Sometimes you have a question about a financial matter and just want an answer; not a relationship. It is for this reason that Cornish Wealth Management offers one-off financial advice. One-off advice is also known as ‘situational advice’, ‘episodic advice’ or ‘event driven advice’.
And we offer two types of one-off advice – ‘general advice’ and ‘personal advice’.
Whatever name is used, the basic premise is that many people don’t want an ongoing financial advice relationship. This might be because they can’t afford it, or they simply don’t see value in it. But most certainly, there is value in the peace of mind which comes from having received independent and unbiased financial advice. And it is for this reason that we offer two avenues for prospective clients.
General Advice (General Information) & Factual Information
Our financial planning fees are publicly disclosed here, and you’ll see that we offer ‘general advice’ for $220. There are significant limitations to general advice. The biggest limitation is that it doesn’t give you personalised advice which details specific and actionable steps which we believe you should take. Instead, it provides more factual information which does not factor in your personal financial situation. It is very clearly of benefit to many people, and is a cheap avenue to at least get some guidance on what’s out there and some things to consider. It is important to note that the information provided is not intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product.
We have had clients who come in for a general advice meeting and then:
- They happily go on their way and we never hear from them again.
- They make contact a year or two later for another general advice meeting.
- They realise that they should get some personal advice and progress to that.
For those so interested, ASIC’s Regulatory Guide 244 explains the differences between factual information, general advice and personal advice.
Personal Advice (Specific recommendations tailored for you)
Personal advice is where we provide tailored and specific advice, and this advice is provided after your objectives, financial situation and needs have been considered. The advice we provide will be recorded in a written document called (by ASIC) a ‘Statement of Advice’ and (by everyone else) a ‘Financial Plan’.
Our blog post, what is financial planning, provides some of the things which may be covered in a financial plan, and some of the processes involved with financial planning. Basically:
- There is a meeting to discuss your current situation, including attitude towards investment risk.
- An investigation is conducted into any of your existing products/services relevant to the area you are seeking advice on (such as a superannuation fund or life insurance policy)
- A Statement of Advice (Financial Plan) is created.
- There is another meeting to go through the Statement of Advice in person and answer any questions.
We have had clients who come in for Personal Financial advice and then:
- Happily go their own way and we never hear from them again.
- Seek our assistance to implement the financial advice, such as open accounts and/or process rollovers.
- Come back in a few years’ time for another Statement of Advice.
- Decide to sign-up to our annually renewable Annual Service Agreement.
We are happy to service clients in any of the above scenarios. Our main objective is to provide well-researched, informed advice in a manner which is compliant with the reams of legislation the federal government loves so much, whilst also being of practical benefit to the client.
So if your circumstances have changed, get in contact with us for some one-off, episodic financial advice. Whilst we’ll usually offer an Annual Service Agreement (compliance), we’ll not expect you to accept, or be offended if you don’t. We are very happy to provide one-off financial advice and believe that in doing so we are staying true to the reason we got into financial planning … to help people.
What type of things do people seek one-off financial advice about?
We do not want you to pay more money than you need to. If you only want one-off situational, or episodic advice, then that’s all you should pay for. Life events which may spur people to seek one-off situational advice are:
- Getting married
- Getting divorced
- Having kids
- Receiving an inheritance
- Approaching retirement
- Getting a second opinion on other financial recommendations
Whatever the reason, if you see value in receiving financial advice from a fee for service, independent financial adviser, please feel free to make contact.
