Legislative changes to the SMSF advice space present an opportunity for accountants and advisers to review their overall partnership arrangements
The impending changes to licensing for accountants in the Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) advice space present an ideal time for accountants and financial planners to review their overall partnership arrangements.
Advising on SMSFs is a specialised field, combining advice for an individual’s personal affairs with advice to the fund itself to ensure it remains compliant.
This combination of advice has meant that there is a real mix of both accountants and financial planners who have chosen to specialise in this area. As not every accountant or financial planner wants to go down this path, there is an opportunity for specialist advisers to partner with more general advisers.
Accountants specialising in SMSF advice work really well with more generalist financial planners not looking to take on this role. Alternatively, specialist planners would be better suited to partnering with more generalist accountants not looking to specialise in this space, but wanting to ensure they can refer their clients to someone they trust for this advice.
If you are an accountant looking to specialise in SMSFs, one thing you will need to deal with is licensing. The easiest way to do this is to follow three simple steps:
- Understand what level of licensing you need to be able to provide the advice you give. This will determine your ‘scope of advice’ or level of authority. It’s really important not to get too caught up in the names of the different authorities available in the marketplace. Look at the underlying scope and if that matches the advice you want to give.
- Determine what form of licensing suits you best – should you take out some form of licensing direct with ASIC, or would an authority from an existing license suit you better? If you are looking at giving strategic SMSF advice to clients, the new ‘limited licence’ being offered by ASIC from 1 July 2016 will allow you to hold their license directly. However, there are many authority options with existing licensing holders which may suit you better as they remove the need to personally manage both the licence and the advice obligations.
- Finally, determine what sort of support you are going to need beyond licensing, particularly if you want to grow your practice in this area. This could include the support to partner with advisers, managing your dual obligations as an accountant and a licensed adviser, or more general practice development support to grow your practice.
Want to know more about the impacts of licensing on SMSF advice? Attend one of AMP’s SMSF strategy & licensing Roadshows in 30plus locations around the country. For more information, visit http://smsfadvicelimited.com.au/workshopinformation-2/
