The Australian Financial Review --- Page: 39 : 27 February 2008 Original article by Zoe Fielding
LexisNexis Summary
Changes that came into effect in September 2007 allow Australian superannuation funds to invest in a range of derivatives. Specifically, the amendment permits investment in derivatives that allow gearing into any asset a fund could otherwise buy directly. Under the arrangements, investors can provide upfront a small portion of an asset's price and borrow the remainder. Money can even be lent to a fund manager's own self-managed super fund, provided the loans are "limited recourse". However, it can be costly for self-managed super funds to establish such lending arrangements themselves. The Australian Taxation Office estimates there are currently about 370,000 self-managed Australian super funds, with a total of $A313 billion in assets.
