Book Review > How to invest in property through your Self Managed Super Fund

This book is essential reading for anyone who is contemplating purchasing property through a Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) or anyone who has already done so. This is because of the book’s timely release given the period since superannuation funds have been allowed to borrow for such investments. There have been numerous legislative changes over the period and the book explains the changes in detail.

The book is more than just about buying property though. It actually goes through the full life cycle of a SMSF and explains in detail each phase from establishment, accumulation, transition, retirement and death and the traps for the unwary. Therefore it is a useful handbook for those who have a SMSF. I certainly learnt a great deal from it.

The book also deals with aspects of taxation and succession through estate planning and how to deal with superannuation through a Will.

I particularly found the numerous case studies of interest as they provided excellent examples of the points being made. Furthermore, at the end of each chapter, an outline of key points provided a great summary.

However, there is a technical point surrounding a SMSF borrowing to make an investment that I feel needs clarification. The book identifies that when borrowing, a Bare Trust has to be established and the book failed to explain what a Bare Trust is and how one is formed. These types of trusts are often used in securitisation and can be very complicated and very few people, including lawyers and accountants would have a great deal of knowledge about them. For instance, a Bare Trust needs a Bare Trustee.

At the end of reading the book I formed the opinion that the author was truly an expert in the subject matter. However I found the book very difficult to read as I constantly had to go back and re-read the material to ensure that I understood what was being said. The reason for this irritation was the extremely poor punctuation and grammar plus a number of spelling mistakes.

Despite these criticisms, I would still recommend the book however it will take a lot more time to digest than would normally be expected.