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My SMSF – CEO of Xpress Super, Olivia Long

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Name: Olivia Long [1]
Age: 36
Other members of your SMSF: I initially set up my SMSF with my mum as I was single and happy to avoid corporate trustee fees. I have subsequently added my husband Mark as a trustee and removed my mum.

How long have you had your SMSF?

Six years.

Why did you start it up?

At just over 30, my balance was just under $50,000, but as a part owner of SuperGuardian my administration was free so I thought why not give it a try. Running my own fund has certainly given me far greater appreciation of the SMSF trustee experience.

How big is it?

My fund is now valued at over $275,000. My husband has decided to keep his superannuation benefits with his corporate super fund (despite the fact I’m getting far better results and keep telling him so).

Is it more or less difficult to manage than you thought it would be?

From an administrative perspective, it’s easy; I do very little which is great, as I hate paperwork. I do struggle with finding time to sit down and consider investments but finding the time is well worth it. Initially, I established my portfolio with a stockbroker but when a few shares turned sour I decided to DIY.

Are you glad you have it?

Absolutely. Despite starting with a small balance, I have significantly out-performed any other superannuation vehicle in such a short space of time.

Are you pleased with its performance?

I lost nearly 2% in the first year of operation due to a couple of failed companies recommended by my stockbroker. To date, my portfolio is up 42% on cost.

What is your asset allocation?

CASH – 32%
INTERNATIONAL EQUITIES – 38%
Xero Ltd (NZ)

LISTED SECURITIES – 30%

BHP Billiton Ltd
CSL Ltd
Dulux Group Ltd
Resmed Inc Chess Depositary Interests 10:1
Santos Ltd
Westpac Banking Corporation

Shares that have brought the portfolio down

Incitec Pivot Ltd (currently at a loss of 64% on cost)
MEO (currently at a loss of 94.98% on cost)
Orica Ltd (currently at a loss of 28.52%)

What are your favourite investments/stocks and why?

I’ll be honest – I’m a mad investor. I have a significant amount of time left until retirement so I can afford to be more aggressive with my strategy. Having been burned by some of the stocks recommended to me, I added BHP and Westpac to my portfolio because I considered them fairly solid investments. However, the most exciting addition to my portfolio has to be Xero Ltd – listed on the New Zealand stock exchange.

Sometimes you just have to know a product and follow your hunch. Xero has launched market leading cloud-based accounting software and I liked it. It was revolutionary, user friendly and I thought blew the competition out of the water. Having built up the cash in my fund during the GFC, I had a large amount ready to invest and I decided to invest a significant amount in Xero (now worth 38% of my portfolio). Definitely a high-risk manoeuvre, but one that has paid off as the stock is currently some 292% up on cost.

However, having said that, my portfolio is now at a level that I need to take it more seriously. I have recently engaged the services of a professional portfolio manager to help me tidy it up. Although I’m happy to take a ‘punt’ with some of it, I really don’t have the time to monitor investment performance that I probably need.

What investments do you have outside of superannuation?

You could say I have a love affair with property. I purchased my first home at age 20 and my first investment property leveraging off that at 22. I then acquired a second investment property at age 24, and have subsequently acquired other properties.

I have shares in SuperGuardian, and use term deposits to maximise cash reserves.

Do you use an advisor or any kind of service provider?

Having experienced the fall-out from some of the shares recommended to me by my adviser, I have appointed a Private Portfolio Manager (O’Kane Investment Services) who has a proven track record of outperforming the market to manage part of my portfolio.

I’m using their Absolute Portfolio, which is the most aggressive portfolio and consists of quality stocks, value stocks and cash/income securities only when quality and value opportunities cannot be identified.

The objective of these portfolios is capital growth and income and having no set allocation to cash/income securities. The benchmark portfolio has 100% exposure to stocks.

What I like about private portfolio management is the transparency of the results to date.

[2]SuperGuardian administers my SMSF, handling all of the administration, providing me daily online reporting to all aspects of my SMSF.

Important: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. Consider the appropriateness of the information in regards to your circumstances.

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