3 MINUTE READ

The simple fact is that there are too many self-managed super funds in the hands of people who don’t need one or don’t know how to manage a self-managed super fund.

Self-managed super funds are being sold to people on the following basis:

CONTROL.

However, that control comes at a cost… accountants, auditors, financial planners, investment advisers and lawyers are salivating at the thought of all the extra fees they can get their claws on.

And then there’s a real danger that ‘control’ simply leaves people vulnerable to all the dodgy spruikers and swindlers who tell a great yarn to part people with their hard-earned retirement savings (in some cases never to be seen again).

Many people have been drawn to a self-managed super fund after feeling let down by their super fund during the GFC. They blame the super fund for their super balance going down. What they’ve failed to realise (usually because no one ever taught them how superannuation works) is that the super fund simply invested their money as they were told to by the member. If the member wanted it to be invested a different way, there are many investments within most super funds that a member can move their money into just by filling in a form (or clicking a button).

Within a traditional super fund, you can exercise enormous control over your super and sit back confident in the knowledge that they are running the fund for you, absolving you of any legal responsibilities that come with running a self-managed super fund.

So before rushing into a self-managed super fund, take a step back and see what your super fund (or another one if you want to explore the market) can already do for you. In the majority of cases, you’ll find you can achieve what you want without the need, effort or responsibility of setting up and running a self-managed super fund.

Whenever anyone’s offering you advice about money you firstly have to ask yourself, ‘In whose interests are they acting?’

Cheers,

Daniel