Financial Planning in Perth

What does the term “Financial Planning” mean to you? Everyone seems to have a different take on just what financial planning entails and what Financial Planners actually do. This is quite logical, as understanding money involves far more than just understanding one single issue. Therefore, expect financial planners to vary considerably in what they do, how they do it, the scope of strategies they can utilise, which products (if any) they are allowed to use towards meeting your objectives, and the levels of fees and bias that you will encounter along the way.
The Federal Government regulator, ASIC, has invested a lot of money to provide broader knowledge on understanding money, including the role of financial planners. The website MoneySmart provides a raft of such information. It’s a great place to start learning about financial planning – aside from this website, of course! The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) has a website providing information on what financial planners do, which standards members of the FPA must adhere to, and links to finding a Financial Planner near you.
At the local level, what about the financial planning people that are already close to you, and to who you are more likely to turn to for advice?

Financial Planning – Fees and Bias

I certainly understand that finding a financial planner is not as easy as it seems. Who can you trust, and do you know what bias and preference they operate from? One very simle way of finding out is to ask who owns the business which holds the licence under which the financial planner operates. You see, all financial planners must hold a licence from a “Dealer”, who in turn is licenced through ASIC. Clearly, if a large institution holds the licence, and they also offer their own products then there is a higher likelihood of that ownership providing some form of bias through the selling of associated products.

The business that i am a part of and the planners in our business hold licences issued by RI Advice Group Pty Ltd, which is owned by OnePath, which in turn is owned by ANZ – so take my statements with a grain of salt and get out there to do your own research.

Bias is inherent in every form of financial advice – it’s just that many people do not see where the bias is being expressed. This is a favourite topic of mine, so feel free to wander through this site and read much more on bias, where to find it and how it applies in the world of financial planning in Perth.

Understanding Money

There’s more to this than meets the eye. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years, and wouldn’t consider myself proficient in much more than the occasional slice of the entire financial sector, so how does the non-financial person cope? Financial planners can help but at best, they are but a guide. You will only understand money by taking the effort to either learn or do. Having a financial planner looking over your shoulder during this process can be helpful but that is very much a case of finding someone that you are comfortable with, and taking the time to understand and discuss their particular attitudes, bias and preferences.
Over time, we will add links and stories to this site to cover more tools to help you understand money, financial planning, fees and bias – and how they impact on you.