Essential Financial Advice

FAQ’s

How much is it going to cost?

Your initial one hour appointment is a one-off fee of $330 including GST.  Prior to this appointment we will provide you with a document to complete some basic information so that we can get an understanding of what personal advice you are in need of.  This means during the hour together, we spend less time writing down facts, and a lot more time helping you find the best financial solutions.  Following this appointment, we will provide you with a financial proposal outlining the scope of work and costs before any further work is carried out.

What is the process if I need financial advice?

Give us a call or send an email and we will arrange the first meeting with you.  We will send you an email with a checklist of things to bring and a budget planner to complete.  Once we have conducted the first meeting you may decide that you would like us to put together some financial advice for you.  We spend the new few weeks researching and putting together strategies for you, then putting all of this in writing in what is called a Statement of Advice (SOA).  We then meet with you again to go through the SOA in detail and arrange to implement the advice you choose to follow.  Once the advice has been implemented we will contact you in due course for a review.  This could be in 3, 6 or 12 months depending on our agreement with you.

What financial products do you use?

We are not affiliated with any product providers through our licensee and this goes hand in hand with our business model of being an advice based business, not product floggers.  We do have a thoroughly researched approved product list to guide us when providing investment advice.

What services do you offer?

We provide financial advice on a very broad range of areas.  A snapshot of these areas is listed under the services section of our website.  If you require advice on something unique, please get in contact with us and we will let you know if it is something that we may be able to assist you with.

When should I engage a financial planner?

There is no right or wrong time.  Although leaving it until after retirement is not usually recommended!  If you are earning a reasonable income, have the capacity to save (or should have but can’t seem to find it), need help with your superannuation, require some insurance or want to start investing, then now is the time to seek advice.  Typically you won’t just wake up and suddenly have more money.  This comes from disciplined saving and investing over time, and we can help you get started with that.  Often the best time to seek financial advice is if you aren’t getting ahead financially or are slipping backwards.  This is contrary to popular belief that you need to have a certain amount of money or income before you engage a financial planner.

How should I choose a financial planner?

Go to the ASIC money smart website and search ‘choosing a financial adviser’.  There is a lot of good information on this website about choosing a financial planner, as well as financial advice costs, what to look for in advice and working with an adviser.

What will I need to bring to the first appointment?

We will let you know when we book the appointment with you, and we send you an appointment confirmation email with a checklist of things to bring.  They are typically documents which help us to understand your current financial situation, such as pay slips, account balances, investment statements, superannuation statements, insurance policy statements and tax returns if self-employed.