Self managed super fund accountants

• You are in the driver's seat
• Greater flexibility, investment choice & control over assets​
• Depending on the size of fund - costs can be lower than retail fund charges​
• Structuring your estate can be much easier than with industry or retail funds​
• You can hold your business property inside your fund​
• If appropriate to you, potential to buy a geared investment property as well​
• A SMSF is yours and as such, you can take it from industry to industry and employer to employer​
• The ability to plan the purchase and sale of assets tax effectively​

What does it cost to set up a SMSF? 

It's crucial to get advice from an appropriately qualified and licensed advisor to determine whether it is a good investment choice for you and that you are aware of the rules and requirements. 

Depending upon your structure and whether or not you will be borrowing in your SMSF, the set up costs of your SMSF can be substantial. Costs and advice required can include:

• Financial planning advice prior to establishing your fund to determine whether it is a good investment choice for you.
• Accountant advice regarding structure and to establish ATO registrations, etc.
• The actual cost of the fund and related companies and trusts.
• Advice on getting started.
• Roll-over of existing superannuation into the SMSF.
• Insurance advice (there will likely be existing insurance policies attached to your current retail superannuation).

For the initial advice and establishment of your self-managed super fund, you could be looking at between $3,000 to $6,000 depending on the complexity.

After the establishment, there will also be ongoing costs for administrating your SMSF. The cost of administrating your SMSF will depend upon the complexity and level of your investments in the fund, but will not necessarily increase in line with your fund balance. The annual cost of administrating a SMSF will be around $2,500 on average (but can be higher!). 

How much super do I need to start a self-managed super fund? 

One of the most important questions is how much super do you need for a SMSF to be viable? At a minimum, you will need somewhere between $200,000 to $500,000 in super before considering a SMSF. It comes down to the cost of administrating your SMSF as a percentage of your holdings and comparing that to a retail fund. Retail funds generally charge approximately 1% - 2% of your fund balance in admin fees. So as your super balance increases, so do the administration fees.

If you only have $100,000 in your SMSF this cost equates to 2.5% and therefore more expensive than a retail fund. However, at $500,000 it is only 0.5% and therefore much more cost-effective.

Even though, in the right circumstances, the administration costs of a SMSF can be lower (as a percentage of your fund balance) than a retail fund, the fees will be more noticeable because you will be physically required to pay the bills.

In a retail fund they are less noticeable and are just subtracted from your balance automatically. This is hard for some trustees to come to terms with.

You will also be much more aware of your taxation costs in a SMSF. Even though the tax environment is low, once again when you have to physically “write the cheque” it is much more confronting. In a retail fund you are likely to be blissfully unaware of the taxes you are paying.