“The Castle” (for those of you old enough to remember it) left us with some classic quotes and “ideas” that are out of the ordinary. Antony Monaldi of Optima Partners (BLOG found here) touched on this recently, so it only goes to show that there is more to this classic still to come. Take it straight to the pool room.
A lot of value in an SMSF can be achieved by thinking outside the square! And, like “The Castle”, even though living right next door to the airport isn’t exactly real estatelocation, location, location. What can be achieved in an SMSF where the investments may not necessarily be what you would find in a public offer fund, but are strong investments and make sense and will help you meet your retirement goals – puts you in a win win position.
Another reason to consider setting up an SMSF that is a little left field is asking yourself this question. “Have you ever suffered from the frustrations of try contacting your superannuation fund to speak to a ‘real person’?” You could be forgiven in thinking that a ‘real person’ is a mythical creature that resides only in a foreign country. This isn’t much good to you if you need action and answers quickly.
For example let’s assume that you are uncomfortable with the investment mix that you thought was a great idea 12 months ago, and are now concerned because the markets are going a little crazy and you want action to reset into something a little less volatile. The intervening period between contact and action could cost you. In fact just thinking about that – just when is the last time anyone from these organisation’s contacted you to see if you were happy with how your superannuation was going? Presumably they are quite happy to see your contributions turn up on a regular basis but don’t see the necessity to keep in regular personal contact. Annual statements are not regular contact and only give you historical information rather than anything strategic.
However, if you are going to go into an SMSF on this argument you need to be prepared to be actively “in control”. For some this will be a drawcard, while others will simply not be interested. It’s most likely fair to say that as with everything else, all things being equal, reward is directly related to effort. The more actively you take interest in what is happening the more likely you are to be better off at retirement. Hence – SMSF’S – it’s what you do with it that counts!
The most often promoted reasons for setting up an SMSF, are tailoring your fund to meet the specific needs of your family situation, control and flexibility along with broad investment choice, tax efficiency, flexible pension and estate planning options, to mention a few.
Contact your accountant at Optima Partners if you wish to discuss this issue further.
LIZ GIBBS
SMSF MANAGER – OPTIMA PARTNERS
