Different Investment Opportunities for SMSF Funds

An SMSF is a type of private trust that is created and operated to provide superannuation benefits to trust members. The difference between this trust and other trusts is that in this fund, all the decisions as taken by the trustees, who are members of the trust.

During the SMSF setup, few members (maximum of 4) are chosen to be as the trustees. These members take all the major decisions regarding the funds. The trustees are liable for the decisions taken by them. They decide areas or investments when to discontinue a particular investments and other related issues.

The SMSF is also termed as DIY fund as everything is handled by the member itself, there is no outside intervention, except very few.

The few costs that these funds need to face include:

• SMSF audit fees, of an independent auditor who is registered with ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission)
• SMSF valuation report preparation
• Insurance and legal fees
• Fees of tax agent who prepares an annual report
• Broker and other advice fees

The trustees are free to invest in wide range of field. Few of the common areas include term deposits, managed funds, property etc. All these are same as other funds, but few areas that SMF are open to including:

• Shares: The trustees can choose their own shares. If a lot of money is being invested, a fund manager may be contacted for their advice. An expert in the field can be consulted as well.
• Property: Few people would invest the money in property. A property expert or an SMSF expert should be contacted to seek their advice.
• Collectibles: Artwork, jewellery, antiques, coins, vintage cars are few of the areas in which the trustees can invest.
• Cryptocurrency: The trustees are free to invest in any type of cryptocurrency. They need to think about the risks associated with them as well.

A professional expert in SMF would be able to provide the best advice in this aspect, which could be profitable to the members and the trustees as well.