The Federal Government has announced new measures aimed at tightening the rules around establishing SMSFs, with a greater focus on trustee education, investment strategy and oversight. While stronger safeguards are welcome, the key question is whether these changes protect consumers without making SMSFs unnecessarily difficult for ordinary Australians to access. What’s changing and why? The Government says the reforms are aimed at reducing losses caused by poor advice, fraud,

Protecting the business, the owners and the families behind it - For many business owners, their business is one of their largest assets and often a major part of their retirement and estate plan. Yet surprisingly few have a clear plan for what happens if one owner can no longer continue in the business. A properly structured business succession plan can help protect the remaining owners, the departing owner or their family and the value of the business. It can also help ensu

Understanding LRBAs A Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement allows an SMSF to borrow money to acquire a single acquirable asset, with the lender's rights limited to that asset if the loan defaults. Since their introduction in 2007, LRBAs have become a popular strategy for trustees seeking to acquire property while preserving liquidity within the fund. Although residential property has attracted considerable media attention, LRBAs have also been widely used to acquire commerc