The Planning Process

The Financial planning process can provide you with straight-forward recommendations for simple strategies or products right through to highly complex solutions to a broad range of issues. The fundamental financial planning process will remain quite straight forward regardless of the complexity of the underlying work being done. Here is a list of steps you can expect when obtaining professional financial advice:

1. Initial Consultation

Here is the chance for you to look more closely at our business and to get an impression of the adviser you will potentially be working with. Most of our clients have come to us through referrals from existing clients so they would already have some idea of who we are, what we do and the advice offered by the specific financial adviser. However, if this is not the case then the initial interview is where you can find out these points and clarify your preferences.

2. Should you decide to proceed

If you choose to proceed and decide to engage our services then your adviser will help you to complete a Personal Financial Profile, which confirms your current financial position, financial goals and desires. The profile will also include confirmation of the services you require and the associated fees.

3. Research and preparation of Statement of Advice

Your adviser will consider your financial objectives and look at strategies that have the potential to meet them. In most cases there will be more than one strategy that is suitable, in which case your adviser will need to balance the pro’s and con’s associated with each prior to settling on a particular direction. The level of research undertaken will depend upon the advice that you require.

4. Meeting to discuss Statement of Advice

This is the name given to the primary document in which your adviser research results and recommendations are presented.

5. Implementation decision

Should you wish to have us implement the recommendations in the Statement of Advice then we would liaise with relevant institutions to ensure your financial plans are correctly established.

6. If you choose our Implementation Service

Should you prefer that we implement recommendations, we will ask you to sign a declaration and consent form.

The form sets out specifics of the implementation services and any associated fees.

7. Post-implementation Meeting

All accounts and cashflows will be confirmed.

8. Ongoing Advice & Service Plan decision

Your adviser will discuss which of the ongoing Advice & Service plans would suit your long term objectives.

A schedule for follow-up and progress monitoring will be discussed and established.

Should you want an independent view of the financial planning process, simply visit the government website Moneysmart.

---

Further Reading:

• The Initial Consultation
• Research and Investigation
• The Statement of Advice
• Implementation Service
• Ongoing Advice & Service Plans
• Fees and Costs Overview