GUIDING FINANCIAL CHOICES FOR YOUR FUTURE SERVICE OFFERING

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1 f GUIDING FINANCIAL CHOICES FOR YOUR FUTURE SERVICE OFFERING The information contained in this document aims to provide you with a better understanding of how our business and planning process is designed to assist you managing your finances for the future you desire A: 6/94 Memorial Ave, Maroochydore T: PO Box 1218 F: MAROOCHYDORE QLD 4558 E: info@guidefinancial.com.au W: All financial services are provided through Guide Financial Corporate Authorised Representative No of Australian Advice Network Pty Ltd ABN AFSL ; All credit related services are provided through Guide Financial Coprorate Credit Representative No of Centrepoint Lending Solutions A.B.N Australian Credit Licence

2 OUR BUSINESS FINANCIAL PLANNING INSURANCE LENDING Make your financial world simpler and more secure Non- bank aligned professionals sourcing solutions in your best interest An informed perspective with you on your journey Guide Financial is a private company owned by our two senior advisers. Our business began in 1994 providing financial services for accounting clients of the practices. Over time our business has grown and we moved to our own premises and rebranded taking on the name Guide Financial to accurately reflect our services to clients. We have worked hard to build a business that provides quality advice that we can be proud of. In 2015 we have chosen to obtain our own Australian Financial Services Licence (Australian Advice Network) with a few other like minded firms which enables us to most effectively deliver the advice our clients seek and deserve. Our financial services licence provides a platform which enables us to: approach financial investment providers to negotiate superior fee savings for our clients offer truly advice based services not linked to products Guide Financial have various relationships with Accountants, Solicitors and other professionals to provide comprehensive assistance. As always these relationships have been built with your best interests in mind; no monetary compensation is provided to, or received from, any of these professionals. 2

3 OUR ADVISERS Protect and manage the money you have worked hard for Help you understand the implications of each decision on your future Celebrate with you, support you and challenge you Together with the Guide Financial Team advisers create a financial strategy based on what is truly important to you. Advisers have a life-long learning commitment and complete a minimum of 40 hours per annum of professional development to maintain the quality of advice they provide. BRADLEY WALL CFP BBus Bradley has been working in this advice business since 1997 and his preceding career involved Commercial and Insolvency Accounting roles in Australia and overseas. Bradley has achieved the highest industry accreditation of Certified Financial Planner and in 2011 he was nominated for the Professional Investment Services Adviser of the Year award attesting to his exemplary professional standards and quality of advice. Outside the office Bradley enjoys time with the family especially at the beach. The odd hit of golf and occasional ski trip help him relax. MARC VENTER CFP BBus In 2004 Marc was awarded PIS Australian Paraplanner of the year (by Australian Unity and Professional Investment Services) in recognition of his exemplary level of expertise in the field. Marc is a fully qualified Certified Financial Adviser and has held a position in the Financial Planning Industry in He has been working with the Guide Financial team since 2003 and became a partner in the business in A family man and avid sports lover Marc particularly enjoys golf, snowboarding and running (completing a Marathon in just over 3 hours) 3

4 WHAT LIFE STAGE ARE YOU AT? FOUNDATION STAGE (starting out) The keys to this stage are implementing sound financial habits and protecting your income for the path ahead. You may not have many financial assets behind you yet but with limited commitments it can also be a great time to save. DEVELOPMENT STAGE (mid-life 30 s and 40 s) This period of your life can be a financial balancing act. Family is probably your current priority dominating many spending decisions. This is okay provided you balance this with consideration for your long-term future and protecting your family. CONSOLIDATION STAGE (pre-retiree) You probably have more discretionary time and income to enjoy, especially if you have children becoming more independent. Your focus should be planning for the retirement lifestyle you would like to enjoy. REALISATION STATE (Golden retiree) If you re not already enjoying retirement, you re about to. This is the time to further indulge in hobbies or travel, enjoy your family and prepare for transferring your wealth. However, you may need to downsize or help out the family. Consider planning for healthcare, your estate planning and your retirement income needs. 4

5 INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY You have worked hard for your money; your financial nest egg was probably not accumulated in a day. We recognise this and take the responsibility of managing your money seriously using strict risk management parameters to protect and grow your portfolio. Our investment philosophy is based on discipline, risk management, diversification and quality investments. DISCIPLINE NOT SPECULATION Investment is for the long term and we consider that any short-term strategies will be speculative in nature. Short term thinking may introduce needless additional risk to your portfolio. We help manage your emotions when media or other events distract you to ensure you retain an intentional, disciplined long term strategy. RISK MANAGEMENT RELATIVE TO YOUR GOALS Investments attracting higher returns tend to have a higher risk. Guide Financial educate clients about the implications of investment decisions. The important measure of risk is not the variance from an expected return but the risk of not achieving the outcomes important to you. For example, you may not need an aggressive investment strategy with higher risks to achieve your goal. We make informed conclusions as to whether or not an investment will provide you with an adequate return and is suited to the objectives of your portfolio. DIVERSIFICATION IS VITAL Concentrating your investment scope raises the level of risk and volatility without providing additional returns. We help coordinate your portfolio with a sufficient range of quality, well researched investments without unnecessary complexity so you can get a good night s sleep. QUALITY INVESTMENTS Portfolio research from a selection of Australia s largest leading research houses and economists is utilised and only investment options meeting the high standards set by our investment committee are considered. The Australian Advice Network investment committee meets regularly to proactively update recommended models based on the current market. 5

6 PORTFOLIO OPPORTUNITIES Within the strategy there will be some form of investment product. We are authorised to advise on a wide range of products and do not have a bias toward any specific product. It is about you achieving your objectives that matters. SMSF s Account Based Pensions Deposit Products Managed Investments Debentures Direct Shares Margin Lending Investment Bonds Superannuation Gearing Annuities Our advice is around strategy so we can offer clients the choice of either passive or active management of your portfolio. Guide Financial can even provide advice on your existing industry fund in many cases. The strategy will always be the starting point for advice and we can then help you determine which portfolio opportunities may be most applicable for you. PASSIVE PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT We have identified low cost index options to invest into for our passively managed portfolios. The use of these allow us to provide a low cost solution for clients. We can still provide tactical asset allocation and cash flow advice in a low cost environment. This option will suit investors that want low cost options. They have a further choice of active v passive asset allocation. 6

7 ACTIVE PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT We have, through our research, identified investment options that have outperformed their relative indexes through their active management. We use a core of low cost multi asset sector options to provide automatic rebalancing of the portfolio. We blend this with active sector allocation where we have recognised active management either adding to performance or providing downside protection we are able to include these options into the advice process. Active portfolio management will suit investors that are more interested in a returns focus and are prepared to pay for active portfolio management. EXTERNAL & INDUSTRY FUND If your industry or external fund will allow us access to research surrounding the underlying investment portfolio options we can then provide recommendations based on your objectives. Our advice is about the strategy for you to achieve your goals. If you wish to remain a member of a current fund and only require advice we can scope this advice accordingly providing we can gain access to the relevant information to provide you with an informed decision. This option will suit investors that are committed to a specific fund based on their career or other factors. 7

8 INSURANCE Life/Term Income Protection Key Man Insurance Total and Permanent Disability Insurance within Superannuation Trauma Business Expense Cover Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences. Sometimes we need to be reminded about what our most important asset really is. It can be much harder to anticipate the financial consequences of your loss of health than the cost of writing off your car. At Guide Financial we discuss the consequences of the unexpected loss of family member s income, health or life. This enables us to anticipate the needs you would like to cover in these situations. We can then generate a plan to protect you, and your families, lifestyle. We evaluate your future insurance cover with many different insurance providers to source well priced insurance with quality features and definitions which will be tested at claim time. Guide stay with you at claim time to ensure the claims are paid in a timely fashion without stress to you. For insurance we receive commissions from the Insurer (provided cover remains in place for a minimum of 12 months) which generally covers the cost of your associated financial advice and administration fees. LENDING Home Loans Commercial Loans Equipment Finance Vehicle Finance Securing a loan is not an independent financial decision; it affects your overall financial future. There are different types of debt good and bad. We explain the difference and make sure that where possible your debt is working for you and your future. By weighing up achieving your outcomes against imposing financial burdens that overwhelm you we plan a healthy financial journey. We identify the most beneficial structuring approach and find the right loan from our range of over 50 lenders. As brokers we also negotiate on your behalf for results often superior to standard rates. Guide Financial simplify the application process by doing the hard work for you as we fight to get you the best deal. Over the life of your loan we regularly review your loan to ensure your package remains competitive and assist you managing your loan in line with your overall financial objectives. The cost of lending services is generally covered by commissions by the lender provided loans proceed and are not cancelled within the first 18 months a minimum $1, cancellation/not proceeding fee would apply in this instance. 8

9 FEES & SERVICES The fees you pay are directly related to the service and value you receive. We want you to be comfortable in with what you are paying and also know that is all you will be paying. We will always quote fees before undertaking any work. We will explain our service offering in detail so you know exactly what to expect. Initial advice will be provided as a fixed fee quoted. We may also charge on an hourly basis for certain services. The ongoing advice program will be quoted as a fixed fee. When it is appropriate for you we may offer to negotiate an asset based fee should you prefer this. LICENCEE ADMINISTRATION FEE The Dealer Facilitation Fee is the fee payable to the Licence. The Australian Advice Network was formed by the combined thinking of a number of Independent businesses that want to provide all benefits and savings directly back to their clients. Through the co-op of businesses any discounts obtained through scale and size are passed back to clients. This way as the group grows and clients refer more clients they all benefit in reduced costs. The group was formed to be free from financial incentives and vertical integration. The aim is to make a positive meaningful difference to our clients and take advantage of our combined size and scale and pass this directly back to clients. YES, ALL fee discounts received due to size and scale are to be passed back directly to clients. There is a large amount of time and cost absorbed by AAN in negotiating these arrangements and with all benefits back to members the Licensee Administration Fee is needed to cover this time and cost. 9

10 THE TYPICAL PROCESS FOR A NEW CLIENT INITIAL CONSULTATION This short first meeting is basically a meet and greet. As we provide no advice it is conducted at our cost and is obligation free. At this meeting we explain how we operate and what to expect. We will spend time getting to know what drives you in life by discussing your objectives and current situation. Discussions also include how our services might benefit your specific situation. Should you wish to proceed we will collect sufficient information about you to prepare a financial plan which will document our recommendations and outline our fees. A subsequent meeting to further gather information and understand your needs may, or may not, be necessary before proceeding. NOTE: Industry regulations stipulate that all personal financial advice needs to be stringently documented. Therefore we are limited in the personalised advice that we may provide if you do not wish to have a full advice plan prepared. Advice can be provided that relates to generic financial facts (as opposed to personal advice) and the cost for this can be invoiced at fee for service rates as the initial consultation does not include financial advice. FINANCIAL PLAN: PREPARATION & PRESENTATION Charting a path to achieving your goals We utilise leading industry software to prepare your strategic advice which outlines strategies to maximise your potential to meet financial and lifestyle goals, and protect your lifestyle. Plans address cash flow, debt management, investment, risk management, structuring and estate planning. A comprehensive plan is personalised to you and we spend on average hours working on your strategies and preparing the advice. The cost for preparation and presentation of a comprehensive financial plan starts at $2,500 (plus GST) and the cost will vary depending on the complexity of the advice and time spent. Advice can be provided that is limited in scope to satisfy a specific need. We will provide you with an estimated cost before commencing any work. When we have drafted a financial roadmap to guide you towards your goals we will meet with you to discuss our recommendations. The comprehensive plan is then provided for you to take away and review. This document, along with our ongoing reviews of your situation, will be a valuable resource that will assist you to stay on track as you work towards your goals. 10

11 STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION Your financial plan would cover recommendations in a variety of areas suggesting methods of structuring your finances more effectively. Guide Financial have the capability to implement these strategies for you. This will provide you with peace of mind that we are doing the work interacting with the myriad of companies, professionals and regulators to ensure your strategies are implemented accurately. The outcome will be financial strategies working in harmony to achieve your goals. ONGOING REVIEW SERVICE Having your personal financial roadmap drafted and implemented sets your course in the right direction. To ensure you remain on the right path, in conjunction with you, we need to regularly review your position against your roadmap. Specialised meetings and services can be added to any of the service packages to meet your needs. A regular financial review is imperative for many reasons including: Decision Making Guidance Personal Development Administration of Financial Affairs Accountability Peace of Mind Identify Progress towards goals Portfolio, Insurance and Debt Review 11

12 You have taken the first step towards getting your finances and goals on the right track. Congratulations on having the courage to take control of your future. IN ALL YOUR DECISIONS REMEMBER: seek WISDOM and be DISCIPLINED