FAQs

The most probable answer is ‘Yes', because just about anybody is eligible to run their own fund.

You could be:

• An employee
• Self-employed
• A director of a private company
• About to receive a retirement or redundancy package
• Already retired with money in a roll over fund; or
• Retired and already receiving a pension from a private superannuation plan

But you can't be:

• Currently insolvent
• Convicted of a dishonest act
• Disqualified by the regulator

If you and your partner have combined assets of around $200,000 in the superannuation environment or can make substantial contributions to superannuation, you should be seriously considering a self managed fund as your most cost-effective option.

It's at this point that you are on your way to making significant savings on management charges and fees.

Basically: 

• Control
• Flexibility
• Tax Savings
• Cost Savings

Control

The major advantage of a self managed fund is control. That is, you choose how your assets are invested, you monitor how those investments perform and you make investment decisions based on that knowledge.

With a fund that's managed by others, however, you often have no day to day knowledge of how investments are performing and you have no input into investment decisions.

Flexibility

As you have total control of your fund, you'll be able to consider a range of investments that suit you (subject to SIS legislation). You'll be able to switch or modify those investments as you see fit, and you'll be able to make "corrections" to your investment planning quickly.

You can link your fund with your overall financial plan. For example, your self managed fund can be used for both accumulating assets during your working life and for income during retirement.

Furthermore, when you reach retirement age there is no need to close or "wind up" the fund. Instead, you can become a pensioner of your own fund and retain the assets in their current form if you so desire. (Ask a professional adviser about an income stream).

Tax Savings

Self Managed Superannuation Funds can use credits from franked dividends to reduce the 15% tax rate. In a self managed fund you are in a better position to plan your investments to reduce this tax rate. In fact, you can sometimes reduce this down to an effective tax rate of 0% (that's right 0%)!

Again, see a professional adviser for more details.

Cost Savings

To quantify the cost savings from a self managed fund you can compare it with a managed fund.

Managed funds often charge entry fees on contributions plus annual management fees which can vary, being on average 1.5%.

Documentation to establish a self managed fund will cost $473 and the end of year accounting/audit will usually cost an average of $1,700 plus the ATO superannuation supervisory levy. 

To establish a standard self managed superannuation fund using Super Concepts documentation will cost $473, a once only charge.

Maintaining your fund by complying with the government's annual report and audit requirements usually costs around $1700 plus the ATO (Australian Tax Office) superannuation supervisory levy. Compare these costs with those incurred with a managed fund (see ‘Cost Savings' above).

However, Super Concepts also has a range of services that can assist you in maintaining your self managed superannuation fund. Please contact us or your professional adviser for further details.

Naturally, the answer to that question will vary from person to person. However, we can say that most people are surprised at how little time is actually required.

On the other hand, many people, especially retirees, discover that they enjoy studying investment markets and considering their options and find that they quite voluntarily spend more and more time in active control of their fund.

Naturally, you'll want to think about the monetary and "lifestyle" value you put on your own time. You may well find, however, that the time you spend is more than a worthwhile investment both in purely financial terms and the feeling of being in control that you gain.

Consider too, that Super Concepts has a level of service to suit all people with their SMSF requirements. You can always call upon the assistance of Super Concepts or a professional adviser.

Experience (since 1985), success (more than 30,000 serviced) and the views of financial professionals support our claim. Many accountants and advisers use our services in their practices or even in the administration of their own self managed funds.

For this reason, we invite you to ask your own adviser about his or her rating of our services, as well as our claim to being the leaders in our field.

Our personal service is of the highest quality and we deliver our services with regard for your individual needs and circumstances. Again, we invite you to ask a financial professional (or better yet, one of our clients) for their assessment of the quality service we provide.