FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Financial planning is a process in helping you get from where you are today to where you want to be in the future by developing suitable financial strategies for you.

Financial planning takes into account your overall financial situation and whilst many people who seek financial planning advice have money to invest this is not a necessary requirement in engaging in a financial planning relationship.

Quite simply successful people obtain professional financial advice, so why shouldn’t you?  One of the greatest myths that we have seen over the years in financial planning is that people think is that they do not have enough money to see a financial planner or that they can do a better job of managing their own financial affairs.

The financial world is complex, and legislation is very often changing and financial planners are required by law to keep abreast of these changes.

However even if your situation is not complex a financial planner can help you to take an objective view of your finances because we are not emotionally involved in them.

Financial planners are trained to consider the various possibilities that may be available in helping you achieve your financial objectives.

We believe our fee-for-service offer is different to commissions simply because we charge our clients a fee whether we invest their money or not.  In recent times we have noticed many financial planners are now advertising a “fee-for-service” offer.  Be careful however because this is usually based this on the amount of money they are managing for you and could be considered a commission by another name.

Our fees are structured based on the service that we provide and can either be a fixed dollar charge, or a combination of fixed dollar and asset based fee.  Further details can be found in our Financial Services Guide.

Now! it is never too late or too early to start, in fact the sooner you start the better off you will be in the future.

Our first meeting is both cost and obligation free.  During that meeting we will determine whether or not we will be able to help you, and provide you with some indication of how much our fees are likely to be in your situation.

Andrew Rowan is a Certified Financial Planner, and holds a Diploma of Financial Planning.

Andrew Rowan first began providing financial planning advice in partnership as a licensed representative (proper authority holder) in 1992.  Since 2001 he has operated under his own licence.

The FPA publish an excellent guide on how to choose a financial planner and you can download it from here.

Generally speaking though you should follow these simple rules (taken from the publication)

• Choose a financial planning professional who is a member of the FPA.
• Ask a friend for a referral.
• First talk to a certified financial planner (CFP®).
• Ask questions.
• Do some background work.