More than 80 per cent of do-it-yourself (DIY) super fund investors believe their accountant or financial adviser will be held responsible if their fund breaches super legislation, aTower Trustsurvey has revealed.
The findings highlight a widespread lack of knowledge among investors – not only of the role they play as trustees of their own funds, but also the personal penalties faced in the case of a breach of legislation, Tower claims.
Tower Trust manager of superannuation services Peter Burgess says even among the more sophisticated investors there remains an information gap that may leave DIY investors exposed.
Burgess adds that despite an admirably high level of investor trust in accountants, it placed investors at significant personal legal risk.
Of the DIY superannuation investors surveyed, the general assumption was that in the case of a breach of legislation, the legal system would hold their accountant or financial adviser responsible.
“While there is an increasing awareness of the fact that investors can appoint a professional trustee company to assume the legal liability for compliance, it is important that the benefits of such a move are promoted,” Burgess says.
Tower Trust acts as the approved trustee for more than 5,500 smallAustralian Prudential and Regulatory Authority(APRA) funds. It says while small APRA funds enjoy many of the legislative concessions associated with DIY funds, the trustees of small APRA funds are not the members of the fund. Instead, an APRA-approved trustee is appointed as the trustee of the fund.
