There has been a lot of economic information prevailing in the headlines over the last few months. The lowest unemployment rates in decades are currently in sight, each of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) monthly meetings seems to be increasing the interest rates, and inflation is predicted to continue to rise. This is in conjunction with reports that wage growth is not keeping pace with rising prices across industries. With continued reports of ‘times being tougher’, Australians are continuing to spend more money (leading to further inflationary pressure).

You may have heard about the new rules which require directors of Australian companies to obtain a Director Identification Number (director ID). It is a unique 15-digit identifier that directors apply for once and keep forever. The following provides some useful further information.

Since 2012, it has been a part of the law that all of the assets held by an SMSF need to be in the accounts of the SMSF at market value at the end of each financial year. Recently, the ATO has increased their audit activity around this area and are attacking both trustees and auditors on market values. Obtaining a market value could arguably be the main cause of delayed accounts for SMSFs. With the end of year quickly approaching, all trustees need to be looking at determining the market value of their assets on the 30th of June.

There are three types of people that have an interest in investing in overseas property. First, there are those that are from a particular area who may like to hold real estate there. Secondly, there are those who have visited the area and may wish to return periodically for a holiday or make a more permanent move and are looking to establish a base. Finally, the genuine investors who may believe that a particular country offers better growth prospects rather than investing in their own country’s real estate.

Family trusts are a great vehicle for streaming income to family members, and often might include your parents. You may wish to help them out with the purchase of a new car and so might make a distribution to them from the family trust (so that it is more tax-effective). But how might this affect their eligibility for the Age Pension? It’s because they are now considered a beneficiary of your family trust, and as such the trust is now to be considered under their income and assets test. A distribution from years before could cost them the Age Pension.

Insurance advertisements often claim that those on their policies saved money. It might make you wonder about your own insurance policy. Why is this insurance company cheaper than mine? Does this mean that my insurance company makes a lot more money? It all comes down to how much money your insurance company pays out. The cheapest insurance is, of course, no insurance at all. In many cases, this will not cause any financial losses at all. But that’s not the point of insurance, which is bought in case an incident occurs.

NFTs are all the rage at the moment, with many looking for investment opportunities in the trending asset. But for many of us, the acronym may leave us with more questions than answers. What exactly is an NFT? NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. Breaking this term down, fungible means replaceable by another identical item. A BHP share or a unit in a listed unit trust is fungible because each share or unit is identical. Therefore, it can be deduced that an item that is non-fungible is an item that cannot be replicated and is unique.

Is it possible for an SMSF to invest in digital assets such as cryptocurrency or non-fungible tokens? If so, how do they do it? It’s a question that is often asked by those looking for alternative investments for super funds. Can An SMSF Invest In These Assets? The simple answer to that is yes, but only if all of the rules for the SMSF are complied with. These rules apply in exactly the same way to any other kind of SMSF investment (whether it’s an NFT, a holiday house or a parcel of shares in a listed company).

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone’s lives, and SMSF trustees are no exception. While the worst of the pandemic is (hopefully) behind us, trustees still have difficult questions to ponder as they focus on how best to position their SMSF in 2020-21 financial year. If there is anything in this blog that you are unsure about, we encourage you to contact me to discuss your specific circumstances in more detail.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone’s lives, and SMSF trustees are no exception. While the worst of the pandemic is (hopefully) behind us, trustees still have difficult questions to ponder as they focus on how best to position their SMSF in 2020-21 financial year. If there is anything in this blog that you are unsure about, we encourage you to contact me to discuss your specific circumstances in more detail.