- Why Australian retirees aren't happy and what we can do about it
- Doing a budget is a good idea but ....
- Technical expert flags estate planning strategies for 2017-18
- Government to shut down salary sacrifice loophole
- Items that heat up your depreciation deductions
- ‘Tens of thousands’ of SMSFs at risk with ECPI
- Do’s and don’ts of estate planning
- LISTO to help boost women’s super
- Smart ways to stretch retirement money
- Low economic growth likely for years
- Recorded Crime - Offenders, 2015-16
- Adequacy of savings still a concern among Australians