Why comprehensive ongoing advice

The best strategy today may not be the most appropriate strategy tomorrow. Ongoing advice ensures that your financial plan is carefully adjusted in times of change and remains appropriate to your personal situation.

This can be changes to legislation, ensuring that your investment strategy remains appropriate for your personal circumstances and risk profile, or making sure your portfolio is actively positioned to weather financial markets in the event of a market downturn.

As an ongoing client, you will have access to our advisers and support as your needs change or life events occur. Whether it is an inheritance, redundancy, house changeover or move to residential aged care – your SWA adviser will be there to simplify the process, remove complexity and guide you through the financial implications.

While we formally provide a written valuation and review document annually, we monitor your situation and the investments you hold more frequently in the background. If we see issues arise which require more urgent attention or we feel a change to your investment portfolio is appropriate we will provide you with personal advice.

Our Fees

SWA Financial Planning discloses in writing all fees paid or payable for preparation of a Statement of Advice and for our comprehensive ongoing advice service.

The cost of your initial consultation is absorbed by SWA Financial Planning.

Following your initial consultation you will be provided with a written quotation outlining the cost involved in preparing your financial plan. We will only proceed with the preparation of the plan, paperwork and implementation once the quote has been accepted.

What happens in the first meeting

You should allow 1-2 hours for the initial consultation.

During this time we will discuss the services you are seeking and canvas the advice process needed to deliver them.

The first stage of the process involves us talking about your financial objectives and gathering information about your personal circumstances and current financial situation.

During this consultation we will answer any questions you have about our services and how we operate. Importantly, this consultation will also help you determine whether you feel comfortable with us as your trusted Financial Planners moving forward. Similarly, we use the initial consultation to gauge whether we can add value to your financial situation, and ensure that we feel comfortable in developing an ongoing professional relationship with you.

What happens after the first meeting

After the first meeting we will send you a Letter of Engagement that will outline details of our fees for the preparation of your Financial Plan (Statement of Advice).

Upon return of this signed acceptance letter we will commence working on your Statement of Advice. At this point we will contact you to make a second appointment for us to go through your plan together. The second appointment will typically take between 1.5 – 2 hours.

If you are happy with the advice prepared and decide to proceed, our implementation team will organise the necessary documentation for you to carry out your financial plan.

Paying for comprehensive ongoing advice

Ongoing financial advice is for an agreed period, generally twelve months, and the cost of this service is determined at the commencement of the period. You can elect to pay for this service directly on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.

Alternatively the cost of our ongoing advice can generally be paid from your investment portfolio.