An SMSFSelf-managed super fund. A super fund run by its members, who are also its trustees. Up to six members. can hold an impact investment when its trust deed and its written investment strategy allow it, and the investment meets super law, including the sole purpose testThe rule that an SMSF exists only to provide retirement benefits to its members, or death benefits to their beneficiaries. and the arm’s lengthOn commercial terms, at true market value, as between strangers. rules. Whether a particular fund belongs in a particular SMSF is the trustees’ decision.
inaam welcomes SMSFs and family trusts. The minimum to invest in the fund is $100 and the subscription is $10 a month, the same as for an individual. The fund’s TMDTarget Market Determination. Who a product is designed for, in writing. says it is designed for people investing no more than 10% of their capital in it, who can leave it for three to seven years, which is how a satellite slice of a larger SMSF tends to look. General information only, not financial advice.
why more trustees are asking
The ASX Australian Investor Study 2026 found SMSF set-ups at a record. 48,464 were set up in the 12 months to December 2025, a record, taking the total to about 664,000. Among investors without one, 20% said they were considering setting one up in the next 12 months, double the 10% of 2023, and one in three within two years.
| share of SMSF investors who named it | |
|---|---|
| more control of my investments | 65% |
| to achieve better returns | 38% |
| greater transparency of investments | 31% |
| I can make better investments than super funds | 29% |
| more tax effective | 21% |
Those are the main reasons for setting one up, from Investment Trends’ 2025 SMSF research, which the study quotes. The study also found SMSF investors more likely than other investors to want to protect their assets against market falls (28% against 19%), to balance growth against risk (26% against 19%) and to plan how their children will inherit (18% against 14%). The median SMSF investor’s portfolio was $740,000.
what trustees take on
control is a reason, and a job
Choosing every investment is the point of an SMSF. It also makes the trustees responsible for every one of them, and for the paperwork that shows why each one is there.
what the ATO asks of every investment
The ATO says every investment an SMSF makes must:
- be permitted by the fund’s trust deed and made in line with super law;
- show clear legal ownership by the fund;
- be made on a commercial arm’s length basis and reflect true market value;
- meet the sole purpose test: the fund exists to provide retirement benefits to its members, or death benefits to their beneficiaries.
Super law also requires a written investment strategy, tailored to the fund, put into practice and reviewed regularly. The ATO says it should explain how the investments meet each member’s retirement objectives, and consider:
- the risk and likely return of the fund’s investments;
- their composition and diversity, and the risks of too little diversification;
- how easily the assets can be turned into cash to meet expenses and pay benefits;
- whether to hold insurance cover for each member.
The full text is on the ATO’s your investment strategy page. Moneysmart is direct about the rest: running an SMSF takes time, effort and skill, the trustees are responsible for keeping it compliant, and complaints about an SMSF cannot be taken to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
where an impact fund can sit
One common way to build a portfolio is core and satellite. The core does the heavy lifting: broad shares, property, cash, fixed interest. A satellite is a smaller holding chosen for a reason the core does not cover, such as a theme, a region, or where the money goes.
An impact fund usually sits as a satellite. The inaam fund is a concentrated one, 23 listed companies across seven impact classes when its holdings were last read, on 23 October 2026, which is exactly the diversification point the ATO asks trustees to weigh. Its TMD sets the size it was designed for: no more than 10% of an investor’s capital, for three to seven years, and not for money needed at short notice. Our core and satellite guide goes through the idea in more detail.
for the strategy
write the reason down
A line on the members’ values, a cap on the size of the slice, and a date to review it make the reason clear to anyone who reads the strategy, the auditor included.
five checks before it goes in
Before an SMSF puts money into any impact fund, ours included, five things are worth checking.
- The deed and the strategy allow it. Read the trust deed, then make sure the written strategy covers the holding and its size.
- Who runs it, and who regulates it. A registered fund has a responsible entityThe company legally responsible for running a registered fund., a PDSProduct Disclosure Statement. What you are investing in, what it costs, and what can go wrong. and a TMD. Moneysmart’s check before you invest page shows how to look up a licence.
- What it holds, and how you will see it. Can the trustees read every company by name, and get the statements the auditor needs each year?
- How fast money comes back. An SMSF paying a pension needs cash on time. Check how withdrawals work and whether the fund pays cash distributions.
- The cost in dollars, at the SMSF’s balance. Add up every fee in the PDS: any subscription, the management costs, the buy-sell spread and any performance fee.
how an SMSF invests with inaam
The account is opened in the app, in the SMSF’s name, and its details are verified when it is opened. The minimum to invest in the fund is $100, as a lump sum or a monthly amount, and the subscription is $10 a month, $120 a year. If you want a hand with an entity account, email hello@inaam.me.
The answers to the five checks, for inaam:
| the inaam fund | |
|---|---|
| who runs it | The inaam Impact Investments Fund, ARSN 691 614 132, a registered managed investment scheme with Primary Securities Ltd as responsible entity. Set out on trust and licensing. |
| what it holds | Every company is named in the app. The selection method is on how it works. |
| the themes | You pick five impact themes and customise them yourself. |
| distributions | Once a year, reinvested in the fund. There are no cash distributions, so cash for a pension comes from a withdrawal. |
| getting money out | A withdrawal can be requested on any day. It usually arrives 2 to 5 business days after the completed form is in. |
| what it costs | The $10 a month subscription, a 0.1% buy-sell spread on the way in and out, and the fund’s other costs as set out in the PDS, including a performance fee that applies only once the fund holds more than $10 million. |
Read the PDS and the TMD before the trustees decide, and take them to the SMSF’s accountant or adviser. They can check the holding against the strategy, which is a question this page cannot answer for any particular fund.
sources
- ASX Australian Investor Study 2026, research by Investment Trends, survey of 4,495 Australian adults in January and February 2026: SMSF set-ups in figure 49 (ATO statistics to December 2025), interest in figure 50, reasons in figure 51 (Investment Trends 2025 SMSF Investor Report), portfolio size in figure 53, goals in table 5.
- ATO, your investment strategy.
- Moneysmart, self-managed super fund.
- The inaam fund’s PDS and TMD.
