Ascentiv Group has provided the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) with an enforceable undertaking (EU) in light of concerns over the appropriateness of advice provided to clients about the establishment and use of SMSFs.

The federal government’s intention to implement the Financial System Inquiry (FSI) recommendation to have the purpose of superannuation enshrined in law has been met with a mixed reaction from the SMSF sector.

SMSF advisers and trustees need to be aware the ATO’s practical compliance guideline (PCG) issued last month regarding limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBA) does not cover all assets or all aspects of these types of gearing strategies, according to some sector experts.

The ATO has issued guidelines defining the compliance obligations relating to limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBA) involving related parties that will ensure income from these strategies will not be treated as non-arm’s length in nature.