An SMSF needs its own bank account.
If you want your SMSF to invest in crypto, the bank account must support this and not block transfers to your chosen cryptocurrency exchange.
Grow enables you to choose the BOQ Money Market Account (via DDH Graham) for the following reasons:
It is important to note that using the BOQ Money Market Account to use Grow SMSF’s services is not compulsory. We will only provide you with information on the BOQ Money Market Account and assist you with the administrative aspects of setting up the account based on your instructions. Please refer to our Advice Disclaimer for further information.
Learn and compare SMSF bank account options here: Account Comparison
Yes. One of the most fundamental principles of a self-managed super fund is separation of assets. A separate cryptocurrency exchange account is needed in the name of the SMSF. Separation of assets means that assets, accounts and investments of an SMSF must be in the name of the trustee of the fund on behalf of the SMSF and cannot be mixed or intertwined with assets and investments of the members / trustees of the fund. If a trustee fails to keep assets of an SMSF separate the breach of the regulations must be reported to the ATO by the independent auditor of the fund. The trustee(s) could be personally fined or in extreme cases the ATO may deem the fund non-complying
The following is direct form the ATO who regulate SMSFs and enforce the rules when it comes to diversification: “While a trustee can choose to invest all their retirement savings in one asset or asset class, certain risks such as return, volatility and liquidity risks can be minimised if a trustee chooses to invest in a variety of assets. This is called a diversified portfolio which helps to spread investment risk.” Regardless of what you think about cryptocurrency as an investment, it is a very new and emerging asset class that has high level of volatility. With Grow, we support not just cryptocurrency SMSF investments, but also ASX shares and ETFs as well as US stocks and ETFs. This enables SMSF trustees to put together a well-diversified investment portfolio and ensure they meet the diversification requirements. Can an SMSF be invested 100% in cryptocurrency assets? No one can stop an SMSF trustee from investing a large portion of the funds portfolio into crypto (or any asset class), however the onus is on them to validate why the lack of diversification (and the high level of risk) is appropriate for their fund.
It’s important to understand that for an SMSF to invest in cryptocurrency, the wallet address associated with the holdings must be in the name of the SMSF. Non-Australian crypto exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase etc. DO NOT SUPPORT SMSF ACCOUNTS, which makes registering an SMSF account with these exchanges impossible and still meets the strict compliance rules that self-managed super funds must comply with. Therefore, Grow supports the following popular Australian-based businesses that support SMSF accounts and have adequate reporting that will satisfy our independent auditors and the ATO:
This list may expand over time. If you have an enquiry about a different crypto exchange, please contact us. Grow supports most Australian-based exchanges and crypto on external wallets (including cold storage).
You can compare fees and pricing via Coinstacker.
There are a number of differences if you were to compare Grow SMSF to many of the low cost online only service providers available. We recommend anyone comparing SMSF service providers look at the following as part of their research:
The above is not a comprehensive list. Take a look at our blog to find more specific information on comparing Grow SMSF to other service providers.
As soon as cryptocurrency SMSF assets are transferred off the exchange to an external wallet (including a cold-storage wallet) tracking and reporting become more cumbersome and manual. In addition, where SMSF crypto assets are held under an external wallet address, extra audit work and declarations are required to confirm the beneficial ownership of those assets is with the SMSF. For clarity, Grow will levy an additional fee of $220 per annum per external wallet to compensate for the additional manual work required. This is one of the few additional fees.
External wallets are supported across ALL PACKAGES including Starter, Flexi and BESPOKE.