Smsf In A Nutshell: A Heads Up On The Pros And Cons

By Author: SMSF Super
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Superannuation fund is an arrangement for long term savings. Mostly aimed at retirees, it enables people to contribute to a fund. This fund is open to employees, self-employed people among others and provides numerous benefits to the members of this trust and on certain conditions, the government taxes these savings at lower rates.
This same superannuation fund becomes SMSF (Self Managed Super Fund) under certain criteria. For instance, it has to have less than five members and each individual trustee is a fund member. These criteria are no deterrent to people and they keep on investing in it for numerous advantages provided.
Advantages of SMSF

Complete control over the fund: The investor has full control over the fund’s investments. For instance, he can invest the fund in various assets such as real estate, shares and even bank deposits. However, he must strategize his investment properly and steer it in the right direction.
Flexibility in the rules: As an investor, you get to decide the rules ...
... of the fund and how it should operate to a certain extent. For instance, you can restrict the payment terms. This control over the fund’s operation is one of its major benefits.
Continues after death: Setting up a SMSF not only benefits you, but your entire family as well. In the event of your death, the fund continues to give the same benefits to your partner and children. They can either let it be as it is or even plan to invest it somewhere else.
A cost-effective option: The overall cost of a self super fund does not increase with the growth in your investment in it. This obviously means that more the account balance you have, the more cost-effective your fund will be. Moreover, it must be noted that they do not need to be licensed, which also saves a few bucks.
Concessions on tax: As mentioned earlier, a SMSF allows the investor to get tax concessions under certain terms and conditions. For instance, you can get a deferral of lump sum tax , when the investment is in the pension phase.

So, these were some of the major advantages provided by a self managed super fund. But then, every coin has two sides. Likewise, a Self Managed Super Fund also comes with its share of disadvantages.
Disadvantages of SMSF

Taking responsibility: As a trustee of the fund or the director of a corporate trustee, it is you who will be responsible for the overall administration, investment and other pivotal issues related to the fund.   
Can be expensive: Smaller SMSF funds will incur more administration costs and can be pretty expensive to maintain. Moreover, setting up a SMSF with initial set up costs can vary and go up.
Time consuming: To manage a self super fund, you need to put in a lot of your time and efforts. This is not possible for many.

To sum it all up
These were some of the advantages and disadvantages of a Self Managed Super Fund, which must have given you a heads up. However, it is advisable that you consult an investment expert or seek help from a professional SMSF company. Good luck!
Article Source:
Choose Self Managed Super Funds as the best option for your retirement investment planning. At iCare super you can manage your own SMSF Setup without involving the third party. Our SMSF auditors will give you full transparency and no hidden cost. This article will help you to make an investment in the right place and also gives various ways of setting up a SMSF.