SMSF Association Annual Conference

The 13th annual SMSF Association Conference was conducted in Melbourne in February.

This event, presided over by outgoing CEO, Andrea Slattery, was the largest-ever held by the Association, attracting almost 1,700 delegates to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The issue of Trust was a consistent theme throughout the Conference, which delivered a broad spectrum of thoughts and ideas for advisers focussed on the self-managed superannuation fund sector, including related life insurance topics.

During the Conference, delegates heard from their adviser peers and other industry experts, as well as from the Prime Minister via video link and from Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O’Dwyer.

The sometimes complex relationship between life insurance and superannuation, both within and outside the world of self-managed super was highlighted by a number of presentations, such as that made by SMSF education expert, Tim Miller.

Miller explored the machinations associated with various life insurance products existing inside a self-managed super fund including tax deductibility issues, transfer balance cap exclusions and a host of other circumstances which would require careful planning and the right advice to accompany it.

One of the brilliant initiatives taken at this Conference was the creation of a single but sometimes complex set of family relationships on which every presenter, with only minor adjustments, based the case studies they used to illustrate their messages. A light-hearted representation of the current Royal Family was used because of the existing familiarity of the delegates with the nature of the relationships that exist between the senior members of the family, down through three further generations.

Using this same family case study construct across the entire spectrum of presentations served as a way to link the entire narrative at the Conference, which clearly delivered great value to the almost 1,700 delegates who attended.

In her final message as SMSFA CEO, Slattery took the opportunity to give her members a perspective on the growth of this emerging part of the superannuation industry. She said the SMSF sector has grown six-fold since 2003, as she challenged her peers to take control of their profession and not settle for mediocrity: “The future is in your hands with unlimited opportunities. Clients have never been in greater need of financial advice,” she concluded.

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