Within the financial services industry, people look to Aaron to learn more about self-managed super and the growth of the sector.  Highly admired amongst his peers, Aaron’s insights into technical issues and the SMSF industry sees him regularly sort out to participate in Government reviews, including the Super System Review and more recently the ‘Reinventing the ATO’ program.  Aaron is the CEO and Co-founder of Smarter SMSF, a business that provides training, documents and support for accountants and financial planners to equip them to be at the top of their game.  He is also the author of the Future of SMSF report which provides insights into how practitioners are helping to shape a smarter SMSF future.  Aaron is a CPA and SMSF Specialist Advisor, having worked within the SMSF sector for more than 20 years.  When he's not busy with his work, Aaron is a sports nut, in particular AFL football (Essendon) and athletics, where he was previously a nationally ranked high jumper having set a personal best jump of 2.14m.

Julie has more than 30 years of experience in the superannuation industry as a technical specialist, consultant and client services manager. Julie is responsible for the provision of superannuation technical information, specialising in small funds.

Julie is passionate about helping people with the technical aspects of super, keeping it simple and in helping practitioners provide quality services to their clients. She is a regular speaker at industry conferences and training events and is a regular contributor to industry publications.

Julie is a Fellow and accredited SMSF Specialist Advisor™ with the SMSF Association, a Senior Fellow of Finsia and a Fellow of ASFA. Julie was awarded the SMSF Association’s 2020 Chair Award for outstanding contribution to the SMSF industry.

Our next presenter is Lauren Ryan, Business Development Manager for Investments at Thinktank Property Finance. Since joining Thinktank in March 2018, Lauren has significantly increased brand awareness in the investment market and expanded funds under management in the Income and High Yield Trusts.

Liz Westover is a Partner and the National SMSF Leader at Deloitte. She is responsible for the firm’s SMSF service offering providing compliance and advisory services to the firm’s clients. 

Liz has extensive experience in superannuation and has strong capabilities on the technical and practical application of superannuation and associated tax laws. She is a regular commentator on superannuation and self-managed super funds (SMSFs) having presented and authored articles on these and related issues for many years.

Liz has been involved in superannuation policy development and advocacy, regularly liaising and consulting with Government, regulators and stakeholders on technical, legislative and policy matters.

She is a Fellow of The Tax Institute, Fellow Chartered Accountant, CA SMSF specialist and holds a Master of Legal Studies from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Business from the University of South Australia.

Mena Theodorou serves as the Head of Product at Coinstash, where he leads the development and execution of the Coinstash platform. With extensive experience in digital assets, Mena has been an active contributor to the cryptocurrency domain since 2013. Prior to co-founding Coinstash, he oversaw several software-centric enterprises and managed a comprehensive cryptocurrency mining operation.

Michael Watson is Director, Head of Distribution at La Trobe Financial.

Michael has over 20 years’ experience in financial services and joined the business in 2013.

Prior to joining La Trobe Financial, Michael’s career has spanned diverse disciplines including credit, portfolio, marketing and distribution with Big 4 Australian banks and an NBFI.

Michael holds an MBA from Deakin University, a Bachelor of Business (Economics & Marketing) from La Trobe University, and additionally obtained a Diploma of Financial Planning and a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking. Michael resides in Melbourne.

Scott is a partner in Brisbane law firm Cooper Grace Ward and a director of the SMSF Association.

He and his team specialise in assisting clients and their other advisers including accountants and financial planners with tax and superannuation (particularly SMSFs) advice; estate planning, administration and disputes; family businesses, business structuring; business succession arrangements; asset protection and restructuring. Scott has a particular interest in how these areas intersect with self-managed superannuation funds and the impact of and on these structures.

He is a director of the SMSF Association and a SMSF Specialist Advisor™ with the SMSF Association, a Chartered Tax Adviser, a member of the Society of Trust and Estate practitioners. Scott chairs the Cooper Grace Ward Diversity Committee and its ARCUS sub-group, and is the leader of the firm’s Private Client Commercial group.

Scott been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 14th Edition of Best Lawyers in Australia in the practice areas of: Superannuation Law, Trusts and Estates, Wealth Management / Succession Planning Practice and Commercial Law. He was named the 2016 Brisbane Wealth Management/Succession Planning practice ‘Lawyer of the Year’ and the Superannuation ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for 2019 and 2022.

Scott has been listed in Doyle’s Guide for Queensland Estate Planning lawyers as a pre-eminent practitioner, and was a finalist in the Australasian Law Awards for ‘Commercial Partner of the Year’ for 2020. He has a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Business (Accy) from the Queensland University of Technology. Scott also has also completed the Certificate of Superannuation Management and the Diploma of Superannuation Management run through ASFA and Macquarie University, and the Foundation Diploma of Financial Planning.

Simon Ho is the Head of SMSF Strategy at Coinstash, where he helps Coinstash's accounting partners eliminate the compliance headaches associated with cryptocurrency investments in SMSFs. Simon is an admitted lawyer and tax advisor with extensive experience in tax, audit, and accounting. Prior to joining Coinstash, he worked at the ATO, KPMG, and held various in-house tax and finance roles.