SMSF investment strategies: What you need to know

Every self-managed super fund (SMSF) must have a written investment strategy. It's a legal requirement and one of an SMSF trustee's key responsibilities.

Your investment strategy should explain how your fund plans to invest to achieve its retirement objectives, while meeting its ongoing obligations.

What should your investment strategy include?

There's no prescribed format, but your strategy should consider:

• Your investment objectives

• The level of risk the fund is prepared to take

• How the fund's investments are diversified

• The fund's liquidity and ability to meet ongoing expenses

• Whether insurance should be held for members

• The circumstances of the fund and its members

While there’s flexibility in how it’s documented, the above still needs to be clearly addressed. Stake Super will guide you through documenting your investment strategy as part of your SMSF setup and ongoing administration.

You should also review it regularly and make updates whenever the fund's circumstances change.

Things to consider before investing

As an SMSF trustee, you're responsible for ensuring your investments comply with superannuation laws.

Some key principles include:

• Keeping SMSF assets separate from your personal assets

• Making investments on arm's length terms, as if both parties are independent

• Ensuring investments support the sole purpose of benefitting retirement 

• Considering diversification across the portfolio

• Understanding the risks of each investment

How Stake Super can help

Creating and maintaining an investment strategy is an important responsibility of SMSF trustees. 

Stake Super helps simplify the admin an SMSF, so you can stay focused on your investment decisions.

Ready to take control of your super?

Whether you're setting up your first SMSF or transferring an existing fund, we're here to help.

Get started online or speak to a Stake Super specialist.

This is not financial product advice, nor a recommendation that a self-managed super fund (‘SMSF’) may be suitable for you. Your personal circumstances have not been taken into account. SMSFs have different risks and features compared to traditional superannuation funds regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (‘APRA’). Stake SMSF Pty Ltd, trading as Stake Super, is not licensed to provide financial product advice under the Corporations Act. This specifically applies to any financial products which are established if you instruct Stake Super to set up an SMSF. When you sign up to Stake Super, you are contracting with Stake SMSF Pty Ltd who will assist in the establishment and administration of an SMSF under a ‘no advice model’. You will also be referred to Stakeshop Pty Ltd to enable your trading account and bank account to be set up in order to use the Stake Website and/or App. For more information about SMSFs, see our SMSF Risks page.

Ciara Conway

Commercial Manager - Stake Super

Ciara is a Commercial Manager at Stake Super, with over 10 years of experience in the SMSF industry and an MA in Accountancy and Finance from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Having previously worked at a chartered accounting firm and one of the largest SMSF administrators in Australia, Ciara has extensive knowledge of SMSF compliance. She is also a current member of the SMSF Association.