During the last year, it has been my pleasure to assist Julie Dolan, of SMSF Blueprint, with ideas and concepts desperately needed by our clients who utilise self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) in their investment portfolios.I am pleased to see the launch of SMSF Blueprint in the industry, and have offered to share the platform with our clients to assist in the dissemination of what we believe to be a sound tool for our clients. The firm receives no remuneration whatsoever, but I believe strongly in the platform and its usefulness to our clients – so wanted to share this resource with you.
Whilst Julie is a consultant with the Firm, I find her educational platform to be an astounding educational benefit and compliment to the offering of our team generally.
I, along with Julie, have advised many trustees across Australia this year in respect to SMSF compliance, and this educational platform was established by Julie and her partners to address what appears to be an industry wide confusion as to trustee obligations and strategies. I have been consulted on a number of non-compliant SMSFs in the last year, and I am concerned about the expanding enforcement powers of the ATO generally (not to suggest that I disagree with the enforcement process, and its purpose in the marketplace).
Breaches of the rules and regulations can be a very costly exercise – as demonstrated by a recent case in which a 62 year old trustee was handed down an 80 hour community service order after failing to lodge multiple years’ tax returns.
Along with its existing compliance powers, the ATO introduced its new penalty regime effective from 1 July 2014. Penalties of up to $10,200 per trustee for certain breaches of the rules and regulations can be handed down by the ATO. These penalties are payable by the trustee and cannot be reimbursed from the fund.
I am a subscriber to SMSF Blueprint, and find the content to be brilliant and easy to use. I ca use it with clients for demonstration purposes, and general education. However, it is a platform that you can subscribe to for ongoing compliance and training purposes. Plus, Julie and her team offer strategic ideas in respect to planning ideas. The platform changes constantly, with new content on legislation and forward planning ideas.
I am recommending the platform for all of my clients, and making it a mandatory subscription for my new SMSF clients because the risks of not complying are too great. It is such an easy and convenient platform, you can watch the videos anytime and anywhere. It is like having a financial advisor at your fingertips – and certainly gives you the fuel for informed discussions with your financial advisor and accountant. I personally think the platform saves clients’ money, because they can do research and investigate ideas on their own – and then go to the specialists for advice on the suitability and implementation process on those ideas that they find worthwhile considering.
Of course, I am always here to help you in your SMSF planning – but I believe clients should be informed, and the SMSF Blueprint platform is a minimal cost for a vast resource to SMSF trustees.
If you would like to speak to Julie, please feel free to give her a call on 040 445 5001, or email her. Definitely have a look at SMSF Blueprint, if you are considering or managing a SMSF – I think you will be quite pleased at the platform.
For your convenience, you can click here to view the link that I use to link through to SMSF Blueprint.
