1
“John, we have this insurance an adviser set up for us ages ago. We like being insured but it’s expensive.”
Most adviser insurance policies still include a commission to the adviser who put it into place. When one of my clients has one of these policies, I either remove the commissions which gives them a cheaper premium or, I rebate the commission to them. For some clients, this can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year.
2
“My accountant helped me set up an SMSF but as they couldn’t help with investment advice, it is still 100% in cash.”
Accountants are often more comfortable with an Independent Adviser because they know the Adviser has no financial incentives that could affect their advice. This can make it easier for us to communicate and work together to develop a suitable financial plan for a client that includes investments.
3
“We got a plan off another financial adviser, but we didn’t do anything with it because it just didn’t feel right for us.”
Independent financial advisers have no conflicted payments or relationships that can bias any advice to clients. This means when an independent adviser thinks something is a good idea for you, then it probably is.
4
“My adviser just wanted to talk about shares and insurance. They weren’t interested in the other things I wanted to talk about.”
With no financial conflicts, there is no influence on an independent adviser to seek a particular outcome. This makes it easy to have a genuine interest in the whole you and the balance between friends, family, travel, study, wellness, charitable works and how your finances can work best for you.
5
“I got advice from my super fund, but they just suggested I put some extra money into super and I am not sure about locking money away until I retire.”
Since independent advice means there are no ties to one particular outcome, so we talk about when you need the money, how much you value saving tax as well as your personal, work and lifestyle ambitions and then come up with a plan that considers those things.
John Hicks
hicksifa.com.au
201/175B Stephen St, Yarraville
john@hicksifa.com.au
03 9028 8598
John Hicks is an Independent Financial Adviser in Yarraville (Authorised Representative Number 1255240) of Independent Financial Advisers Australia Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 464629). He is also a member of the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers (PIFA) a group for unconflicted financial advisers who; charge no commissions, do not charge based on a percentage of your assets and have no links to a financial product provider.
John Hicks can provide one-off advice as well as ongoing support or even education/coaching sessions for those who prefer a DIY approach. You can find more information about his services at www.hicksifa.com.au. Alternatively, a map of Independent Financial Adviser’s in Victoria on PIFA is here: https://pifa.org.au/places/category/vic/
