Asia: Wealth Management

Under Australian superannuation law, limited recourse borrowing arrangements typically require separate bare trusts for each asset acquired by an SMSF. However, certain exceptions allow multiple assets to be held in a single bare trust, including identical assets purchased simultaneously, permanent fixtures spanning multiple titles, and assets legally required to be dealt with together. Understanding these nuanced rules is critical to avoid serious compliance, tax, and duty implications.

Recent legislative changes have restricted how self-managed superannuation funds can use limited recourse borrowing arrangements, particularly for residential property acquisitions. Business owners and primary producers may still leverage these arrangements to acquire commercial premises and farming land through their SMSFs. Understanding the new definition of business real property and available investment options is crucial for SMSF trustees navigating these regulatory changes.

When a settlor-beneficiary requests the sale of real estate held through a trust-owned company, can the trustee simply inform the directors and step back? This article examines the trustee's active supervision obligations under the Bartlett duty, explores how anti-Bartlett clauses operate in practice, and reveals why professional trustees cannot shelter behind the corporate veil when conflicts of interest arise within the same corporate group.