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20 April 2024
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An SMSF can buy business real property and lease it to a member and the laws and processes are clear. The rent paid is classed as income from the investment rather than a contribution from the member.
It is not a standard end of financial year, as there are many items SMSF trustees and super members should check immediately, especially with the changes taking effect from 1 July 2017.
Australia needs capital for infrastructure, and SMSF trustees want direct access to assets with yield and long-term security. It's a win-win if governments can find a structure to bring the two together.
There are clear signs the Murray Inquiry plans to reintroduce a prohibition on borrowing by superannuation funds including SMSFs, and there is a strong case to protect the retirement savings of the unwary.
A quick explanation of what’s going on with recent changes around super and tax. Financial planners are already working on ways to minimise the impacts for their clients.
Contribution splitting allows a super member to split up to 85% of concessional contributions received in a financial year with their spouse, and there are times when this is a good strategy.
Your age pension entitlement is assessed under the Income Test, and it may be worth re-setting the deductible amount to improve your pension payments if it's been a while since the last calculation.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports from the Cuffelinks article on SMSFs and property spruikers, highlighting some of the risks of a small SMSF taking on large amounts of debt, and becoming unable to meet its obligations. The full Cuffelinks article appears below.
SMSFs are being targeted by property marketers, but is a single, illiquid investment a good super strategy, with its associated leverage? ASIC is worried SMSF trustees are not seeing the full picture, so we went looking.
Around the world, real interest rates are now unusually low or even negative. The hunt for real yield that’s become a preoccupation of investors is likely to remain a dominant feature of investment markets for several years at least.
Every SMSF should have 'industrial strength' administration that is timely, accurate, honest and in conformity with a vast array of rules and regulations.
It is inequitable for the ATO to require an SMSF to make advance payments of the estimated tax for the year, but not pay refunds in advance based on estimated franking credits.
The ATO has released all the superannuation rates and thresholds that will apply from 1 July 2024. Here's what’s changing and what’s not, and some key considerations and opportunities in the lead up to 30 June and beyond.
Jim Simons has achieved breathtaking returns of 62% p.a. over 33 years, a track record like no other, yet he remains little known to the public. Here’s how he’s done it, and the lessons that can be applied to our own investing.
Life has radically shifted with my brain cancer, and I don’t know if it will ever be the same again. After decades of writing and a dozen years with Firstlinks, I still want to contribute, but exactly how and when I do that is unclear.
Australia will have 3.7 million more people in a decade's time, though the growth won't be evenly distributed. Over 85s will see the fastest growth, while the number of younger people will barely rise.
Being rich is having a high-paying job and accumulating fancy houses and cars, while being wealthy is owning assets that provide passive income, as well as freedom and flexibility. Knowing the difference can reframe your life.
Investor disgust, consolidation, de-listings, price discounts, activist investors entering - it’s what typically happens at business cycle troughs, and it’s happening to LICs now. That may present a potential opportunity.