Self Managed Super

SELF MANAGED SUPER

Another form of wealth creation is superannuation, which is a tax effective method of increasing funds for your retirement. Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSF) are DIY funds made up of members that are the trustees of the fund. The fund itself can include 1-4 members, all of whom must be trustees. Choosing to establish a SMSF is a big step, as they are subject to many legal obligations and regulations.

The Advantages

There are many advantages to setting up a SMSF, particularly when it comes to investing. The members of your fund are able to select where their savings will be invested, which gives you more flexibility in terms of the type of investment (shares, bonds, exchange traded funds and direct property). As a trustee, you can also implement any tax or superannuation law changes as soon as they come into effect, which could see you save large sums of money.

Members of SMSF can also pool their assets to accumulate their retirement funds, thus saving on management fees. SMSF are also entitled to tax concessions, with your earnings taxed at a rate of 15% and capital gains on investments are taxed at 10%. A SMSF also allows for greater flexibility when it comes to forming and managing pensions.

What's Involved

Rasmussen & Associates will assist you will all aspects of setting up and administrating your SMSF.

Establishing a self-managed super fund

This process involves:

Preparing a trust deed
Appointing trustees and signing a 'Consent to Act' form
Lodging application forms and trustee declarations with the Australian Taxation Office
Registering for an Australian Business Number and Tax File Number
Registering to become a regulated superannuation fund
Preparing and carrying out an investment strategy for your fund

Ongoing administration
When it comes to administration for your SMSF, Rasmussen & Associates can assist you in preparing annual financial statements, annual income tax returns and regulatory returns. We can also guide you through the paperwork for establishing pensions within your fund.

Investment Strategies

An investment strategy provides your fund with an appropriate outline that will help when making decisions to increase the returns to members. Your strategy must take into account the risk and likely returns of your investments, the ability of your fund to pay benefits and costs for member retirements as well as how quickly your investment can be converted to cash.

Rasmussen & Associates can provide you with professional investment advice and planning for your fund's management.