Investment Trends releases its High Net Worth Investor Report each year. It sheds light on the wealthiest investors of Australia. An article on Professional Planner talks about the highlights of the report that drew responses from 2,998 millionaires (cumulatively holding $11.5bn in assets).

An article on Lawyers Weekly talks about a dedicated digital portal put up by Sterling Publishing (those who publish the Lawyers Weekly). The portal will work wonders for SMSF trustees seeking intelligence and knowledge for making the right kind of decisions pertaining to retirement investments.

An article on the website professional Planner talks about the gender gap that exists when it comes to the women trustees of the SMSF sector. The Commonwealth Bank and the SMSF Association have together released some vital data that throws light on the difference in behaviour and confidence levels of men and women SMSF trustees.

Mike King writes an article for the Motley Fool where he discusses the stormy markets we have been tiding over of late and if our SMSF investments have it in them to see us through. Who can forget the bloodbath we faced in August?

Kelly Emmerton writes an article for Mozo that talks about the growing popularity of the online lenders in the SMSF market and the top SMSF savings accounts. Mozo Expert’s Business Online Savings Account, Arab bank Australia’s Online Savings Account and RaboDirect’s DIY Super High Savings Account are the clear winners in this year’s Mozo Expert’s Choice SMSF Awards. While CUA grabbed the best ongoing bonus rate award, RaboDirect took the best value introductory rate award.

Eligibility criteria

The eligibility criteria for the Expert’s Choice awards includes, but is not limited to, zero monthly service fee, unlimited e-transactions, zero notice periods for withdrawals and choice of linking to accounts of other banks.

Small online providers are also jumping on the term deposit bus like never before and Mozo Experts have done commendably well in the business Term Deposit category, says Emmerton. While the interest rates for Term deposits for BankWest and Bank Australia are 2.90% (6 months) and 2.85% (4 months), the interest rate for Mozo are 2.80% for 7 months and 2.50% for 6 months.

You can read the original article here.

Gen Y seeking its day in the sun

Even the Gen Y is warming up to the need for/potential of investments and this is clearly manifest in their growing numbers. While they have still not made a dash for term deposits, it is safe to assume that their numbers will grow substantially in coming years. The online providers will have to cater to this key component of the demographic if they want to meet with full-fledged success. It is quite a stat that only about 20% of CommBank investors were below the age of 35 in the year 1995 whereas the number is 28% presently.

Compliance just as crucial, if not more

The deposits and investment strategies, however, are not the only area where you should focus on. SMSF urgently requires you to sort out all your compliance worries. Where you have reduced penalties for employees for compliance breaches (as directed by the latest Superannuation laws), they are stiffer penalties in many areas. You would certainly not want to tread there. If you have any SMSF compliance question in mind, feel free to get in touch with me today.

In an article for the Motley Fool, Ryan Newman discusses the retirement nest egg and talks about three ways to boost it. Employer contributions and personal contributions do count but your best bet is what lies in your Super account. If you have the right strategy to grow it, there is nothing like it. It may not be an easy job to consistently beat the market but you can position yourself to do so if you have got the best Australian stocks in your kitty.

Shares picked are not the usual suspects

Newman does not talk about the “usual suspects”. It is quite expected that the SMSF owners will have the shares of big banks and Telstra in their investment mix. What may offer better dividend and growth are the below mentioned 3 shares (in Newman’s opinion).

Retail Food Group Ltd. has great future and with their shares trading at half the worth they had in March 2015 (and to add, a 5.9% fully franked yield), they are the ones to watch out for.

Wesfarmers Ltd, which owns Bunnings Warehouse, Kmart, Officeworks and Coles, can be another great selection. Its fully franked (dividend) yield is 4.9%.

With the kind of importance given to toll roads, the Transurban group can offer the best bang for buck. Its fully franked yield is 4.2%

Judging the risk profile is important

Newman asserts that every investor has a risk profile and he or she must indulge in buying shares prefiguring their risk appetite.

You can read the original article here.

SMSF owners are conservative- It is a myth

What unfolded after the 8th August bloodbath in the share market was to be seen to be believed. Where everyone thought the SMSF owners would take a conservative stance and run away from the market, they went into a furious buying spree. This was a move even the industry experts were not counting on.

So, it is safe to assume that unlike market myths that they are conservative investors putting all their money into the big banks and Telstra, the SMSF owners will definitely look forward to picking other shares (like the ones discussed above by Newman). Already, stats have substantiated that their profile has nearly double the shares than their non-SMSF rivals (they have 14 stocks in their portfolio where their rivals only have 7 on an average).

Compliance breaches can prove costly

I am not the person who can talk about your future stock picks. My territory is neatly spread out in front of me. So, if you are looking for SMSF compliance guidance, feel free to get in touch with me today. I will be more than glad to help you. Remember, we are talking about a sector which isn’t governed by prudential regulations. This compounds the need for professional help when it comes to compliance.

Phil McCarroll writes a piece for Your Investment Property where he talks about Nicholas James Ellis, a NSW accountant, who has had to appear in court for SMSF fraud to the tune of $850,000. He is indicted for 23 criminal counts. 12 such counts involve making misleading statements. To add, there are nine counts of misappropriation and a count each of fraud and deceptive financial gain.

Ron Phipps-Ellis writes an article for the website SMSF Adviser where he talks about the regulations governing valuations of SMSF assets. The rules have changed a lot over the last few years and this warrants that the practitioners keep themselves updated with the latest developments.