SMSF trustees have unmet advice needs

The 2017 Vanguard and Investment Trends SMSF Report found that a record high 277,000 SMSFs – out of a pool of 585,000 – reported having unmet advice needs across three clusters of tax and super, retirement strategies and investment advice.

Investment Trends research director Recep III Peker said that with the super reforms in place, trustees were looking for an adviser that could comprehensively address their various needs.

“Whenever the government plays with the super it creates an appetite for financial advice because people want to understand how it affects them and what can they do as a result,” said Mr Peker.

“Trustees are after someone who is able to help them across all their needs, they want an adviser who is an expert in handling SMSFs, someone they can trust, and who is able to address all of their needs.”

Interestingly, 60 per cent of those SMSFs using an accountant for tax purposes said they would use them for investment advice if they offered it.

However, the report highlighted how most accountants were not planning to obtain a license, with a growing proportion turning to build a relationship with a financial planning firm instead.

Up to 56 per cent of accountants said they employed someone in-house who could provide financial planning advice, 19 per cent referred clients to financial planning firms and 11 per cent received two-way referrals with financial planning firms.