We believe that successful wealth management is about “iterating” your way to your desired future, rather than a mad dash to the line. It is not about quick fixes or “get rich schemes”. It is about decisiveness, discipline and commitment to agreed strategies over extended periods. It requires an urgency with respect to decisions and actions and patience with respect to results.
We offer a reliable, personable and tailored approach to financial planning that has us sitting on the same side of the table as you. Our success is driven by your success.
We offer:
A foundation based on strategy before investment
We’re committed to providing you with a proactive strategic financial advisory service that focuses on the achievement of your financial and lifestyle goals and objectives. At the core of this is the achievement of financial independence, that is, to be in a position where you have sufficient wealth to fund your desired lifestyle without the need for personal exertion income.
The foundation for our service is the development of your personal strategy. We identify and assess your current strategy and together agree on ways to improve this. Your strategy becomes the blueprint for the achievement of your desired lifestyle, and from this we can recommend investment solutions that dovetail into your strategy. Your strategy is the driver of your investments, not the other way around.
Financial planning is a dynamic process – changes to your goals and personal circumstances need to be factored into your plan on an ongoing basis, along with the impact of legislative changes and market movements. To deal with this, we meet on a regular (usually annual) basis to review and update your strategy.
Typically, we bring a much longer term view to the strategic planning table, and together with your input we arrive at a strategy that allows us to confidently move forward together through the implementation process.
While we document your plan, the real value is in the ongoing planning discussions.
Plans are nothing, Planning is everything.”
Dwight D Eisenhower
A disciplined and rigorous investment approach
Most people understand that they are not going to learn enough from the relevant popular media to be able to successfully practice medicine or law, for example. It is accepted that it takes years of formal education, training and experience to develop the knowledge and wisdom to become competent in these fields. If you have a major medical or legal issue to deal with, you seek the advice of a doctor or lawyer who has demonstrated that they are at the forefront of research in their specialty and are highly regarded by their peers.
But when it comes to the not insignificant task of managing their life savings, few see the parallel. In the financial services’ market. Someone often becomes perceived as an “expert” not as a result of their extensive education, knowledge and relevant experience, but simply by “putting their hand up” and claiming they are an “expert”.
Most people are simply not aware that there is almost 70 years of valuable investment research done by real “experts” – the world’s leading academic financial economists.
We believe you have a right to know what the world’s leading academic financial economists have to say about investment and to understand the implications of what is now a vast body of research in the area known as modern portfolio theory. The financial services’ industry would prefer you ignore (or aren’t told about) the findings of the smartest people in finance because universal adoption of their wisdom would result in many highly remunerated people looking for new jobs.
Four key philosophies…
The acceptance of four key philosophies that derive from modern portfolio theory is at the core of our investment approach and may change the way you think about investment and how you make investment decisions.
- Markets work – rather than trying to outguess the market (i.e. investment markets), let it work for you;
- Risk and return are related – Only take risks that research has shown to have been reliably rewarded in the past and can expect to be rewarded in the future;
- Diversification is key – Invest in broad based asset portfolios of every asset class where risk is rewarded over the long term in a strong and reliable manner; and
- Structure explains performance – Asset allocation is the key determinant of the variation in investment portfolio returns – the rest is “noise”.
Intelligent and well considered implementation
Until a decision is acted upon, it is only a good intention. Unless there is commitment to effective implementation the best decision making and planning are a waste of time and effort.
Too many financial plans are thrown into bottom draws, with well conceived and agreed strategies only partially or never implemented. In fact, many individuals and organisations find implementation the hardest part of the decision making process.
Implementation is more likely if:
- The agreed decision is documented;
- An action plan to implement the decision is agreed and documented;
- Someone is given clear accountability for implementing the action plan;
- A timeline for implementation is agreed and documented; and
- There is a process to regularly review implementation progress.
Of course, changing circumstances may warrant adjustments to action plans but progress toward your goals will be made. Inaction almost guarantees that your goals will not be achieved.
Clear and transparent pricing
The basic tenets of our billing policy are transparency and for you to know in advance how we are remunerated. This eliminates the likelihood of any misunderstandings and allows us to jointly devote our full energies to achieving your family’s objectives and what is important to you.
All service and fee arrangements are discussed and agreed prior to the commencement of the relationship and at subsequent annual reviews. We charge on a fee for service basis that is outlined in your Terms of Business.
A caring and guiding attitude
Ultimately, our aim is to impart our knowledge and experience and share the success our clients achieve through the process.
Our core values are:
- To create mutually beneficial relationships.
- To willingly strive to improve and progress. We seek to continuously review the way we do things and be open and willing to move forward with strategies that lead to independent progress.
- To be honest, trustworthy/trusting and act in the best interests of all who we deal with.
- To be authentic and act with integrity. To not expect or ask anyone to do anything we would not be prepared to undertake ourselves.
- To be caring towards others.