How an Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) Works

Setup an SMSF with ESUPERFUND

An SMSF is your own personal Superannuation Fund that gives you control over how your Super Benefit is invested. An SMSF enables DIY Investors to make their own Investment Choices for their retirement. There is no minimum amount required to setup an SMSF. If you are ready to establish a new SMSF, ESUPERFUND can assist you with the aspects of the setup process for you. More importantly under our current promotional offer it is FREE to establish your SMSF with ESUPERFUND. Find out more about the process to set up your SMSF.

ESUPERFUND can establish your Transaction Bank Account

When you become a client of ESUPERFUND, and you choose to open a Transaction Account using ESUPERFUND, a Transaction Bank Account is established for your SMSF which will act as the Transaction Account for your SMSF. The Transaction Bank Account must be used for your SMSF. ESUPERFUND will set up the Transaction Bank Account using its providers. It is not compulsory to set up and use the Transaction Bank Account and you are permitted to use other Transaction Bank Accounts for your SMSF. However if you establish an Transaction Bank Account other than with ANZ Bank, data will not be accessible by ESUPERFUND and you will need to source and provide this data to ESUPERFUND annually. At the end of each financial year, the Bank will send to ESUPERFUND an annual data file of all your SMSF transactions. This enables our office to attend to your SMSF's annual compliance obligations. No bank records are required from you each year as we already have access to the data. It is important to understand that only electronic data files are provided to ESUPERFUND. We have absolutely no access to your Transaction Bank Account and cannot actually login to your Bank Account to access the required data. Find out more about the Transaction Bank Account.

ESUPERFUND can establish your Share Trading Account

When you become a client of ESUPERFUND and you choose to open a Share Trading Account with ESUPERFUND, a Share Trading Account will be established for your Fund enabling you to trade CHESS Sponsored Australian Shares online. ESUPERFUND will setup the Share Trading Account using EBROKING. However this is not compulsory and you may choose to set up a Share Trading Account with your own provider. The Preferred Brokers to invest in Australian Shares is EBROKING (click here for more). To simplify the Australian Share Trading Account Application Process documentation to establish a Share Trading Account with your preferred broker is included with the documentation forwarded to you when you submit your online application to establish an SMSF. By using our Preferred Broker to invest in Australian Shares, ESUPERFUND is able to electronically access the Broker Data for your SMSF in order to attend to the SMSF Annual Compliance Requirements. No Broker Data records are required from you each year as we already have the data.  It is important to understand that only electronic data files are provided to ESUPERFUND. We have absolutely no access to your Broker Account and cannot actually login to your Broker Account to access the required data. It is not compulsory to setup and use the EBROKING Account and you are permitted to use other Australian Share Trading Accounts for your SMSF. However if you establish an Australian Share Trading Account other than with EBROKING, data will not be accessible by ESUPERFUND and you will need to source and provide this data to ESUPERFUND annually. Find out more about the Share Trading Account.

Rollover your Existing Super Benefit to your SMSF Bank Account

Once your SMSF has been established you can apply to your current Superfund to transfer your existing Super Benefit to your new SMSF.  You cannot apply to Rollover your existing Super Benefit until ESUPERFUND has sent to you the "Final Establishment Package" which will include your SMSF setup details including the ABN. Learn more about the Rollovers process.

Commence making Contributions to your SMSF Bank Account

Once the SMSF has been established you can also commence making Contributions to the SMSF. Each Contribution and Contribution Type must be allocated to a specific Member as part of the annual compliance process. This is a legal requirement. Typically the Member making the Contribution and the Contribution Type will be detailed on the Transaction Bank Account Bank Statement. To the extent that the narration on the Bank Statement is insufficient, you will be asked to confirm on whose behalf the contributions have been made and the Contribution Type using an annual checklist which generally made availlable to SMSF clients each year by 31 August. You do not need to send us confirmation at the time each Contribution is made. This information is only required annually and we will guide you through the process and prompt you when information is required from you. Learn more about Annual Compliance process.

Invest your Super

Under the ESUPERFUND Platform you can only invest in Allowable Investments as detailed below:

Consider Commencing a Pension in your SMSF

When you reach preservation age you have the option of commencing a Pension Income Stream from your SMSF. A Pension means that periodically (eg each month or other period you nominate) cash is transferred from your SMSF Bank Account to your personal Bank Account to fund your living expenses. You should obtain your own independent financial and taxation advice about whether commencing a pension is right for your circumstances. Learn more about Pensions.

Data electronically accessed by ESUPERFUND

ESUPERFUND is able to electronically access the transactions and trades made by your SMSF in order to attend to the SMSF annual compliance requirements. That is at the end of each financial year, your Bank and Broker will send to ESUPERFUND an annual data file of all your SMSF transactions and trades. This enables our office to attend to your SMSF's annual compliance obligations. Minimal records are required from you each year as we already have access to your SMSF transaction data. It is important to understand that only electronic data files are provided to ESUPERFUND. We have absolutely no access to your Bank or Broker Accounts and cannot actually login to these accounts to access the required data. Only in limited instances will you be required to provide additional information to ESUPERFUND to attend to the SMSF annual compliance requirements. This includes rollover documentation and contribution details. To guide you on the information required, ESUPERFUND will send you an annual checklist each year to ascertain the investments your SMSF has invested in and what additional information we require. Where applicable we will request certain information to be provided to finalise your SMSF annual compliance requirements. The Annual Compliance Checklist is typically sent by 31 August each year and should be returned at your earliest convenience to give us sufficient time to prepare and lodge the annual compliance documentation by the due date.

ESUPERFUND attends to the Annual Compliance Obligations

Your SMSF must attend to certain annual reporting requirements each and every year. These include:

The above annual compliance requirements are the compliance requirements that a SMSF must attend to annually. Importantly ESUPERFUND attends to the above annual compliance requirements for your SMSF. You do not need to arrange for another accountant to prepare the above annual documentation as it is completed by ESUPERFUND. Learn more about Annual Compliance process.

ESUPERFUND Annual Fee

Our annual fee is FREE for the first year (for New SMSF Setups only) and then per annum. ESUPERFUND attends to the taxation and accounting obligations for your SMSF for the annual fee of per annum (GST inclusive), irrespective of the number of transactions made by your SMSF, the size of your SMSF or the number of Members. Our annual administration fee of per annum will cover your SMSF annual obligations. Please note that the ATO charges an annual levy of for each SMSF. This annual ATO Levy applies to all SMSFs and not just SMSF's administered by ESUPERFUND. Accordingly the annual ATO Levy cannot be avoided irrespective of which provider you choose to administer your SMSF. The annual ATO Levy of is payable in addition to our annual fee of per annum.

We use the ANZ V2 Plus Account as a Transaction Bank Account, and the EBROKING as a Broker Account - however you may choose to use your own providers. Fees charged for use of the accounts are available here. We use these providers because we are able to electronically access the transactions made by your SMSF in order to attend to the SMSF Annual Compliance Requirements. If you choose to use other providers, then data will not be accessible by ESUPERFUND and you will need to source and provide this data to ESUPERFUND annually. Our price for operating an SMSF is fixed at per annum, irrespective of the number of transactions made by your SMSF, the size of your SMSF or the number of Members.

Safekeeping of Your Assets

All SMSF Investments including the Transaction Bank Accounts and Broker Accounts are established in the name of your SMSF. In the very unlikely event we cease to operate or trade or become insolvent, your SMSF is the direct owner of the assets. Only you as the Trustee for the SMSF can access your SMSF accounts.