Why get financial advice?

The right kind of financial advice can really make a big difference. Financial advice can give you confidence that your future plans are achievable. If you’re not on track to achieving your goals, it can help you put the right strategies in place, or come up with more realistic goals.

How financial advice can help you

Financial advice can help you:

• Set and achieve your financial goals
• Make the most of your money
• Get any government assistance you’re entitled to
• Feel more in control of your finances and your life
• Avoid expensive mistakes
• Protect your assets

MoneySmart has information on different aspects of finding and working with a financial adviser:

• Identifying your financial advice needs — Work out whether you need financial advice.
• Types of financial advice — The type of advice you need will depend on your life stage, the amount of money you have to invest and the complexity of your affairs. Find out about your options.
• Choosing a financial adviser — How to choose the right adviser for your needs.
• Financial advice costs — Learn about the cost of advice and understand what you’re paying for.
• Meeting with a financial adviser — Make the most of your first meeting with an adviser by being clear about what you’re looking for and knowing what questions to ask.
• What to look for in financial advice — Learn about the things you should consider before you act on an adviser’s recommendations.
• Working with a financial adviser — How to make the most of ongoing advice and what to do if you want to end your relationship with an adviser.
• Problems with a financial adviser — What to do when things go wrong with an adviser.

Read our booklet

Our Financial advice and you booklet will help you with:

• The kind of financial advice you need
• The best place to get advice
• How to get the most from your conversations with a financial adviser

Future of Financial Advice reforms

The Government’s Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms include:

• Restrictions on what sort of fees financial advisers receive including a ban on commissions and some volume-based payments and restricting percentage-based fees
• A ‘best interest’ duty that means you must receive advice that is in your best interest, rather than being directed to products because of incentives or commissions offered to an adviser

If you bought a financial product or obtained advice before 1 July 2013 the new rules will not apply. This means if you paid commissions in the past you will continue to do so.

If you’re unsure about the fees you’re paying, talk to your adviser.

Important

Throughout this booklet we use the term ‘financial adviser’ to describe someone who is licensed to provide financial advice. A licensed adviser may also call themselves a ‘financial planner’. See choosing a financial adviser for more information on how to tell if someone is licensed to give you financial advice.