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Wednesday, May 12, 2010

A rose by any other name

One of the more intriguing recommendations from the Phase Three preliminary report is that SMSFs be prevented from being established or renamed using a name which is the same or similar to an existing APRA-regulated fund.  This recommendation came out of an ASFA submission.

The concern is that it would be too easy to 'mirror' a well-established APRA regulated fund.  No evidence is offered to suggest that this is an existing problem, or even likely to be a problem in the future.  It's hard to imagine how this might be a problem.  There are sufficient facilities for those needing to ascertain whether a fund is regulated or not. An employer who contributed to such a fund without making appropriate checks would either be reckless, grossly negligent or deliberately fraudulent.

Sure, it's a simple matter to make the amendment, and it won't have any major impact on most SMSFs, but one has to ask whether this change - like the banning of collectables - fixes a problem which at worst is marginal.

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