Financial Planning for SMSFs
Self-Managed Super Fund Advice: Setup, Strategy and Compliance
Running your own super fund can bring control and choice, along with costs, administration and trustee responsibilities. We can help you weigh whether an SMSF suits you and what running one involves.
Our Financial Advice Team Is Here to Help You
We Can Help You
- See whether an SMSF suits your situation
- Compare a fund against the super you already have
- Set the fund up with a suitable trustee structure
- Develop an investment strategy the fund can follow
- Check what cover you would be leaving behind
- Look at holding business premises inside the fund
- Explain what being a trustee involves
- Work alongside your accountant and the fund auditor
- Review the fund against its strategy each year
- Wind a fund up in an orderly way if it stops suiting you
Who We Help
- Super members wanting more control and a clear picture of what that involves
- Direct investors wanting to know what a fund can hold
- People considering an SMSF and looking for a straight answer either way
- First-time trustees wanting the obligations explained before they commit
- Business owners looking at holding their premises inside the fund
- Couples with separate funds wondering whether one fund would suit them better
- Existing fund members wanting fresh eyes on the strategy and paperwork
- Current trustees wanting to be confident they are meeting what is asked
- Trustees closing a fund and wanting an orderly exit
What we advise on
The SMSF Decisions We Can Help You With
Whether a Fund Suits You
We’ll help you work out whether a self-managed fund is worth its costs in your situation.
An SMSF can offer control and flexibility, but it also brings costs, administration and trustee responsibilities. It may suit you if there’s something specific you want it to do that your current fund can’t, and if the balance is large enough for the running costs to be reasonable. We compare it with the super you already hold.
Together, we'll work through:
- What you want a fund to do that your current fund can’t, which is a central question in the decision
- The annual running costs, weighed against the balance you expect the fund to hold
- The time and attention the trustee role asks of you each year, set out in full
- What you’d give up by leaving your current fund, including any insurance attached to it
- Whether a fund with direct investment options, where available, could meet your goals instead
- How the running costs compare as a proportion of your balance, against your current fund
- Who would run the fund if you couldn’t, planned for at the start rather than later
- How decisions get made if members disagree, considered at the start with your solicitor’s input on the deed
Setting the Fund Up
We’ll walk you through what has to be in place before any money moves into the fund.
The trust deed, trustee structure, registrations and investment strategy generally need to be in place before a rollover. Choosing between individual trustees and a corporate trustee can affect cost, how assets are held, and what happens when a member joins or leaves. We work alongside your accountant and solicitor on the establishment documents.
Together, we'll work through:
- Individual trustees or a corporate trustee, and what each costs to establish and maintain
- Who the members are, and what membership means if circumstances change later
- The trust deed, prepared by a deed provider or solicitor, and what it permits your fund to do
- Registering the fund and obtaining an ABN and TFN, coordinated with your accountant before any money moves
- The bank account and electronic service address the fund needs in place first
- What needs to be in place before a rollover is requested, and in what order
- What your accountant and auditor will need from day one, so records are in place from the start
- The investment strategy, prepared at the start rather than added afterwards
The Investment Strategy and What a Fund Can Hold
We can help you prepare the investment strategy every SMSF is required to have in place.
The strategy must consider diversification, liquidity, the fund’s ability to pay benefits and expenses, and whether to hold insurance for members. It should reflect what the fund holds, and trustees are expected to review it regularly. A strategy that no longer matches the fund’s investments may be raised by the auditor.
Together, we'll work through:
- What the fund holds, and the reasoning recorded behind each decision
- Diversification, and what a concentrated holding would mean for this particular fund
- Liquidity, so the fund can plan to pay benefits and expenses when they fall due
- Whether the fund should hold insurance for its members, which the strategy has to address
- How assets are valued at market value each year, and who provides the evidence
- What the strategy records about the members’ ages and how long the money has
- Whether the strategy on paper still reflects what the fund holds
- A review point when the fund or the members change, so the document stays current
The Rules a Fund Has to Follow
We’ll explain the rules that decide what your fund can and cannot do.
An SMSF must be maintained for the sole purpose of providing retirement benefits, and many specific restrictions follow from that principle. You generally can’t live in a property the fund owns or use its assets personally, dealings with related parties are limited, and some breaches may carry penalties that are difficult to reverse.
Together, we'll work through:
- The sole purpose test, and what it means for day-to-day decisions
- Related party transactions, and the narrow list of exceptions that apply
- The in-house asset limit, and exactly what counts towards it
- What a limited recourse borrowing arrangement allows, and where it stops
- Holding assets in the fund’s own name, kept separate from your personal ones
- Keeping fund money and personal money entirely apart, with the records to show it
- The conditions of release that apply before members can access their benefits
- What an auditor is obliged to report, and practices that may help you stay compliant
Business Premises Inside the Fund
We can help you weigh whether your fund could hold the commercial premises your business uses.
A fund may be able to acquire business real property and lease it to your business. The conditions are specific: the property must meet the definition, the lease should be on commercial terms and documented, and rent must be paid at the agreed market rate. We work alongside your accountant, solicitor and any lender.
Together, we'll work through:
- Whether the property meets the business real property definition, checked before anything else
- A lease on commercial terms, documented with your solicitor, at a market rent
- Whether the fund buys outright or borrows, and what a lender may require
- What the purchase does to the fund’s diversification and its liquidity
- How the fund would still pay benefits with most of its value in one property
- Any duty and capital gains tax on transferring premises you already own, checked with your accountant
- What happens if the business moves, closes or stops paying rent, planned for in advance
- How the property is eventually sold or transferred out, and the timing that suits
Running the Fund, and Winding It Up
We’ll show you what running a fund takes each year, and how one is closed.
Each year the trustees are responsible for the fund’s audit, annual return, asset valuations, minutes and records, often with help from an accountant and an approved SMSF auditor. If the fund no longer suits you, winding it up in an orderly way is a legitimate choice, with its own process and timing.
Together, we'll work through:
- What has to happen each year, and the deadlines each obligation carries
- The annual return, the audit, and the record keeping that supports both
- What falls to you as trustee and what your accountant handles, agreed clearly
- How assets are valued and documented each year, and who supplies the evidence
- Once a member starts drawing a pension, the minimum that applies and what else changes
- How the fund would respond to a death, a separation or a loss of capacity, with your solicitor’s input
- A regular review of whether the fund is still the right structure for you
- What an orderly wind-up involves, and the costs and timing it carries
Your SMSF, Worked Through Together
Whether an SMSF Suits You
A clear view of whether a fund’s costs and obligations suit your situation.
Setting Up the Fund
The deed, trustee structure and registrations coordinated before any rollover.
Your Fund’s Investment Strategy
A required document that should reflect what the fund holds.
Sole Purpose and Related Parties
The rules governing in-house assets, borrowing and personal use of fund property.
Insurance When You Switch Funds
The cover in your existing fund checked before any rollover is requested.
Business Premises in the Fund
Whether commercial property could be held and leased back, subject to strict conditions.
Audit and Trustee Obligations
What falls to you each year, and what your accountant and auditor handle.
Winding Up the Fund
Steps for an orderly wind-up, coordinated with your accountant and auditor.
Proactive, Holistic, and Experienced Financial Planning
Some people want to be in the room for every decision about their money. That can be a good reason to look at running your own fund. It’s also a real commitment of time and responsibility, and it’s worth understanding what that means before taking it on. We’ll talk you through what it would involve in practice, and we’ll tell you plainly if we don’t think it suits your situation.
A fund is rarely just about the person who set it up. Partners are often members too, some families use a fund to hold assets together across generations, and the decisions made now can shape what’s there for people who aren’t in the conversation yet. We can help you meet your obligations year after year, so the control you wanted feels like something you value rather than a burden. Having someone alongside you can make that easier.
Every financial decision impacts the next
Your Financial Life Is Connected
Great advice starts with understanding the bigger picture. Every stage of life presents new opportunities and challenges, from buying property and changing careers to growing your family, planning for retirement and protecting what matters most. At Ryker, we help connect every piece of your financial world into one clear strategy.
Your
Wealth
- Property & Investing
- Career & Income
- Tax Strategy
- Insurance & Protecting Your Family
- Super & SMSF
- Wealth & Investments
- Life Events & Changes
- Business & Wealth
- Legacy & Future Wealth
- Retirement Planning
Frequently Asked Questions
We’re invested in your long-term success. What we do is personal, and we take it personally.
Your financial decisions connect, so we consider the parts of your financial life that are relevant to the advice you need:
- Property & Investing
- Career & Income
- Tax Strategy
- Insurance & Protecting Your Family
- Super & SMSF
- Wealth & Investments
- Life Events & Changes
- Business & Wealth
- Legacy & Future Wealth
- Retirement Planning
This is how we help you make decisions today with your longer-term goals in view.
Everybody’s situation is different, so we listen first, understand what matters to you and explain your options clearly before we make a recommendation.
There’s no legal minimum balance, and no single figure that suits everyone.
Many SMSF costs are fixed, so they matter as a proportion of the balance. At lower balances, that proportion may be higher than in a large fund, so we compare the likely costs with what you pay now.
Purpose matters too. An SMSF may suit you if there’s something specific you want it to do that your current fund can’t, such as holding business premises. An SMSF can offer control and flexibility, but it also brings costs, administration and trustee responsibilities.
Your accountant and financial adviser bring different expertise to the same decisions. Your accountant can advise on tax reporting, structures and consequences; we help you plan how cashflow, debt, super, investments and protection work towards your goals. We can coordinate before important decisions.
What an accountant does
- Prepares and lodges tax returns, BAS and financial statements
- Advises on tax structures such as companies, trusts and partnerships
- Manages bookkeeping, payroll and ATO compliance
- Provides tax advice on the consequences of a transaction
What a financial adviser does
- Sets a long term strategy across retirement, investing and cash flow
- Builds wealth from early in a working life, starting with cash flow, a first home and super
- Recommends specific super funds, investments and personal insurance
- Operates under an Australian Financial Services Licence, which is required to give personal advice on financial products
- Handles retirement planning, Centrelink and aged care strategy, and estate planning considerations
Professional roles and authorisations matter. We provide financial advice within our authorisations and work with your accountant for specialist tax advice and lodgements.
Where they work together
- Tax position. Your accountant confirms your marginal rate, deductions and carried forward losses, which shapes decisions on super contributions, investment structures and the timing of asset sales.
- Business and entity structures. Your accountant advises on the structure itself and your financial adviser works within it for investments, insurance and succession planning.
- Cash flow. Your accountant’s figures can help us understand what’s available for debt repayment, protection and longer-term goals.
- Before key decisions. We can coordinate with your accountant on contributions, asset sales and other material choices in time to consider relevant tax consequences.
As a trustee, you’re responsible for running the fund for the sole purpose of providing retirement benefits, and many specific rules follow from that principle.
Each year, that generally includes:
- Reviewing the investment strategy and keeping it current.
- Keeping minutes and records of trustee decisions.
- Valuing assets at market value.
- Arranging an audit by an approved SMSF auditor.
- Lodging the annual return on time, usually with your accountant’s help.
Responsibility stays with the trustees even when others are paid to do the work, and penalties for a breach can apply to trustees personally. It’s worth understanding before you sign anything.
Online providers can set up a fund at a competitive price, and if you’ve already decided an SMSF suits you, comparing establishment costs is reasonable.
A set-up service may not include personal advice on whether a fund suits you, what leaving your current fund could mean for any insurance, or what the fund should hold once it exists. Services vary, so it’s worth checking what’s included.
If the question is still open, that’s the decision worth working through first, and it’s where we can help.
Yes, subject to strict conditions, which differ for residential and commercial property.
Business real property, meaning premises used wholly and exclusively in a business, may be acquired from you and leased to your business at market rent.
Residential property is different. The fund generally can’t buy it from you or a relative, and nobody related to you can live in it or rent it. Borrowing is possible for either through a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, which adds cost, lender requirements and complexity. We work alongside your accountant, solicitor and broker so each part of the arrangement is checked.
Yes. Winding up a fund is a normal ending rather than a failure.
It involves several steps: assets sold or transferred out, benefits paid or rolled over, a final audit, the last return lodged and the fund deregistered. Timing matters, because selling assets may have tax consequences, so we work through it with your accountant.
It’s also worth planning early for what would happen if a trustee lost capacity or died, which can require changes at short notice. We can help you consider the super structure that suits you next.
Of course. We can start with what an SMSF is, what it would ask of you as a trustee and what it may let you do, explained plainly and without the acronyms.
There’s no cost for the initial conversation. Tell us what you’d like more control over and what you hold in super now. We’ll explain how we can help and what we’ll ask you for next.
Some of those conversations conclude that the super you already have suits you better, and that’s a useful answer too.
Who We Help
Advice for All Stages of Life
From first job to retirement, we help you build wealth, protect it, and live well.
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First jobs, first home, first super, HECS debt, budgeting and more.
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First home buyers, new parents, school fees, single incomes, young families and more.
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Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, allied health, nurses and more.
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Lawyers, accountants, brokers, engineers, consultants and more.
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Electricians, plumbers, builders, sole traders, franchisees and more.
Corporate & Executive
Executives, senior managers, directors, board members and more.
Public Sector & Defence
Police, firefighters, paramedics, ADF personnel, teachers and more.
Approaching Retirement
Pre-retirees, transition to retirement, Age Pension, aged care, estate planning and more.
Other Stages
Any income, any stage, career changers, separation, second opinions and more.
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Grow & Protect Your Wealth Today
Whatever’s on your mind, we’re here to help. You’ll speak with an authorised financial adviser who’ll listen first and get to know what matters to you.
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