A speech by John Price, Commissioner, Australian Securities and Investments Commission to the The Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) National Congress 2013, 8 November 2013.
Introduction
... Today I will be focusing on the recent work ASIC has undertaken in relation to self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) and our proposed work over the coming months.
By way of background, in September last year, Deputy Chairman Peter Kell and Commissioner Greg Tanzer became jointly responsible for heading up ASIC’s SMSF taskforce.
The taskforce was set up in response to the growth in SMSFs, an increase in geared investment strategies, the collapse of Trio, and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services (PJC) Inquiry into that collapse. The taskforce’s main purpose is to examine high-risk SMSF issues.
As I’m sure most of you will know, the SMSF sector is growing rapidly and more Australians than ever before are either considering or operating an SMSF. Today, however, I’d like to focus on three key things:
- the critically important role of gatekeepers in the SMSF sector
- ASIC’s focus on SMSFs and our review of the quality of advice provided to SMSF investors, and
- ASIC’s consultation paper on disclosure and costs relating to SMSFs.