Financial Planning

Financial planning is simply preparing a strategy and some related processes towards an achievable financial goal.

A financial planner is a professional who helps you clarify your current finances and set a financial goal. A planner is qualified and will work with you, incorporating your goals, situation, feelings about risk and dreams into a plan for your money.

Why do I need this?

It’s hard to know what you don’t know, and financial decisions can be really tough. You need to know about risks, returns, portfolio composition and asset classes, as well as understanding the relevant legislation and tax implications. Then there is the emotional aspect of your money, your lifestyle and your future – and your family’s future.

So talking to a financial adviser can help make sense of your situation and thus make informed decisions. Together, you and the planner can identify suitable goals and objectives, and then plan and implement strategies so that these goals can be achieved.

How it works…

Our consultants can help you understand and make decisions about your AvSuper membership. After chatting to you and collecting all relevant information, our Member Advice Consultant will analyse your situation and prepare a written statement of advice (SOA) outlining the options which we think best suit you.

Working with a planner…

Remember that you want a long term relationship with a financial planner, so be open and honest, and ensure you ask lots of questions to get things off to a great start.

Together, you will move through the following steps…

  • establish what advice you want
  • ensure you trust and feel comfortable with the planner/adviser
  • agree on the process you will follow

  • provide planner with financial status such as bank statements, loan documents, insurance policies, super statements and major expenses
  • planner will help establish your status

  • do you have a short term goal (like paying off all your credit cards and loans) as well as longer term goals (such as paying off a a mortgage, sending the kids to a private school or saving for a comfortable retirement)
  • your planner will talk to you about your lifestyle goals – do you want annual overseas holidays, a nice holiday home or a lovely garden to potter in?
  • planner will help you understand the finances required for your goals (for example to have $x a year in retirement may mean having $y in super by the time you’re 40 or 50)

This is the easy bit for you! Your financial planner will review all the information gathered and devise a financial plan for you. For simple issues, they may be able to give you an answer at your meeting, but often the planner will come back to you later with a Statement of Advice (SOA).

A plan without action has no value so your new financial plan has to be actioned, or implemented. Depending on what is involved and your preferences, this is something you can do yourself or your AvSuper Member Advice Consultant can implement it for you. It may be done quickly or done gradually over time as best suits your circumstances.

After the plan has been in place for a while, it’s a good idea to reassess your financial situation and check if your plan is on track. The review timeframe can vary depending on your age and goals, but after a year or so you may want to check in with your financial planner and look at questions such as

  • have you reached your short term goal? If not, maybe…
  • does the plan need some tweaking due to changed circumstances, such as starting a family, a divorce, an inheritance or changed market conditions?
  • have your feelings about risk changed?
  • have your expectations about your long term financial future changed?