RSM Financial Services Australia financial advisers Chris Oates and Lindsay Walker. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
If you’re planning ahead for a comfortable retirement, looking to build wealth or simply want to get on top of your day-to-day finances, a financial planner can help.
Financial planners provide professional guidance on how to earn, save and spend wisely. Whether you need a home loan refinanced or sound financial mentoring, a skilled financial planner will work with you to achieve your financial goals.
In this article, we’ll outline the qualities to consider when choosing a financial planner, and where to find the best in Canberra.
What makes a great financial planner?
It’s normal to feel nervous about engaging a financial planner. After all, while the right advice could put you on the track to financial freedom, misinformed or generic recommendations may leave you worse off than when you started.
It can be helpful to keep the following in mind when choosing a financial planner:
- Experience and qualifications. Financial planners need to meet professional standards, including having completed an approved Bachelor degree (or higher) and a professional year of supervised experience. For added peace of mind, ask whether your financial planner is certified by an organisation such as the Financial Planning Association of Australia before you commit.
- Flexible approach. No two people’s financial situations are the same, and everyone wants something unique out of their future. Rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, the best financial planners understand your individual wants and needs, and can help you make them a reality.
- Investment strategy. Financial planners may specialise in certain approaches to wealth creation or investing. Look for a financial planner whose strategies align with your values and goals. If you’d like to build an property portfolio but still want wiggle room in the budget for an overseas holiday once a year, it’s often easier to do with a financial planner who is an expert in growing wealth through property, for example.
- Do they follow their own advice? If your financial adviser recommends one approach (i.e. investing in the sharemarket), but takes another when it comes to their own personal finances (i.e. investing in property), think twice. Your financial adviser should practice what they preach – or at the very least be able to clearly explain why they are following different recommendations.
The best financial planners in Canberra
Riotact’s editorial team has combed through 20 years of on-site comments to compile a list of the most recommended businesses according to you.
To be listed in our Best of Canberra series, each business needs to have consistently received positive feedback on Riotact and Facebook as well as maintain a minimum average of 4/5 stars on Google.
RSM Financial Services Australia
Regardless of your stage of life, it’s important to secure your future through sound and practical wealth management planning, advice and solutions, tailored to your needs. RSM Financial Services Australia believes this important process involves understanding clients and being clear on what they want to achieve.
RSM Financial Services Australia specialises in the full spectrum of wealth management. Key areas include wealth accumulation, debt management, personal risk, self-managed superannuation and retirement planning (before and after).
The firm’s professional consultants, all qualified Certified Financial Planners® through the Financial Planning Association of Australia, are expert at assessing the many factors that come into play when realising your personal wealth objectives, whether an important financial decision or working towards a lifestyle goal. They’re also expert at explaining options in easy-to-understand language so you can make informed decisions on how to live for today and tomorrow. With RSM’s backing—and ethical and educational approach—you’ll have control over your financial situation and ability to make the most of the future.
Chris Oates, a Certified Financial Planner operating in Canberra, says partnerships are key. “We believe in the power of long-lasting relationships and working closely with clients on comprehensive solutions,” says Chris. “This truly empowers them to make sound financial choices in a world where wealth management can be complex and challenging.”
Having confidence in your financial advisor’s depth of expertise and experience is critical. RSM Financial Services Australia has built local, national and international knowledge over 95 years in business, cementing its reputation as one of the country’s leading professional services firms. The Canberra office also services the South Coast, Goulburn and Cooma regions.
As Tony K, a satisfied client, says on Google, "If you want professional advice on all matters tax, money and wealth/financial management, you have come to the right place."
RSM Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd ABN 22 009 176 354 AFS Licence No 238282Everalls Wealth Management
Everalls Wealth Management are committed to helping build a better financial future for you and your family.
They create comprehensive, goals-based, tax-effective, and ESG-aware strategies and investment portfolios tailored to your unique financial goals. Their commitment to comprehensive, tailored advice and ongoing support ensures you’re not just planning for your future – you’re actively building it! This holistic financial approach means they deliver tailored advice to individuals, business owners, and SMSFs on growing and protecting their income and wealth, including retirement planning and asset protection strategies.
They are a fee-for-service business and do not make any commission on your investments – everything they do, they do for you!
Ann-marie Cott wrote on Google, “We have worked with Bob Chen over the past 8 years and could not ask for a more professional, dedicated and caring financial adviser. Bob has provided us with advice to help build a solid future for our family.”
Nest Advisory Group
In Australia, research shows that more people would rather die than run out of money in retirement. Nest Advisory Group helps clients implement short and long term plans to create, grow and protect their wealth. Its goal is to help clients invest and diversify their wealth across property, local and international shares, managed investments and a wide range of other assets.
It will help you answer two fundamental financial questions: How much money do you need to retire, and when can you do it?
Nest Advisory Group is different because it brings together a team of professionals that clients of all stages of life and business need to implement a comprehensive plan. This includes solicitors, an accountant and bookkeeper, an insurance broker and a real estate agent. Clients can track their goals, progress and portfolio performance, while also accessing ongoing advice and support.
Happy client Steve had this to say about his experience with Nest Advisory on Riotact, "If you are looking for a financial planner that is knowledgeable, well experienced and talks to you in a way that you can understand and relate to, I recommend getting in touch with Nick Lucey, who is the principal at Nest Advisory. He has been my financial planner for the last 3 years. He is super knowledgeable and quick to respond to all my enquires and actually does regularly reviews, which are really helpful. I have used Nest for advice on home loans, insurance and superannuation. They do a lot of things online, which makes it easy to do business with.".
Click here to make an appointment with Nest Advisory.See Clear Wealth Financial Planning
See Clear Wealth Financial Planning is a holistic financial planning firm, specialising in personal insurances, superannuation and government defined benefit schemes. With a combined 30 years of experience in finance, the team at See Clear Wealth helps clients make the right choices for life’s important financial decisions. That includes sorting finances, making more money, saving for something special, buying a property, growing a family, starting a small business, planning for retirement and enjoying life after retirement.
On Facebook, Merrin Starr wrote, “Very knowledgeable and professional financial advisors who respond quickly to enquires and offer sound advice. Would recommend to anyone seeking assistance in this area.”
Green Associates
Green Associates is passionate about creating your financial roadmap now and in the future. A financial planning practice with offices in Canberra, Goulburn and Brisbane, its principals have over 40 years of combined experience and are certified financial planners.
Recognising that clients need different financial advice depending on their life stage, Green Associates' financial planning services range from setting and reaching goals that matter to you now, through to maximising the years when you are likely to earn the most income and enjoying retirement.
Clients Graham and Penny shared their experience with Green Associates as a website testimonial, "Green Associates are a trusted advisor. I have confidence that despite market fluctuations they are doing their best to provide me with a good return."
If you’re looking for more on financial advice, check out our articles on the best defined benefits super financial planners and the best tax accountants in Canberra for some useful information on the top services in town. Or if you’re after advice for your business, read through our articles on the best business advisors and best business lawyers our city has to offer.
Your experience with financial planners in Canberra
Thanks to our commenters who have provided insightful feedback. If you believe we have got it wrong, please let us know.
Have you had experience with any of the financial planners listed above? If so, share your feedback in the comments below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a financial planner do?
Financial planners help you organise your finances and develop strategies to help you achieve your financial objectives over the short, medium and long-term.
Most financial planners have the expertise and capability to advise on a variety of areas, including, but not limited to, to superannuation, retirement planning, investments, insurances, cashflow management, social security, estate planning, debt management and aged care.
How do financial planners get paid?
Financial planners can charge for providing advice in a number of ways, most commonly, asset-based fees, commissions, and fee for service.
Over the past few years and as a result of the Banking Royal Commission, the method of payment for advice has sharply shifted from asset-based fees and commissions to fee for service.
How much does financial advice cost?
Fees for financial advice can vary in cost dependant on what stage you are at in the advice cycle. Generally you will have three sets of fees – initial appointment fee, the plan preparation fee, and the implementation fee.
Initial appointment fees may start as low as $100 and range anywhere up to $500 depending on the time you spend with your adviser and their hourly rate.
Plan preparation fees are the most variable fees payable as they are most often based on the complexity and scope of the advice being provided. Plans that are limited in scope may start at $800, with extremely complex, multi-entity plans ranging up to $20,000.
Implementation fees are dependent on what pieces of the advice need to be implemented. There is no hard and fast set rule with implementation fees, however, these are sometimes built into the plan preparation costs.
Does my financial planner need to be licenced?
Yes, a person who provides financial services must be covered by an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence. There is a Financial Adviser Register managed by ASIC on the Money Smart website. This allows consumers to check that a financial planner is authorised to provide financial advice and find information about an adviser before getting financial advice from them.
When do I need to see a financial planner?
Possibly sooner than you think. Most will leave this decision too late but financial planners can help you through every stage of life, not just retirement. This could include when you are starting a family, you need help with investing or would like to pay off debt faster. Planners can also help you with goal setting, be they personal or financial, but all tied to what you want to achieve.
Can an accountant give me financial advice?
Generally, a person who provides financial services must be covered by an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence. Since 1 July 2016, accountants need to be covered by an AFS licence. This licence may be a full licence like that of a Financial Planner, or a limited licence which will restrict which financial products that can advise on.
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