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Personal Financial Advice
Personal financial advice is designed to offer tailored support based on your individual circumstances. Each consultation is personalised, ensuring that the advice provided is relevant to your specific financial needs and goals. In order to recommend specific investments, insurances and strategies it is a legal requirement that personal financial advice is reported to you in a formal document called a Statement of Advice. This Statement is very comprehensive and will be prepared and sent to you usually within a month of your meeting.
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Personal financial advice is the most expensive of our services due to the level of detail involved and the time it takes to produce a Statement of Advice. We invite clients to view this service as an investment in their long term financial health and although the initial cost can be daunting it will provide a solid foundation for your personal finances. While many clients do not require personal financial advice (i.e general advice is sufficient) we encourage clients to seek personal financial advice in the following circumstances:
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If they have never sought personal financial advice before.
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If their financial or personal circumstances have substantially changed since the last time they sought personal advice.
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If they consider ther financial literacy to be low.
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If they need specific products (i.e investments, insurance etc.) recommended.
Superannuation Advice
Superannuation is a tax-effective structure designed to help individuals accumulate wealth for retirement. While not an investment itself, it offers significant tax advantages, such as a 15% tax on income and 10% on capital gains, or zero tax for pensions.
It allows for funding of life, TPD, and income protection insurance, and salary sacrifice into superannuation is often one of the first strategies discussed with clients. Common advice includes fund and investment choice, salary sacrifice, insurance, non-concessional contributions, and pension commencement.
Retirement Planning
Retirement planning involves providing advice across various areas, with superannuation often playing a key role. However, it also considers non-superannuation assets, casual work in retirement, Age Pension entitlements, and estate planning.
We can help assess your current financial situation, determine how much money you'll need for retirement, and develop a tailored plan to achieve your goals. We will recommend appropriate investments and savings strategies, and periodically monitor and adjust your plan as needed to ensure you stay on track for a comfortable retirement.
Investments
Andep Investment Consultancy offers what we call “light touch” investment advice for clients. All investments suggested to clients will be “set and forget”. We are also happy for clients to come to us with a list of shares, or other investments, that they are interested in purchasing and we can run through the list together and discuss the suitability of each one.
We carefully consider our clients’ investment objectives and risk tolerance before recommending any investments. We do not charge ongoing fees and, as such, do not offer ongoing monitoring of client portfolios. We believe clients should retain as much control over their investments as possible but we are always here to help them as much or as little as they need.
We will help clients develop a strategy for investing, including the optimal ownership structure, and will also suggest investments (as part of our personal advice service) if clients are uncomfortable choosing their own.
Insurance advice
Insurance is essential for protecting against rare events with severe financial consequences, particularly for individuals with large debts, young children, or those far from retirement. It provides financial relief in the event of sickness, injury, or death.
Choosing the right insurance requires consideration of factors such as coverage value, premium funding options, and whether to separate insurance from superannuation. We offer advice on life, TPD, income protection, and trauma insurance, ensuring policies are set up correctly or adjusted as needed.
We also provide a commission rebate service for clients with existing policies to potentially reduce costs, guaranteeing conflict-free recommendations.
Estate Planning
Most clients have very simple estate planning needs that only require fairly basic documentation.
However, estate planning can get complicated for a number of reasons and in these circumstances it can take a lawyer, financial planner and/or an accountant to all cooperate to ensure that your intentions are fulfilled.
Social Security & Centrelink Advice
Social security rules can be complex and frequently change, but a financial adviser can help maximise pension benefits. This is especially true in circumstances where one partner in a couple is significantly younger or if your financial affairs are complicated. While the Age Pension is the most common entitlement we assist with, there are several other government pensions that can be enhanced through simple strategies.
SMSF Advice
Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) are suitable for only a small number of people, and it is crucial to seek independent financial advice before setting one up. Many companies promote SMSFs to sell real estate investments, which may not be appropriate for investors.
Additionally, accountants, though generally ethical, can sometimes be incentivised to recommend SMSFs for higher fees. Andep Investment Consultancy offers unbiased advice without commissions or conflicted remuneration. We assist clients with SMSF investment choices, insurance decisions, and compliance, often involving their accountant in the process.
While we typically discourage SMSF setups, we can guide you if it's the right option. Contact us for further assistance.
Debt Management
Debt can cause significant financial stress, but effective debt management can help regain control. Debt management involves organising and prioritising debts, creating a plan to pay them off, negotiating with creditors for better terms, and adjusting spending habits to reduce the overall debt burden.
A financial planner can assist in developing a clear repayment strategy, helping you efficiently tackle debts like credit cards, HECS/HELP loans, and mortgages. For those in severe financial hardship, seeing a financial counsellor may be a more appropriate first step.
With the right strategies, you can take control of your debt and improve your financial future.
UK Pension Transfers
UK pension fund members who have become Australian residents can transfer their UK pension equities to Australian superannuation funds registered as Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS).
Following changes on 1 July 2015, most Australian super funds lost their QROPS status due to rules allowing early access to super in certain circumstances. Since then, new funds have emerged, generally limited to those over age 55.
We assist clients in deciding if and when to transfer their UK pensions to Australia. Contact us to discuss your pension options with an adviser.
OUR PROCESS & WHAT TO EXPECT
Because some of our fees are based around hourly rates and the time the advice process will take is not clear at the outset, the ultimate fee clients pay is often uncertain. The table below attempts to give prospective clients a guide on what to expect from our process and what the final cost will be.
GENERAL ADVICE
PERSONAL ADVICE (SCOPED)
PERSONAL ADVICE (FULL)
Pre reading prior to the meeting (5-20 mins)
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Initial meeting containing factual information and general advice only (30-90 mins)
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Adviser writes up of notes of what was discussed in the meeting (20-60 mins)
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Those notes are peer reviewed by a fellow adviser before they are sent to the client
(5-20 mins)
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End of process
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Expected final cost (hourly rates): $550-$1,200 depending on the adviser seen and length of the discussion
Pre reading prior to the meeting (5-20 mins)
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Initial meeting discussing your personal financial issues (30-90 mins)
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Adviser writes up of notes of what was discussed in the meeting (20-60 mins)
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Those notes are peer reviewed by a fellow adviser before they are sent to the client
(5-20 mins)
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Restricted statement of advice on one issue is prepared (2-4 hours)
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Restricted statement of advice peer reviewed by a fellow adviser (20-60 mins)
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If needed, a follow up meeting with clients to help with implementation of recommendations in the statement of advice. (15-60 mins)
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Unlimited emails back and forth until the advice is successfully implemented
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End of process
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Expected final cost: $1,800-$2,750 depending on the adviser seen and complexity/length of the report
Pre reading prior to the meeting (5-20 mins)
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Initial meeting discussing your personal financial issues (30-90 mins)
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Adviser writes up of notes of what was discussed in the meeting (20-60 mins)
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โThose notes are peer reviewed by a fellow adviser before they are sent to the client
(5-20 mins)
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Full statement of advice is prepared
(4-10 hours)
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Full statement of advice peer reviewed by a fellow adviser (20-60 mins)
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If needed, a follow up meeting with clients to help with implementation of recommendations in the statement of advice. (15-60 mins)
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Unlimited emails back and forth until the advice is successfully implemented
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End of process
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Expected final cost: $2,800-$4,000 depending on the adviser seen and complexity/length of the report
For certainty of the final fee, fixed fees can be quoted for all of the above at the clientโs request.
More about our fees
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We do not charge any ongoing fees and we leave it up to the client how frequently we review their situation. We have an analogy that a financial plan is like a will, one should always have one but it only needs to be updated when your circumstances change.
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An advantage of not accepting commissions on insurance products is that clients receive an approximate 30% discount on personal insurance premiums for policies arranged by Andep.
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Some advisers offer โfreeโ initial appointments. All Andep has to โsellโ is our time and as such are unable to offer free initial appointments. Often clients will only require a single appointment with one of our advisers as our appointments are so comprehensive and any further service would be unnecessary and over servicing.
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The fees clients can expect to pay for advice depend on the complexity of their situation and the level of reporting and assistance required. Please refer to the guidance above. Often clients simply need to speak to an adviser to discuss their situation generally and a full Statement of Advice (a formal report usually 30+ pages in length) is not needed.
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Fees can be paid by direct deposit, credit card or cheque. In some cases fees can be deducted from superannuation or other investments. If fees are paid directly, they can sometimes be claimed as a tax deduction.
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Click here to download a copy of our Financial Services Guide (FSG).
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