Financial Planning

The latest industry research has shown SMSFs with low balances grow to levels allowing them to become cost-efficient very quickly.

Recently released draft exposure legislation will require trustees of super funds, including SMSFs, to exercise their powers in the best financial interests of beneficiaries and require APRA-regulated funds to support their expenditures with evidence.

The cost of a comfortable retirement in Australia has gone up over the September quarter despite COVID-induced lifestyle changes, new research has revealed.

With the end of the year drawing closer, the ATO has outlined some of the cut-off dates and deadlines applying for members wanting to apply for the early release of their super.

Some fireworks and a great Advent Calendar to help you celebrate. On behalf of all our staff we wish our clients and their families a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and a great holiday period.

While the government has announced plans to increase governance over the performance of super funds, super members will still need to actively monitor the performance of their fund to avoid being stapled to an underperforming one, says a mid-tier firm.

Recent research has revealed that more than half of retirees are projected to fall short of their desired retirement income level by more than 10 per cent, says Russell Investments.

Over the coming weeks, around 12 million working Australians will start receiving extra cash in their pay packets as a result of changes to personal income tax brackets announced by the federal government.

Trustees must ensure any purchase from a related party is not a proxy for a loan or financial assistance to avoid breaching their obligations.

Data only just released by the Australian Tax Office, detailing the asset allocations for all SMSFs in the quarter to the end of June, shows there was still a large investment weighting at that time towards cash and term deposits.