Self-managed Independent Superannuation Funds Association (SISFA) has redesigned and relaunched its membership offering for self-managed superannuation fund trustees.
Through existing communication channels and those of new associated partners and sponsors of the Association, up to 200,000 SMSF trustees will be contacted with this membership offer, SISFA Managing Director, Michael Lorimer said.
“Alongside its advocacy efforts, for some time now SISFA’s focus has been to build a network of likeminded professionals in the SMSF sector to stay informed of technical and policy issues and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas,” said Mr Lorimer.
“While this has been successful, it has become noticeable that the needs of 1.1 million SMSF members extend beyond supporting the professionals on whom they rely for advice and expertise,” he said.
“SISFA has long debated how to better support these individuals who are essentially ‘running their own money’ (with or without a professional adviser) and often do not have all the knowhow to protect their nest eggs.
“The financial services sector has taken them for granted and often only taken their own industry agendas to regulators. They have not ignored trustees but rather thought that their agenda would also cover the needs of trustees without involving them in the discussion.”
He said SISFA believes that ordinary SMSF members need a louder voice in Canberra and greater support from the industry. To this end, they will be offering SMSF members a new annual membership rate of $48 plus GST which will allow them access to a range of services and benefits, including:
- Educational content
- Access to experienced practitioners
- Enhancing SISFA’s advocacy efforts for members in Canberra
- Investment opportunities suitable for SMSFs
- National seminars/webinars provided by SISFA and its Partners
- Newsletters
“The introduction of new service providers and offerings to SISFA trustees will correct the imbalance where investment opportunities were only available to large super funds,” said Mr Lorimer.
“The SMSF sector is the largest superannuation asset base and deserves access to superannuation investment options,” he said.
“SISFA has a national reach and is well placed to expand into providing services and a support base for the largest pool of investors in the country.”
