Q: My mother (77) and I (52) are directors of a company that has managed her $900,000 self-managed super fund since my father died. She is the sole member and I help her with the paperwork. My own super is in an industry fund. The SMSF follows an investment strategy dad set up and based on the minimum pension withdrawal requirements. But her low spending habits mean mum is ending up with large amounts of cash outside the fund.

The investments inside and outside the SMSF are in managed funds, but some are not performing well. I believe she could do better and wonder if there is a way to maintain the value of her investments. I have also wondered about switching it over to an industry fund, because I don’t like making investment decisions about her money. Allysa