With the average net worth of Australians growing beyond any levels we have previously experienced, higher income opportunities available to many and property prices in many capital cities growing at astronomical rates, it is more important than ever to seek the right financial advice.

The right kind of advice can positively impact on so many facets of your life. It can help investors to:

• Take more control of your finances and lifestyle
• Determine your financial goals and set a plan to achieve them
• Ensure that your invested money works as hard as you do
• Maximise your entitlements
• Identify and avoid expensive mistakes
• Protect your important assets and even more importantly, your income.

Seeking the guidance of an independent financial advice firm is valuable for the following reasons:

• An advice firm that operates under its own licence does not need to recommend any specific products linked to a bank, insurance or investment company. Its Advisers have the complete freedom to recommend to clients whichever product or investment they feel is suitable in those circumstances. This provides the absolute certainty of conflict-free investments. There is no obligation, incentive or payment to recommend certain types of products or structures. 

• Most independent financial advisers moved their remuneration structures to a ‘fee for service’ model well before industry bodies and ASIC recommended this as a course of action. For clients this means exactly what it sounds like; the firm is paid by clients based on the service provided rather than any commission or bonus structure. 

• Many Independent advisers have structured their business model in such a way that they do not have in place any fee structures which means they will not be paid unless the client purchases a financial advice product. For instance they may invoice or provide quotations for work based on ‘time taken’ to perform a task or duty.

In Melbourne, clients are lucky enough to have several excellent advice firms embrace the privately-owned licence business model.

Maddern Financial Advisers isn’t wholly or even partly owned by a bank or other financial institution. This means we’re under no pressure to recommend particular products, we set our own list of investments based on a complex set of requirements, independent research and analysis.

We work on a strictly fee-for-service basis – we don’t accept commissions or other benefits from product manufacturers. In other words, we don’t serve two masters: when you become our client, we work for you and only you.

Call us on 03 9999 7200 to find out more about our independent financial advice services.

Disclaimer: All information provided in this newsletter is of a general nature only and is not personal financial or investment advice. Also, changes in legislation may occur frequently. We recommend that our formal advice be obtained before acting on the basis of this information.