All investments in a DIY Super Fund should satisfy a sole purpose test. Objective of the sole purpose test is to ensure that the primary purpose of maintaining superannuation funds is to provide retirement benefits to the members of the fund (or their dependents in instances where the person dies before reaching their retirement age).

The sole purpose test comprises both
1) Core purposes and
2) Ancillary purposes.

A regulated DIY Super fund must be maintained for at least

• One core purpose, or at least
• One core purpose and one or more ancillary purpose.

A DIY Super Fund cannot be operated solely for an ancillary purpose. If a DIY Super Fund fails to meet this requirement of a regulated fund, it would lose its concessional treatment under the SIS Act provisions.
Trustees are responsible for investing Super money for its core purposes. Mainly the core purposes are the provision of benefits to the member on retirement or on or after the age of 65.
A core purpose could be paying a benefit to members in one or more of the following events:

• On or after retirement from gainful employment;
• Attaining a prescribed age; and
• On the death of the member to his / her dependants .

For the ancillary purposes it is the provision of benefits in other circumstances such as

• Retirement from work due to ill health,
• Death of member after retirement,
• Any other purpose which the regulator permits

There are several other investment-related issues of DIY Super Fund.

• Each Fund must have an investment strategy;
• Certain Investments are not allowed
• Lending to members or their relatives;
• Acquiring assets from related parties;
• In-house assets;
• 'Arm's length' transactions;
• Borrowing by a fund;

Trustees are responsible for investing the funds.