DIY Super Funds – Information & Advice
Monday, October 18th, 2010Trying economic times have many people more worried than ever about their retirement investments. Stocks experience breathtaking highs and lows every day, leading to high stress for investors. Some have chosen to take control of the situation on their own and have turned to DIY super funds. Each individual investor will have to determine if these funds are a worthwhile exercise.
Possibly the best part of DIY super funds is the ability to control the investments and personally oversee where funds are going. It should be noted, especially by those who have never traded stocks on their own, that trading takes practice. It is by no means impossible to do, (if it was, no one would invest in self-managing superannuation) it just may take some time to get good at it. Prior experience is valuable in that it allows for wise decisions. Because self-managers are often careful with their money, they often make conservative investments. Accepting the lower yield provided by low risk stocks is a small price for these investors to make for total control of their assets.
Anyone entering the field of self-managing superannuation needs to possess good time management skills. Everyone involved in DIY super funds is a trustee, so books and records need to be kept personally. This obviously takes time, as does the research into various stocks. Knowing the history of a stock and company is essential to wise investing. And once trading begins, floods of figures will present themselves that will need sorted and made sense of. Keeping things straight also keeps the tax office off your back, and that takes time too.
DIY super funds come with some maintenance fees. It usually requires between $1500 and $4000 annually to maintain the funds. When time is taken to make wise buying and selling decisions, fewer transactions are needed, leading in turn to fewer ongoing fees. Super funds also carry tax concessions. Investment income earnings are taxed at a maximum of 15%, a better deal than the marginal tax rate. Many investors don’t mind paying these relatively small fees in order to manage their own money.
Self-managing investors looking to keep a handle on their money will certainly find DIY super funds worthwhile. With some time and wise planning, they will pay off to those who show dedication. Sometimes that isn’t too much to ask when it comes to money.
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