The SMSF Association will open a new category of membership for self-managed super fund trustees next month, in a move the association says is designed to strengthen its position as an advocate for the whole SMSF sector.
The association says a new category of membership will open in April to provide trustees with access to a specialist knowledge centre and “useful information with respect to SMSFs, such as webinars and other trustee-tailored events”.
But it says that trustees will not have the voting rights that “full” members enjoy, will not be awarded professional qualifications or accreditation, and will not earn continuing professional development points.
The SMSFA says it is engaging with trustees through its website, current SMSFA members and corporate partners. In answers to questions emailed to Professional Planner, the association says its existing membership and trustee education resources are also being used to help expand its reach.
“A part-time consultant has been employed to develop and coordinate the strategy to support trustees,” it says.
The SMSFA’s move presents competition to other associations that already represent trustees, including the SMSF Owners’ Alliance (SMSFOA). The SMSFA says its chief executive officer and managing director, Andrea Slattery, is “in regular discussion with other associations on how to work together to best represent the SMSF industry”.
Multiple voices
Duncan Fairweather, executive director of SMSFOA, says SMSFA did not discuss or flag its push deeper into trustee territory, and at a time when the debate about superannuation tax policy is reaching a crescendo it may be counterproductive to have multiple voices representing trustees.
“Since an initial meeting at our request when we started up three years ago, there’s been no further discussion with SMSFA about the representation of trustees,” Fairweather says.
“In the debate about tax reform and other issues, we think it’s best for SMSF owners to be represented by one strong, independent and effective voice so policymakers get a clear and consistent message and they know who it’s coming from.”
Fairweather says SMSFOA is “purely an advocate for SMSF owners on policy issues”.
“We don’t represent advisers or other professional providers to self-managed funds,” he says.
“The sole membership requirement for SMSF Owners is to be either a trustee or a beneficiary of a self-managed super fund. So when trustees join SMSF Owners they can be sure we are acting solely in their interests.
“That’s what sets us apart.”
Driven by several factors
The SMSFA says its decision to formally accept trustees as members is “driven by several factors”.
“First … our strongly held belief that better-educated trustees will have more knowledge and hence greater peace of mind,” it says.
“It will also strengthen the SMSF sector [and] enable the association to develop a stronger advocacy position to take to policymakers and regulators.
“There are more than one million SMSF trustees and our current membership directly advises and services more than half of that community; this program allows us to directly engage with the balance of SMSF trustees and members.
“Finally, it will improve trustees’ engagement with professional advisors via a specialist online search functionality, assisting advisors to grow their businesses.”
Dismissed concerns
It has dismissed concerns that embracing trustees may undermine existing relationships between its current membership and their clients.
“We are not and have never been in competition with our members, but are and have always been working to strengthen existing SMSFA members’ professional recognition and businesses,” it says.
“By supporting an increase in engagement and knowledge of SMSF trustees, we are also continuing to build the integrity of the SMSF industry for the future.”
And it also dismisses concerns that opening its membership to non-professional individuals diminishes its standing as a professional association.
“As you would know, a professional association is one that seeks to enhance a particular profession, as well as the interests of individuals engaged in that profession and their constituents, in the public interest,” it says.
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Supporting professionals
“SMSFA is a professional association supporting SMSF professionals and improving the knowledge of trustees. This will lead to stronger engagement between professional SMSF members and trustees resulting in a highly knowledgeable and professional SMSF sector. The SMSF Association is widely recognised for building the SMSF profession.”
SMSFA says broadening its membership reach will “strengthen the value proposition of professional SMSFA members by assisting recognition of the new SMSF profession, in the growing of their businesses and by making available additional resources to them”.
“It will also provide a point of difference with other associations and allow our membership to get greater recognition of their professional services,” it says.
“We have often had trustees participate in our National Conference from a presentation perspective and have done so again this year. We have also had a range of events and conferences in the past that have been directly targeted to trustees as well as joint events between SMSF trustees and our professional members.
“We are considering a range of opportunities to engage, but we will not compromise the integrity of our flagship events. We are more likely to have dedicated trustee events in the future where existing SMSFA members can attend and engage directly with the trustees to assist in growing their own profile and businesses.”
