Q: Can you please explain how investments are taxed in self-managed super funds where members have both pensions and accumulation accounts? I’m particularly interested in how capital gains are treated and what records must be kept and for how long. George.

A: There are some important broad principles that apply when addressing your question. First, says accountant and SMSF specialist adviser Peter Fry of SCM Financial Group in Melbourne, it must be remembered that tax is calculated at the fund level and not an individual member level and that any capital gains are calculated separately, then included in the assessable income of the fund.