Hi this is my first time, on P.I. com
My girlfriend and i live in east Sydney and are looking for a reputable financial advisor(s) and would love to hear from people if they have come across one. I am a first time investor tho my partner is a more experienced investor who is looking to capitalize on her existing portfolio of property and shares.
Many thanks
briceman
I think you'll find that most people who are active enough in their investments to be involved with propertyinvesting.com, don't tend to use financial advisers much. For a start, I suspect most hold a lot of their wealth in property, about which financial advisers generally know very little. (Or at least don't recommend as there are no commissions to be made.)
Having said that, I certainly think that financial advisers have their place, and I hope somebody is able to recommend a good one for you. (I'm not, sorry!)
Despite wearing my Financial Planing hat i agree with Tracey.
Most FP's have one thing in mind and that is to guide you into a commission paying Managed Fund and then really dont have any interest in you unless you are regularly contributing or wish to up your Super Contribution.
Those that charge on a fee for service basis have your money up front and then charge for information given during the year.
I believe you are better using the sevices of a Mortgage Broker especially someone who has extensive property and investment knowledge and who does not charge for his time.
MB's get paid by placing your home loan and in the main most lenders pay the same amount of commission.
A Financial Planner will deal with several companies that pay an overide commission or volume bonus so is hardly independant.Richard Taylor | Australia's leading private lender
I tend to disagree and believe financial planners have a place in your world. (I work in the financial services world, dealing with financial advisers, as well as being one myself)
A good financial planner will take into account your particular circumstances and needs to give you a comphrensive plan for retirement. A good financial planner's goal is to move you through the wealth accumulation phase to being financially independant with a good passive income, that doesn't require you to draw down on capital to fund. A mortgage broker assists you with getting the best loans to suit your requirements at the time of purchase of a property – I haven't met one that considers your long term financial goals as part of that process – just as a financial planner wouldn't be able to assist you in getting the best rate/ loan structure to purchase property investments. Both have an important part to play in your financial strategy.
Yes, some don't like direct property investing, but all you have to do is go and set up initial consultations with different advisers (this is free) and discuss what your goals are and what they do with their clients – you'll find an adviser that suits your purposes. If not I look after the NSW adviser market and can give you a few names.
At the end of the day the whole reason you are investing, whether it be property, shares or managed funds, is that you want to be financially independant and it makes sense that you surround yourself with experts in their relevant areas (Brokers, Accoutnants,Solicitors, Financial Advisers).Unfortunately all too many talk the talk of diversification, spreading risks etc however cannot see past offering 'products' from their baskets eg managed funds, LPTs and exposure to the stockmarket including a mix of local/OS stocks, even conservative funds which are supposedly low risk but have still taken a hammering over the past few months.
Very few will agree that as an investment strategy you should have more than 15-20% of your assets in property incl your PPOR and will aim for a conservative 'mix of funds' or a more aggressive mix. If we were after a purely growth portfolio we would be pumping up our super and letting it sit there. However, I don't beleive that most on the forum are seeking a fund manager or a mix of fund managers we are seeking our own investments with risks that we either understand or have some degree of control over.
I have been a financial advisor, now a mortgage broker one of the reasons for my move is when I moved into wealth creation through investment properties and negative gearing as a financial advisor my licence did not allow to recomend on properties, and I tend to agree with Richard,
I believe that when looking at property its just as important to have a finance strategy which means putting in the right loan structure that will give enough flexabilty for both short and long term goals a good mortgage broker would have a better understanding and less bias towards managed funds and other securities.
I agree with everything you guys are saying – from a purely property investment perspective. What I am trying to say is that as an investor you need the right people around you who are specialists in their area (eg: Accountant – tax implications). Not everyone invests solely in property – many people have other investments. I for example have a mix of mgd funds, shares and property with property is the majority of my investments. Now for my non property investments, I wouldn't expect a broker to be able to give me financial advice on the stock market, just as I wouldn't expect a financial planner to be able to structure a loan for me.
Personally I'm all for having a planner to assist with other aspects of investing. At the end of the day why not have your cake and eat it too by diversifying across a number of investment opportunities? And by having the right people for the job on board.Some interesting thoughts here. True, and worth remembering, is that many FP's (ie Bank affiliated ones) are not licensed to advise on property investment – or even shares for that matter. As soon as you mention that it is either over to the banker or manager, or a patronising lecture on the evils and instability and 'high risk' of direct property as ooposed to the wonderful diversified managed funds/investment stragegy……(please excuse that last cynical bit…true however.)
all the best.
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