The financial planning process begins with defining your needs, objectives and current situation. Once these are established, we are able to devise a strategy to meet your goals, drawing upon our experience and knowledge in the following services:

• Wealth building
• Income insurance
• Life insurance
• Salary packaging
• Investment selection
• Redundancy and retrenchment
• Estate planning
• Maximising retirement income
• Social security assistance
• Small business support

According to the Financial Planning Association of Australia, 'financial planning is the process of meeting your life goals through the proper management of your finances'. So the general purpose of financial planning is to build, manage and protect your wealth so you can achieve what you want in life.

We assist people of all ages to do just that. Whether it's to buy a house, start a business, travel overseas, wipe out debt, save for a child's education, maintain a particular lifestyle, live a comfortable retirement... whatever the goal, we can work with you to develop financial strategies that help you achieve your objectives and maximise your financial position.

Building your wealth

Without a sound plan, it's too easy for your hard-earned money to slip through your fingers. Just earning isn't enough. if you're serious about building your wealth, you need to put your money to work.

Just as advice from a professional coach can make a positive difference to one's game, so too can professional financial advice add value to your personal wealth: regardless of your current financial position. We live and breathe financial planning on a day-to-day basis, and building our clients' wealth is the underlying theme in all that we do. We can work with you to design and put into action a wealth building plan that will create the foundation for your future lifestyle. Income insurance

Your capacity to earn an income is one of the most important assets in your life. After all, it provides the basis to fund your entire lifestyle and that of your dependants. Think for a moment what life would be like if you suddenly became incapacitated and couldn't earn a salary. For this reason, your financial plan is not complete without considering protection against loss of income.

We can assist you in establishing an income protection policy that, in case of illness or accident, will provide an income for the term of your choice, up to age 65. It's an insurance we hope you never use, but one we know will provide peace of mind. Life insurance

Protecting your wealth and standard of living is just as important as building it in the first place. Unfortunately history is full of real-life stories where families have suffered long-term financial hardship because they didn't insure against unexpected death, disability or traumatic illness. We can assist you in determining the right type and amount of insurance to ensure you and/or your dependants receive an income or a lump sum if you become ill, disabled or die. While life insurance is a confronting subject, it's a vital part of planning for financial security. Salary packaging

It's a common myth that you need to be earning a six-figure salary to benefit from salary packaging. This is simply not the case.

Salary packaging is a method of reducing your overall tax bill which involves restructuring the way you are paid by choosing to take your salary as a combination of cash and approved benefits. The benefits are paid for out of your pre-tax salary and the cash component is taxed and paid to you in the normal way. You may be able to make superannuation contributions, pay your insurance or save for your children's education from your pre-tax salary.

We can help you structure your salary package to ensure it assists in meeting your financial goals.

Investment selection

Investment selection plays a major part of any financial plan. But with literally thousands of investment options to choose from - offering a variety of features, costs and tax treatments - it can become quite difficult to determine which investments would be appropriate for your particular needs.

By taking the time to get to know your financial position, your goals and attitude towards investment, we can identify your 'investment risk profile', which helps guide your selection of investments.

We keep up-to-date with the investment options available using high quality independent research. We combine this knowledge with our understanding of investment markets, economic conditions and your attitude to investing to select investments that are best suited to your needs. Redundancy and retrenchment

It can be easy to treat a redundancy or retrenchment payment as a short-lived spending opportunity. However, we can help you obtain the greatest long-term benefit from redundancy/retrenchment by minimising your tax liability and incorporating the payment within a structured plan that will help you achieve your overall financial goals.

Debt management

For most of us, debt is an unfortunate necessity. Used properly, however, debt can be a valuable financial management tool that can help you achieve your long-term goals. Nevertheless, there is a fine line between using debt as part of a well-constructed financial plan and using it to cover the difference between what you earn and what you spend. Many people fall into the trap of high credit card expenses, multiple accounts, mounting unpaid bills and no opportunity to save.

We can assist you in consolidating your debt and managing your debt as part of a well-structured financial plan, by providing information on the endless selection of lending products available (all with varying options, interest rates, etc.) and helping you choose the loan vehicle that suits your unique circumstances.

Estate planning

Estate planning is an essential part of family management as well as financial planning. It is the organisation of your assets and affairs to ensure they are appropriately transferred and administered after your death.

Having put your financial plan into place to ensure your family's future financial security, it doesn't make sense to leave that security open to the interpretations of taxation laws, capital gains tax, or having your estate disbursed in a way that you wouldn't have wanted.

At its simplest, estate planning covers your will, but more complex estate planning can involve setting up the best ownership structure for your assets, examining the taxation position of family members, and developing a succession plan for ownership of family businesses.

Superannuation and retirement planning

After spending at least half your life working, you owe it to yourself to ensure your retirement is a comfortable and enjoyable one. Once the regular pay cheque ceases, your financial circumstances play a major part in your standard of living. And with Australia's population steadily ageing, life expectancies increasing, and funds for social security payments shrinking, you shouldn't leave your retirement finances to chance.

With its concessional tax treatment, superannuation is still one of the best ways to save for retirement. But the challenge is that superannuation legislation can be so confusing, and there are so many superannuation investments to choose from!

Our aim is to 'demystify' superannuation for our clients. We use tools that can show the amount of superannuation required for your desired retirement lifestyle, so you can clearly quantify your retirement goals. We provide access to a wide range of investment options and strategies, allowing us to tailor a flexible strategy that will help you reach your retirement goals, while meeting your other financial commitments.

Of course, the earlier you commence contributing to super, the easier it is to achieve the type of retirement you want, and the more you'll thank yourself when that day comes. But if retirement is close in your sights and you suspect that your finances aren't sufficiently structured, we can help devise a strategy that can make the most of your financial position.

Maximising your retirement income

Once you've retired, the maximisation of your retirement income is a major priority. After all, Australians can now expect to enjoy up to 25 to 30 years of retirement. That’s a lot of living to fund!

We can help you at this critical phase of your life by helping you structure your assets to take advantage of the concessions under taxation and social security laws, with the key aim to maximise your income throughout your retirement.

Social security assistance

Social security benefits are generally subject to assets and income tests, so it's worth seeking professional advice to help you navigate through this potential minefield. We keep up-to-date with social security legislation and can assist you in maximising your overall financial position through careful structuring of your assets, investments and social security entitlements.

Small business assistance

More and more people are taking the enterprising plunge and starting their own businesses. However, amidst the energy and enthusiasm of getting started, the all-important financial considerations are sometimes left by the wayside.

Small business owners can ill-afford to overlook their employee superannuation responsibilities and the company's need for protection against the loss of key people. If you run your own business, or are planning to do so, we can assist you in areas such as investment management, corporate and self-managed superannuation and business insurances. We can also help you with succession planning and estate planning in respect of your business. In doing so, we would work with your other business consultants (such as your accountant and solicitor) to ensure all your bases are covered.