A speech by Greg Tanzer, Commissioner, Australian Securities and Investments Commission at the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) Conference, 21 February 2014.
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Introduction
My co-regulators have shared the work they are doing that impacts on self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), and ASIC likewise has been busy in this area.
Our role with respect to SMSFs is primarily geared towards regulating the gatekeepers, in particular financial advisers, SMSF auditors, issuers and distributors of financial products in which SMSFs invest, and to a lesser degree the SMSF trustees themselves.
Gatekeepers play a critical role in Australia’s financial system, especially in the superannuation sector. We have an excellent system, which relies on investors making informed investment decisions and being prepared to accept the risks involved – but investors’ confidence and ability to make informed investment decisions depends critically on gatekeepers in the system doing their job.