Risk Profile

So what is your investment risk profile?  

Your risk profile essentially relates to your attitude toward investment volatility and is really a measure of how comfortable you are with things like the possibility of negative returns on your portfolio, experiencing returns that might vary quite dramatically from year to year, and also the possibility that you might not achieve the returns that you need.  

Now it's important to understand the expected investment risk and likely returns of a asset class or strategy that you put together and also have it fit with your personal situation and your financial goals. Other factors to consider when we’re helping you to establish your risk profile would be your willingness or perhaps not, to accept the possibility of a negative return, obviously with the trade off being potentially higher returns over the longer term. Your investment goals and objectives; why are you investing your money? What are you hoping to achieve? Your investment time frame; after how many months or years are you going to need to access this money? What experience and understanding do you have of financial markets and also your age and the stability of your ongoing income are factor in determining what your risk profile really should be. 

In short, working with a specialist investment financial planner to establish your risk profile is a really key piece in terms of putting together your overall investment strategy.

When it comes to investments that could potentially impact on your family, it is vital that you seek appropriate financial advice from a licensed financial adviser.

There are no ‘one cookie cutter’ solutions for investments and factors that play on the returns you will see can be determined by your personal situation, so it is important to sit down and discuss these with an adviser.

Future Assist have Licensed Financial Advisers in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast and can arrange your FREE initial consultation in the comfort of your home, in our office or via Skype.

Contact Future Assist today: 1300 118 618

Or, contact us on the Future Assist website here >

The Value of Financial Advice - SMSF

At Future Assist we believe good financial advice puts you in control by solving financial problems and removing stress over financial concerns.  We understand the Self Managed Super Fund trustees want to control their investment and retirement outcomes but sometimes they help and guidance. Our role as SMSF specialist advisors is to help you paint a picture of what your ideal financial future looks like and then help you to utilize your fund in the most effective way to get there. 

Specialist SMSF advice can answer questions that are important to you and improve your financial situation.  We know that because we’ve been doing it here for 25 years.  Through understanding your goals and objectives and through practical education your specials SMSF advisor can introduce you to strategies that will significantly improve your outcomes. Some questions you might have may include is an SMSF right for you? Is your current SMSF being managed correctly? Are taking advantage of all the strategic opportunities available to you? Are optimizing your tax outcomes? Have you linked your Self Managed Super Fund to your estate plan? Have you taken or are you likely to be able to take advantage of all the government entitlements available to you in retirement? Do your current investments reflect your tolerance to risk, return and investment volatility? And ultimately, will you have sufficient funds for retirement or will you outlive your capital? Our initial advice process follows a simple path; the first meeting’s free and will be with an accredited SMSF specialist advisor.  This meeting provides an opportunity for us to understand your needs and to discuss your current position, your concerns and priorities, your values and approach to money, your current and future goals, and of course, will address the questions or concerns that have led you to seek advice in the in the first place. This meeting can run as long as you need it to, but generally goes on for around 90 minutes. 

After our first meeting we should be in a position to be able to determine whether we can add real financial value to your current position. We’ll use our extensive technical resources to investigate your financial circumstances and look at SMSFstrategies that can enhance your outcomes.  

At the second meeting, which is also free, we’ll share with you our thoughts around some general strategies that might improve your particular situation and discuss the financial benefits you might receive by implementing some or all of those strategies.  In that second meeting we’ll quote to you our fee to prepare a personalized written statement of advice, which will provide a detailed explanation of our recommendations and the specific advantages that these recommendations will provide to you. The statement of advice also outlines the steps we will take to put the strategies in place as quickly and as efficiently as possible, should you want us to implement your strategies on your behalf.  

Should you wish to engage a Future Assist specialist Adviser to prepare your financial advice, this will then lead to our third meeting.  Where we’ll present your statement of advice and give you ample opportunity to ask questions and clarify understanding. An invoice for our fees will be presented at this meeting. We can also discuss our ongoing service program at that point should you be interested. 

Remember good advice and on-going education puts you in control of your financial future and our special SMSF advisors can provide you with the information and support you need while you control and direct your Self Managed Super Fund.  If you have or are considering establishing a Self Managed Super Fund, I encourage you to view our other educational content on the Future Assist website. And if you like to have a free consultation to discuss your personal situation, or even to seek a second opinion please contact us on: 1300 118 618 or Contact Future Assist

How to Establish a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF)

The process of establishing an SMSF is often a stumbling block that makes it all too hard for people to go about this venture.  However, by following these steps from Future Assist Financial Services Group will help to make it as easy as possible for you to do.

Step one

Establishing the trustee. There are two types of trustees that a Self Managed Superannuation Fund can have, a corporate trustee or individual trustee. We recommend a corporate trustee as it provides an easy transition when members come and go from the Self Managed Superannuation Fund as well as the fact that makes it a lot easier in handling the affairs of the state of the Self Managed Superannuation Fund in the event of the death of a member.  A corporate trustee involves obtaining a company from ASRC; this step involves obtaining a company name which needs to be unique. The name of the superannuation fund however can be far more generic.  For an example, your Self Managed Superannuation Fund could be known as The Tucker Family Superannuation Fund.  However, your corporate trustee would be something like ANDL Propriety Limited, which is basically the letters of my kids’ first names.

Step two

Involves registering new superannuation fund with the Australian Taxation Office. The Self Managed Superannuation Fund will require an ABN number, a text phone number and may be required to register for GST depending on what you wanna do the fund.  To register these numbers with the ATO you need to fill out an application form which can be found online.

Step three

Commence rollover. The prospective Self Managed Superannuation Fund members will make contact with their current retail master fund plans and arrange for the rollover to be commenced. The retail master fund plan will forward a form to you, which you will need to complete and return to them.  These fund managers, the majority of these fund managers do not put this form online as naturally they don’t want to see the money going out of their funds and into someone else’s fund.  Hence the reason you need to contact them verbally.

Step four

Is setting up the bank account.  Within two to five days of ordering the company and ordering the superannuation fund deed, you will have a copy of the company constitution and also a copy of the fund deed. You will take this to your local bank and they will arrange for a bank account to be established for you. Step four establishing a bank account. Within two to five days of ordering the company and the superannuation find deed the documents will arrive to you.  You will take a copy of these documents and a copy of the company’s constitution and the Self Managed Superannuation Fund deed to the bank that you wish to use and they will set up the bank account for you. It is important for that this bank account is set up prior to the finalistion of the rollover as most retail fund managers would want to transfer your superannuation benefits via AFT.

Completing the rollover. Following completion of the bank account and the return of the forms to the retail master fund plan the money should then be rolled over into your account.  Note that on completing of the forms they need to be as accurate as possible. Retail fund managers love nothing better than to return the form to you advising that there has been an error in its application.

Step six

Is once the monies are in the bank account you're on your way to running your own Self Managed Superannuation Fund. 

Future Assist can help you with setting up your fund as it can be a complex and confusing process. Future Assist order the company, order the Superannuation Fund deed and we will register with the ATO all relevant numbers.

So come and speak to a Specialist Adviser about whether or not it would be suitable for you in setting up your own Self Managed Superannuation Fund.

Remember SMSF's are not for everyone and it is important to see if you can benefit from taking control of your superannuation.

Call us today: 1300 118 618 

or visit: www.futureassist.com.au/setupansmsf

What restrictions are there on investing in property within an SMSF?

Particularly with residential properties where we’re borrowing to invest in self-managed superannuation there are very stringent restrictions in place, some of the usual investment restrictions applied that we would talk about when we talk about investment strategy, things like operating an arm’s length, using all commercial terms and not having in house assets and things like that, but I guess to explain that more clearly what we’re looking for with residential property is not purchasing that property from a member or a related party of a member, so any one associated with that member is removed from the picture, we can’t acquire a property from him nor can we lease the property back to him even for a week or year, so we could for example buy a holiday house with their superannuation money and expect that a family member or relative can stay could stay in that property at any point in time, so with residential property we’re quietly limited in terms of the use, we can buy at arm’s length and we can lease it out at commercial rates to unknown parties or commercial basis in that time. 

When it comes to commercial property investment or business property it’s not as restricted, so we still have to operate on arms length terms, make sure all the rates and rent and all of those kinds of things are at commercial rates and we have proper leases in place and things like that but we can acquire that kind of property from a member of the fund or a relative of the member, so we could move for example a business property like a factory into a superannuation fund using borrowings to acquire that business property, that factory, I mean the business and that factory would pay rent to the self managed superannuation fund as the owner of the fund on arms length terms, so we can have the later parties in that instance but you can’t do that with residential property.

The other restriction is that we can’t develop property when its subject to borrowings within superannuation, so if we are looking to acquire a unit or something like that and do it up putting a new kitchen or bathroom, we can’t do that within the superannuation environment, it’s something that we need to look at outside of superannuation, so within the super environment you can acquire a property, you can certainly do repairs and maintenance but we must be very careful not to bridge the rules and step out of the line and turn that repair or maintenance into a big improvement that really changes the nature of that property, so development is pretty much out until you’ve paid off a property, once a property is paid off you can do what you like, so you could develop that and make substantial gains in that way. In addition, because of that limitation on developing property you couldn’t  for example buy a piece of land and then later on build a house on it or a factory or something like that, again that’s property development and it’s just not permitted within the superannuation environment when we are borrowing to invest.

There is no substitute for getting professional advice and second opinions when it comes to big financial decisions. As with all investment types and prior to making any investment decisions, your should consult a professional and licensed financial planner for advice on whether a SMSF and direct property investment is suited to your circumstances.

Future Assist Financial Services Group is an established, experienced and licensed financial planning firm assisting many Australians with their financial and retirement planning.

Talk to Future Assist today to see whether SMSF and direct property investment is suitable for you.

We can arrange your FREE self-managed superannuation setup and investment planning consultation:

-        Via Skype  (anywhere in Australia)

-        In our Offices (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Southport)

-        We can come out to see you in the convenience of your home or office.

 The team at Future Assist specialise in self-managed super, assisting you to regain control and make your super work well for you. Our experts are adept with the latest industry movements and trends, providing you with advice on how to manage your funds effectively.

IMPORTANT: The information above is general in nature and has not taken into consideration your personal goals, financial situation or circumstances. We recommend that prior to making any decision regarding your financial circumstances, investments, superannuation, SMSF or direct property investment, you should consult your licensed financial planner or adviser.

Future Assist Financial Services Group Pty Ltd ABN 24 151 337 843

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