What is their role? To help with financial control of your money and/or assets, to help with investments
What do they do? They can do as little or as much as you like them to do. So if you want some guidance with your super, they can help. If you need some assistance with managing your money and/or assets, they can help. They can help you sort your life out financially.
Where do I find a good one/what should I be looking for? Finding a good one, best thing is word of mouth. Failing that, shop around. The bigger companies are not necessarily the better companies.
Do they cost money? Yes. There is no flat rate for a fianancial advisor. I know some banks (usually the big 4) have financial advisors. I'm not sure that they charge a fee though. But private ones certainly do.
They can also advise you re: appropriate insurance products (life, income protection, etc.). Often, say if you have a mortgage, this is really all a good one should be talking to you about as the honest ones will tell you that there's basically no investment that will return (after taxes) an amount equal to the interest rate on your mortgage. Therefore, the best thing one can do if one has a mortgage is pay it off or, put excess cash into the offset account.
They also can advise re: super and help you project what you will need and whether you should increase the mandatory contribution.
Last edited by buliej; June 21st, 2010 at 05:14 PM.
: I forgot about the super part of their advice
We've just appointed one in the last month and so far he has advised up on super and has set up new funds for us and we will be rolling our super into them. He is also arranging new life and income protection insurance.
We found ours though a relative and he came highly recommended so perhaps ask around your family
Hi Sunshine, I work with financial planners, and DH & I have been to see one. We primarily went there for insurance, so the first thing he asked us was how much debt we have. He made sure our life insurance, TPD & trauma insurance was enough to cover all debt plus a bit extra should anything happen to either of us. He also got us sorted with income protection (the premium for this is tax deductible too, so that's handy).
Next he asked us about our financial goals - which at the time were to pay off our personal loan, then start working on reducing our home loan so we can build equity in our house and maybe one day have an investment property. He was great, helped with working out small steps to reach our goals.
If you need I can also explain a little better what all the types of insurance are and how they work.
As for choosing one, I just went with the local fella at the bank cos that's where I work. But I'd have a good look at their fee structures, some get paid more for offering particular products, and some get paid more for selling larger insurance packages, even if you don't need it. I agree word of mouth is a good way to go
The other posters have given you great advice hon, but thought I would add my two cents worth in regard to choosing one and the fee side of things.
From what I know there are basically two types, those who charge a fee for service (ie, you pay $x per hour/appt etc) or those who may charge you a fee and accept commissions.
After 10 years of working in the finance industry I honestly believe that you will get the best advice if you go to a fee for service planner who DOESN'T accept commissions. I have come across so many people in the past who have been to see a planner thinking it was the best thing for them only to be put in super funds that cost them more than the ones they were in, return less and then cost them a fortune to get out of. I've also seen people talked into taking out expensive death and tpd insurance policies when they could've gotten the same cover much cheaper from their super fund with the premiums coming out of their pre-tax super contributions.
I tend to think that if a planner is getting paid commissions for putting their client/s into a certain product or fund then it is really difficult for their advice to be unbiased, why would they recommend a fund (like an industry super fund) if they won't get a commission from it but they will from another IYKWIM?
If you're a member of an industry super fund or a union you can get commission free financial advice from IFFP (just google it to get their website). It could be a good place to start, but as the others have said a positive experience from a friend or family member is also a great starting point. If it was me, I would probably meet with a couple before deciding who to go with, after all you are trusting them with your financial security.
Financial Planners - new at this. Lots of questions
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