It took Marnie Sole 25 years working as an assistant principal to build up a comfortable retirement fund of almost $200,000.
But when the global financial crisis (GFC) hit in 2008, it hit hard, and in no time at all she had lost a large chunk of her super.
This got her thinking. She began to consider the fluctuating nature of the global economy and realised she had very little control over
how her retirement savings were invested through her traditional super fund.
“My partner is experienced with stock market investment”, and he said to me,
“What you’ve got to realise is the guys who are investing your money don’t necessarily know any more than you do.”
I’m switched on enough to make my own decisions, so I started investigating self-managed super and what’s involved in managing my money myself.
Setting up an SMSF
Marnie started researching, and was pleased with what she found.
“I realised that you can actually invest in a whole bunch of different things with an SMSF, which I hadn’t been aware of,” she says.
“At the time I had friends who had an SMSF and were in the pension phase – I talked to them and they were very positive about it.”
Although Marnie was by now convinced about the potential benefits of an SMSF, she was initially nervous about the set-up process.
“People were telling me it was very complicated and expensive” she says. “But that’s when I came across ESUPERFUND.
Their website is very clearly set out and presented a step-by-step process that leads you through the set-up. It was really easy to understand and at a fraction of the cost”
ESUPERFUND has all the information you need set out on their website. You just follow the steps, which is what made it so much easier.
Beginning an investment journey
With her SMSF all set up and ready to go, Marnie turned her attention to her investment options, and property quickly captured her focus.
“For me, one of the reasons I went into an SMSF after losing that money during the GFC was to invest in property,” she says.
“If I didn’t buy property through super, I’d do it privately anyway. Buying it through my SMSF means I don’t have any liability toward my own assets if something happens.
And if any sort of new legislation comes in that changes the situation, I have the flexibility to switch my investments.”
Marnie also found that ESUPERFUND simplified the process of buying property with clear, step-by-step information.
“I did have questions along the way of course, because it was a new area for me, but I never found that anything was hidden. Everything has always been really transparent.”
And, says Marnie, whenever she has questions or needs to clarify something, her queries are answered by a single point of contact at ESUPERFUND.
“I just ring and everything is made very clear. And all my emails are always answered very clearly, which is something I’ve appreciated from the beginning.”
I’ve had a bit to do with the stock market, so I know how things can fluctuate. I like bricks and mortar, and I like the tax concessions that come with buying property through an SMSF.
Management made easy
Managing her SMSF through ESUPERFUND has been surprisingly easy for Marnie.
“The first year it took a little time because I wasn’t really sure what I’d need,
but once I had gone through the process, and I knew which receipts to keep and how to keep it organised, it was much easier."
“I have electronic folders now, and whenever I have any expenses with my house I know straight away what’s going to be asked for, where they have to go,
and what ESUPERFUND has already automatically lodged. It takes no time at all. It’s such a simple process.”
But perhaps the most important benefit of self-managed super for Marnie is the level of control it affords her over her financial future.
“I can make the decisions, and if there’s a loss, that’s due to me, not some person or group of people I don’t know, who don’t have any connection to me or my situation.”
I’ve found switching to self-managed super to be a really positive and worthwhile experience, one I have no regrets over.