Putting the buzz into the National Conference

One of the key takeaways from the last two years globally has been the benefit of knowledge-sharing to rapidly discover, develop and advance. The SMSF Association is tapping into this concept with their Hivemind themed National Conference being held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on February 22–24.

Hivemind is the collaborative approach to information sharing, with participants coming together as a community to contribute as much as they gain, in order to collectively strengthen their knowledge and expertise.

SMSF Association CEO John Maroney says: “Speaking with members over the past year, it has become apparent that attending our National Conference and hearing from some of the brightest minds in the SMSF industry, as well as having these unique networking opportunities facilitated, is of great benefit to their careers.

“In having access to this vibrant community and wealth of knowledge, our members are stronger together.

Attending National Conference sets up attendees to be able to best educate their clients on key issues such as a death in the family or preparing for retirement.

“It not just a matter of examining these issues from a regulatory or tax perspective. They are often complex and emotional issues and as such there are often ethical considerations as well.

“In devising the 2023 content, we have ensured a well-rounded program to best support our attendees working in the superannuation advice sector.”

“Many of the strategies covered in the sessions are equally relevant to members of APRA regulated funds.”

“So even if you don’t currently provide SMSF advice or have SMSF clients, from a technical knowledge and networking perspective, there is still much to gain from attending our National Conference – and off course learning more about the new opportunities SMSFs can provide”, Maroney said.

The Quality of Advice Review – the final report is due in December – will also come under the microscope with a panel session being devoted to discussing its recommendations.

Allens Partner and Quality of Advice Reviewer Michelle Levy will lead the four-member panel also comprising Sarah Abood, CEO, the Financial Planning Association, Paul Barrett, CEO, AZ Next Generation Advisory, and Maroney. It will be hosted by The Inside Network’s Managing Editor, Tahn Sharpe.

Maroney says: “The Quality of Advice Review is a session that we felt was a pivotal inclusion on the agenda and that a panel discussion was the best format to allow the audience to ask questions of industry leaders such as Levy. We had the same format at the Technical Summit held in late July and it proved extremely popular with members.”

Other regular sessions will be SMSF Association Deputy CEO/Director of Policy and Education, Peter Burgess, kicking off the conference with his traditional legislative update session and Heffron Consulting, Manager Director, Meg Heffron’s very popular strategy update session aptly titled “Why Bee in an SMSF?”

To view the program and register for early bird, please click here.