You should not hire a financial adviser if…

Retirement brings with it a roller coaster of emotions. It’s one of life’s major transitions. It’s up there with getting married, having a child and moving house.

For some it’s a sense of relief and excitement after dedicating the last 30-40 years to work. They look forward to living life on their terms.

For other’s it can be a really scary and anxious time in their life as they let go of their regular income and set off into the unknown.

You’ve got to deal with constant fear mongering from the financial media constantly putting out mixed messages.

There’s also complex rules around super, retirement, legacy, tax and government benefits to navigate. It’s a minefield…

And if that wasn’t enough to deal with, you’ve now got to figure out how to safely extract a level of income that allows you to live a good lifestyle for the rest of your life. While not putting yourself at risk of running out of money.

No wonder many feel overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of decisions involved as they navigate on of life’s major transitions.

It’s likely at some point (sooner rather than later), you’re going to need some professional help to ensure you navigate this critical transition safely.

Otherwise, you put yourself at risk or not preparing adequately for your retirement years.

If you are going to reach out and seek advice, it’s not going to work for if you:

Worry about how much you pay instead of the value you receive

I know the thought of hiring a financial adviser can be daunting, especially when it comes to the cost.

Believe me, I’ve been there. I’ve questioned whether many expenses were justifiable. I pondered if they were things I truly needed. But I have no hesitation paying good money to save me money, prevent me from making mistakes and ultimately saving me time.

You see, you’re probably sitting there worried about whether you have enough for retirement. In other words, am I going to run out of money in retirement…it’s major. One wrong decision could see you living with regret for the remainder of your retirement.

After all, you only get one shot to get your retirement plan right…

I’m going to be frank here, good advice is not cheap. But is it worth it, that’s a BIG yes and here’s why…

You’ve got to figure out whether you can extract the level of income you need to live comfortably in retirement. Without depleting your assets so you don’t risk running out of money.

There’s a lot of inputs and outputs to consider and weigh up. It’s complex.

Firstly, you’ve got to figure out what safety margins you need to put in place to protect what you’ve worked so hard for.

Next you’ve got to consider the BIG three retirement risks, inflation, longevity and sequence of returns risk and how you are going to mitigate them. And that’s not all of them…

Let’s look at some results of a couple of recent clients we recently worked with:

#1 Simon and Julie:

Aged in their early 60’s, with approximately $1.2 million in super, an investment property, and $300k in debt.

While Julie had retired some time ago, Simon was still working but had become tired of work. He now wanted to retire sooner rather than later.

They had accumulated a reasonable nest egg, but the BIG question remained in the back of their minds. Do we have enough?

After understanding what they wanted out of retirement, we completed a Retirement Feasibility assessment and after a few tweaks, we were able to show them that Simon could retire and they were not at risk of running out of money. That’s the non-financial benefit.

As these guys were 18mths away from retirement here are the financial benefits Simon and Julie were able to achieve through our work together:

• Approx $3k savings in tax.
• Strategies to save the estate up to a maximum $180k (more money going to their kids on their death rather than leaving the ATO a big tip).
• Approx $3k a year savings in product fees.
• Paying non-deductible debt down and saving a ton in interest payments.
• 23% decrease in risk levels meaning they would experience lower movements in the value of their investments of their retirement – more peace of mind.
• A portfolio they would be able to comfortably extract their desired income no matter what investment markets were doing.  Giving them the confidence to spend.

A great outcome I would say, and imagine what would have been possible if they had started earlier…

#2 Jack and Kylie

Aged 57 and 60 respectively, had focused on bringing up their kids and mortgage paid off. Up until this point their focus had been elsewhere. Realising they needed to turn their attention to planning their retirement.

Joint income approx $170k, with the capacity to save and super of approx $450k.

For Jack and Kylie, they wanted to know when they would be in a position to retire comfortably. They wanted a plan they could work towards to provide them with greater confidence.

After understanding what they wanted out of retirement, we started with a Retirement Feasibility Assessment. Exploring a number of scenarios and opportunities.

Here are the financial benefits Jack and Kylie gained from our work together:

• $47k in tax savings by using super contributions they hadn’t used previously.
• A further $37k tax savings over the next five years by implementing a couple of super strategies they were unaware of.
• Directing super money to the younger spouse (largely underused strategy) leading to approximately $70k access to Centrelink they would not have been able to access if they continued to do what they were doing.
• Strategies to save the estate up to a maximum of $150k, more money to the kids rather than leaving the ATO a big tip.
• Reduction in risk levels of approximately 20% without impacting on investment performance.

Based on our work together, Jack and Kylie are now looking at retiring earlier than they were expecting. What a great result…

While both cases yielded substantial returns on investments, the true dividends were clarity, confidence, and control over their retirement decisions. What price do you put on that…never having to worry…

You expect miracles

Anticipating miracles from financial advisers is unrealistic.

If you’re looking for an adviser to have a crystal ball (mine broke many years ago), predict the future, expect them to beat the market year in year out and perform miracles, you’re in the wrong place.

While many financial adviser’s sole focus is on managing investments, the reality is it’s extremely difficult if not impossible to outperform investment markets on a consistent basis. The research backs this up, so would you risk your retirement on hope and a prayer?

We think in terms of what level of investment return do you ACTUALLY need to fund your future lifestyle and never run out of money, no matter what happens?

We know that trying to strive for an extra 2% investment return than you need, will put your retirement at risk. I’m sure you don’t want that.

We act as a guide for clients, providing a proven framework for making financial decisions confidently. We work with clients to build their own feasible retirement plan where they are in control of the decisions.

Helping them to build resilient portfolios based on the weight of evidence. Giving them the confidence to safely spend in retirement, knowing they won’t run out of money.

Building resilient portfolios to deliver income at the right time through retirement…

Yes, they are boring, but that’s the way people want it. They don’t want surprises.

You have trust issues when hiring a financial planner

Every so often, I’ll have someone tell me that they hired a financial adviser and it didn’t turn out as they had hoped.

They put their trust in someone, only to be left feeling disappointed and a bit jaded. It’s a story I’ve heard many times, and one that I take to heart.

After 20 years in financial planning, I’ve seen it all. The majority of reasons these people were left disappointed was there was a focus on product by the adviser.

In other words, conflicts existed…the adviser was pushing his own agenda, where they put their own wallets ahead of yours. Nobody wants that experience…

That was Jane until we worked together to build out her retirement plan.

She had previously hired a financial adviser and fired her financial adviser. The reason, she was not getting the answers she wanted, while the adviser was solely focused on managing her investments.

You see, the adviser’s sole focus was managing her investments, sidestepping questions around whether she was on track for a comfortable retirement.

For Jane, our sole focus was on helping Jane build out a retirement plan she was happy to implement.

Mind you, there were approximately ten variations for which she landed on one that would achieve everything Jane was striving for. It was the type of planning Jane had not received from her previous adviser…

There’s one valuable lesson here, you shouldn’t let a bad decision burn you twice.

On a side note, since the Banking Royal Commission and countless legislative changes the number of advisers has shrunk from approximately 27,000 to 15,000. A massive drop seeing many bad eggs removed from the financial planning profession.

Financial advisers are legally obligated to provide advice in your best interests.

Something I’ve been doing for over two decades. It’s one of the reasons I set up my own financial planning business a number of years ago. One where there are no product conflicts, where the focus is the right outcomes for clients and a fixed financial planning fee.

You think you can DIY everything

If you’re a DIY investor, then this could change everything for you…

You see, we live in a world where a wealth of information is at our fingertips. We have digital books, YouTube channels, podcasts, blogs, finfluencers, and more.

Thanks to all this information, the allure of the “Do-It-Yourself” approach to financial planning is stronger than ever.

It’s a path many people consider, believing it offers more control and savings. Yet, this perspective, while appealing, overlooks the nuanced complexities of financial planning and the unique advantages that having someone in your corner provides.

Let me share something that might illuminate this limitation of the DIY approach, drawn from an experience that reshaped my understanding and value.

Once upon a time, I embarked on a home renovation project, confident in my abilities to figure things out myself and save some money. I figured that if I got stuck on a step, I could head over to YouTube and copy what I saw.

Initially, the process seemed straightforward. But as the project progressed, intricacies and unexpected challenges reared their ugly heads. What began as a DIY project to save money evolved into a time-consuming and, ironically, more expensive undertaking. And I encountered problems that couldn’t be solved with YouTube.

It was only through consulting a professional that I was able to get everything done, while achieving a result far superior to what I could’ve accomplished on my own.

The experience mirrors the journey of DIY financial planning.

Because while it’s possible to achieve a degree of success on your own, the complexities of financial planning – tax strategies, super strategies, investment choices, retirement planning, and more – require a depth of knowledge and expertise that goes beyond surface-level understanding.

I know I might be biased, but I’ve seen firsthand how a good financial adviser can help. Because a good financial adviser brings to the table not just knowledge but also the ability to tailor that knowledge to your unique financial situation, identifying opportunities and pitfalls that might otherwise be overlooked.

Ready To Gain More Clarity, Confidence And Control Over Your Retirement

We’re here to help…book your Retirement Clarity Call by clicking here .

You’ll gain some insights and a roadmap on how you can resolve your retirement challenges and concerns once and for all.

Glenn Doherty – CFP – Financial Planner | Retirement Planning Specialist |Retirement Planning Made Simple for aspiring happy lappers and avid travellers within 7 years of retirement

We work with people in Adelaide and around Australia virtually via zoom!

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