Self Managed Superannuation Funds' (SMSF) can provide tax effective vehicles for you to accumulate and transfer wealth.

A SMSF is a fund with less than five members. Each member is also a trustee of the fund (alternatively the fund can have a corporate trustee structure).

Some of the other key features of a SMSF are:

• A SMSF must be maintained for the 'sole purpose' of providing benefits to members upon their retirement


• Trustees are required to prepare and implement an investment strategy for their fund. This controls the way contributions are invested wide flexibility in investment choice, for example, direct property, managed investments and direct shares can all be included in the portfolio


• Approved auditors must be appointed and tax agents, accountants and financial advisers may also be involved in the running of a SMSF, and


• Ultimate legal responsibility rests with the individual trustees (ie the members of the fund) even if assistance is outsourced to the above professionals.

Given the 'right' circumstances, a SMSF has the potential to provide you with a powerful and tax effective wealth accumulation vehicle whilst at the same time giving you considerable flexibility and control over your retirement investment affairs.

SMSF's can be more cost effective that other options but only in situations where the amounts held in those funds are of a sufficient size to benefit from economies of scale.

At CCA Financial Planners we will only recommend the establishment of a SMSF in situations where we can clearly demonstrate how you can obtain significant long-term value from establishing such a fund - relative to the costs involved.