WHY USE A FINANCIAL PLANNER?

Good financial advice is also about providing you with the information you need to move in the direction you want to head. That's why seeing a professional financial planner can make a huge difference to your financial future.
A good financial planner can help you make informed financial decisions to give you peace of mind.

Australians who use a financial planner
* are better protected from financial difficulty
* feel they have more control over their finances
* have greater confidence in achieving their goals
* make informed decisions
* are better prepared for retirement

Building a financial plan

Building a financial plan is like building your own home. You need to ensure it is structured and built with stability for the long term.

1) Design: What is important about money to you? You need to design your financial plan to match your short, mid and long term financial goals and values.

2) Foundation: Have you got cover for the unforeseen? - Risk Insurance.

3) Frame Work: You need to structure your financial affairs to maximise cashflow, plan efficiently for tax, and build towards your retirement nest egg.

4) Roof over your Head: You need to ensure that you have enough to retire on. How much is that?

Design
What do you want your overall financial position to look like? Any financial plan needs to maximise the
probability of you achieving your financial goals. You cannot afford to make financial assumptions without clearly identifying and understanding your own personal and family financial goals and values. These need to address short, medium and long term financial objectives that are important to YOU.

Foundation
How would your family cope if suddenly you could no longer work? Personal insurance is a necessity for most of us. The trick is to get the best-value policies.

Australians suffer around 48,000 strokes each year - that's one every 11 minutes. Equally frightening is the fact that one in three men and one in four women will be diagnosed with cancer before they reach 75.

You need to lay the necessary foundation to secure your financial endeavours and assets. This comes in various forms, as follows:
Income Protection - provides a monthly benefit of up to 75% of your income if you can't work.

Life: provides a financial lump sum in the event of death to leave your dependents debt free with a financial secure future.

Total & Permanent Disability: provides a capital lump sum to help you retain your financial lifestyle in the event of you being totally and permanently unable to work.

Trauma: provides financial assistance for the unexpected by way of a lump sum in the event of an injury or sickness such as a heart attack, stroke or cancer. It will ease any financial burden that will arise upon such an event occurring.

Frame Work
Good financial plans need to cover:
* Structure - Family Trusts, SMSF/Super
* Investment Strategy - diversification of investment assets to be tailored to your stage in life
* Tax efficiencies - legally minimising tax
* Cashflow management- Spend less than you earn

Roof over your Head
The general rule of thumb is the capital you require in retirement is base on a multiple of your after tax dollar income value that you need to live on at that time.

Age	Multiple	Capital Required
55	x 17	$1,700,000
60	x 15	$1,500,000
65	x 13	$1,300,000

For example if you require $100,000 p.a. living costs (excluding any mortgage/debt servicing costs) then you
would need to multiply this value by the corresponding multiple factor to the age you intend to retire (as shown in the table to the right).

Now select the dollar value that you think you need in retirement and the age you wish to retire to give the multiplying factor. Simply multiply
the annual income you wish for by this multiplier to give an indicative capital value to start retirement.

Questions to ask your financial planner
What are your qualifications and how long have you been a planner?
It is sensible to look for someone who is experienced and is a member of a professional association. Generally, all practising financial planners must hold an Australian Financial Services Licence issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), or be an authorised representative of a licensee. Look for planners with CFP certification as this is the global symbol of excellence in financial planning. The CFP Mark is awarded to individuals who have gone beyond the competency, ethics and professional practice standards.

The more experience the better. If the planner has less than two years experience, ask if someone else within the financial planning business would take a look at the advice as well.

What do you specialise in?
Some planners specialise in certain areas - retirement planning, high net worth planning and so on. You should also ask if the planner will implement the plan or refer it to someone else.
You want someone that specialises in providing advice to your individual needs and that will project manage and take responsibility for the implementation of their financial recommendations, rather than referring it on to someone else.

What kind of clients do you mostly see?
Find out a bit about the types of people a planner advises. Ask a few questions about the planner's approach to ensure they are in tune with your lifestyle and needs. You should look for someone who regularly works with people in your situation with similar concerns like yours e.g. taxation, super, retirement planning or social security

How often will you review my advice and what will it cost me?
Every plan needs to be reviewed, so you should ask how much the planner will charge for ongoing reviews and how often they will be carried out. As your goals and life changes, so should your plan.

How do you charge for your services? (Fee for service vs commissions)
Commissions are the province of a sales representative. Advisers receiving commissions are not giving impartial advice; they're not placing their clients' interest ahead of their own.
Fee for service is the preferred option as it provides unbiased advice that is not reliant upon the product that the planner selects to place you into. Where commissions are received as part of the recommendations put forward by the adviser ask them to be contra (i.e. offset) against an agreed fee for service. This will ensure your interests are maintained, as you receive the benefit of the commissions, not the planner.


Collins Mann's job is to maximise the probability of you achieving your financial goals and we do this on fee for service basis.

For an obligation free consultation contact a Collins Mann adviser on (07) 3251 3200 or email us at admin@collinsmann.com.au

Important information: This document has been prepared without knowledge or your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any of the information in this document, you should seek independent tax advice. Collins Mann is not aligned to any specific third party provider. Collins Mann Pty Ltd ABN 88 098 705 152 Collins Mann is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Australian Financial Services Limited AFS Licence No. 297239