Under new legislation passed by Parliament, Australians and New Zealanders who move across the Tasman will now be able to consolidate retirement savings in their new country of residence. The change is set to benefit many Australians and New Zealanders in the future; more than 50,000 Kiwis moved to Australia and around 14,000 Aussies relocated […]
There are approximately 18,000 licensed and qualified financial planners in Australia, but it has been estimated there may be up to 40,000 individuals calling themselves financial planners. This situation has resulted because currently there are no regulations in place to prevent individuals calling themselves financial planners; even if they aren’t licensed, trained or qualified. Only […]
The Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB) recently proposed a new standard applying to accountants who are also licensed and qualified to provide financial advisory services. The standard, known as APES 230, will apply to accountants who are members of the three main Accounting Bodies; the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia (ICAA), CPA […]
Using a Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement (LRBA) to invest in property via your SMSF is one thing, but using borrowings to finance property development is something else altogether. Whilst the current rules (stated in section 67A and 67B of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act)) allow you to finance a property in your […]
A withdrawal and recontribution strategy can be an effective way to reduce tax for your beneficiaries when they inherit your superannuation later on. However, before we can look at how this strategy works, we need to gain an understanding of the tax components that make up your super account balance. Generally speaking, your super account […]
The Government released their Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) this week. A number of changes were announced, however, the most notable was a final decision on when a superannuation pension ceases in the event of death. This has been an ongoing issue since July 2011 when the ATO released draft ruling TR 2011/D3. The […]
Investing in property via a SMSF is the flavour of the month at the moment and for as long as share market uncertainties exist and the RBA continues to reduce interest rates, this strategy will continue to gain momentum among investors. Where borrowings are used to fund some of the purchase, a limited recourse borrowing […]
With such a wide range of investments available and little media coverage, it’s not surprising that insurance bonds can be overlooked by investors. In simple terms, an insurance bond is a cross between a life insurance policy, a superannuation account and a managed fund. You invest your money into a managed investment portfolio (of your […]
