The end of the financial year is a great time to take stock of your superannuation and tax affairs. How you can best take advantage of any available tax concessions on contributions to super is a frequently asked question. By understanding what's available to you in tax concessions with your super, you can put a plan in place to maximise the contributions. 

In this episode of SMSF Mate's podcast, Gareth, Ashwin, Sonny, and Tim discuss tax saving and superannuation contribution opportunities and their personal experience with them in the past. 

You can read on the SMSF Mate website here: https://www.smsfmate.com.au/tax-saving-superannuation-opportunities/

A wrap account investment product is an unlisted investment fund that is accessible via a wrap account. Typically, the investment products will be professionally managed by a funds management firm for a fee. A wrap account gives SMSF investors access to unlisted investment funds, which would usually be inaccessible on a small scale. 

In this episode of SMSF Mate's podcast, Gareth, Ashwin, Sonny, and Tim discuss wrap investment platforms in detail and their personal experience with them in the past. 

You can read on the SMSF Mate website here:  https://www.smsfmate.com.au/

What's the difference between a retail investor and a wholesale client? The key difference between the retail and wholesale investor classifications is in the level of compliance required with each type of investment. Regulations are much higher for retail investments and this is intended to provide investors with a greater level of protection. 

In this episode of SMSF Mate's podcast, Gareth, Ashwin, Sonny and Tim talk about the key differences between the two types of investor categorisation in Australia. Wholesale investors are thought to be better informed about investments and more financially aware than retail investors, but is this justified? 

You can read on the SMSF Mate website here: https://www.smsfmate.com.au/retail-sophisticated-investors/

What are the main considerations when looking for a broker for SMSF investing and trading – minimum balances, fees, commissions and trading platform tech? Competition has never been higher and fees or costs to trade are in a race to the bottom giving SMSF investors a number of options to choose from. 

In this episode, the SMSF Mate team talk about the main things to consider when shopping for a broker for your SMSF investing and trading. Gareth, Ashwin and Tim talk about their experience with online brokers and the experiences they have had in the past. 

You can read on the SMSF Mate website here: https://www.smsfmate.com.au/find-the-best-online-broker/

Capital gains tax (CGT) on earnings within your self-managed super fund has a number of benefits when compared to CGT outside of super, but there are a number of important factors to consider. For example, self-managed super funds generally have a flat 15% tax rate and complying super funds are entitled to a CGT discount if the asset had been owned for at least one year.

In this episode, the SMSF Mate team talk about capital gains tax within the SMSF environment and a number of considerations when operating in this investment space. If you like what you hear on the SMSF Mate podcast, be sure to follow or subscribe so you don't miss any updates in the future.

Starting an SMSF can provide you with many more ways to invest your retirement savings but how much does all this flexibility cost? There are admin costs, accounting costs, investment costs and let's not forget the cost to set up the SMSF initially. All these fees can add up quickly so there are several key factors to consider before starting an SMSF, including a minimum balance.

Financial advice can be worth its weight in gold but there are some important considerations for anyone to consider before engaging a financial advisor or wealth manager to look after their finances or self-managed super fund. 

In this episode, Gareth, Ashwin and Sonny discuss the pros and cons of financial advice and some of the experiences that have had themselves.  Opportunity cost, objectivity and transparency are factors that seem to make a difference when receiving financial advice. 

You can read more on the SMSF Mate website here: https://www.smsfmate.com.au/financial-advisor/

One of the main benefits of having an SMSF compared to a traditional super fund is the range of investments available for you to choose from within the SMSF and the flexibility that goes with it.

In this episode, Gareth and Ashwin discuss important considerations when beginning to make investments in your SMSF. You can read more on the SMSF website here: https://www.smsfmate.com.au/how-to-invest-in-your-self-managed-super-fund/

It’s a critically important question and one that should consider a range of different factors: How much super do I need to retire comfortably in Australia?

In this episode, Gareth and Ashwin discuss ways that they themselves are planning for retirement and the things which they consider important. 

Read the full article on the SMSF Mate website here: https://www.smsfmate.com.au/how-much-super/