Q&A for Accountants and
Solicitors
Do you see yourself as in competition with accountants
or solicitors?
No! We like to work in conjunction with each client’s accountant
and solicitor. We see our role primarily as providing investment
strategy and investment management.
Why would I refer SMSF clients to you?
Austock Managed Accounts can greatly simplify
the tax management and administration for your clients, especially
those investing via a self-managed super fund. It represents a far
more tax efficient and flexible structure than a conventional
unitised managed fund. An external audit of the systems and
processes is conducted each year. An audit report accompanies a
summarised taxation report you may rely on in preparing your
clients’ tax returns.
Instead of having to verify every transaction,
dividend and gain/loss, you can treat the portfolio as a whole as a
single security for ATO purposes (we do not pay out “distributions”
like unitised managed funds and the dividends we account for within
the scheme are not traceable by ATO from registries so it is
appropriate to report “Austock Managed Accounts” as a security.
It’s worth mentioning that Austock Managed
Accounts can greatly simplify the handling of a deceased estate,
because all the capital gains information is immediately available
at the parcel level. We can arrange for it to readily apportioned
between beneficiaries (as new accounts) in a fair and equitable
manner. There is no additional charge for doing so.
If Austock Managed Accounts is simplifying the auditing
of SMSF, doesn’t that detract from an accountant’s
offering?
On the contrary. In our experience most
accountants are time-poor and cannot properly charge their clients
for the time their staff spend in trying to track down missing
contract notes (confirmations) that should match a dividend on an
ATO electronic tax return, purchases that seem to have been settled
by the wrong entity, or sorting and loading transactions and
expenses from shoeboxes. By eliminating all of these hassles for
you, you are able to spend more quality time with your clients such
as strategic business advice (for which you can charge a realistic
fee).
For Financial
Planners
Do you accept applications for Austock Managed Accounts
from externally AFSL licensed advisers?
Yes. We can help your dealer group enter into
a formal agreement with the Responsible Entity that sets out the
relationship between the parties.
Can I add a fee into the application?
In keeping with current industry trends, we
expect you to negotiate any upfront arrangement directly with your
clients. You may also load an ongoing adviser commission that is
paid monthly. This is again a matter of negotiation between you and
the client.
Can I see the client portfolios?
Yes. The Responsible Entity reports portfolio
data through the Austock Managed Accounts Online Access website.
Advisers and accountants that have several clients on the system
may arrange for an access code that allows for a view of all their
clients’ information in a more convenient form than individually at
the website.
Austock’s AFS licence allows qualified representatives
to provide personal advice. Is there a conflict?
Ben Hughes and John Aldersley see themselves
as specialist investment portfolio managers rather than financial
planners. They have a history of working in conjunction with
planners, accountants and solicitors and that is not going to
change.
Do you accept portfolio models from other licensed
groups?
Depending on demand, happy to discuss
this.
Who is responsible for identification under AML &
CTA?
As a registered financial product, the
Responsible Entity has responsibility for ensuring all clients have
been properly identified (based on their compliance interpretation
of the legislation) before accepting applications for Austock
Managed Accounts. In the case of AFSL licensed representatives, the
Responsible Entity is able to delegate this to you via the
application form. Since you must identify the client before
providing a financial service anyway, this ensures you do not have
to go through the tedious process again.