The hardest thing most people find when planning for their future is knowing which way to turn in the beginning. The fear of making the wrong decision is compounded by the fact that you have so many choices and investment options available. Too many people focus only on the investment vehicle.

Financial Planning doesn’t need to be hard. We know that the little things done right, make a big difference when accumulated over time. While it may seem easier to simply put it in the too hard basket or leave your financial future in the hands of luck, the fact is the opportunity cost from not planning also accumulates over time.

A simple way to view it is to imagine you’re planning a holiday. Even if you have a destination in mind, before you start booking flights and accommodation, you’d start by working out how much time you have, how much you can afford to spend, and then you’d plan your trip. If you don’t have enough money or time, you might consider a different destination, delaying or reducing the trip.

Planning is very much the same. With a goal in mind, before you choose the investment vehicle, you need to understand how much time you have, how much you can contribute along the journey, and then consider how best to arrive at the destination. The more time you have, the less risk you need to be exposed to. The more you can contribute, the less risk or the greater the comfort you have on the way.

While we each have our own unique experiences, the Planning Life stages generally follow a familiar path as we complete our education, commence a career, save, accumulate assets, build equity, and eventually transition to retirement. The compounding effect of interest over time helps to magnify your returns, so, the earlier you start, the better the outcomes will likely become in the long run.

As your planner, our role is to utilise our skills and experience to help you maximise the resources you have available to you to build a plan suited to your own unique circumstances. We use the three key levers to planning – Time, Contribution and Investment Vehicle Selection, to help you get to the planned destination.

Even if you’ve left things a little late, by applying the right strategies as you move forward, we can help you to maximise your finances with the goal of achieving better outcomes or reaching your destination earlier.

Our approach is tailored for you – We’ll assist you to clarify and prioritise your Goals and Objectives. We then help you get started on your planning journey with a Strategic Roadmap. This will help point you in the right direction. We can support you with specialist advice for a one-off specific matter, like insurance coverage advice, a single investment, or how to handle an expected inheritance. We also offer complete and ongoing advice through our Annual Subscription family office styled service – this option covers comprehensive advice, implementation, quarterly reviews and updates, all backed up with 365 days of phone and email support.

To find out more request an obligation Free Planning Consultation Today.

Before you start implementing any plan, it’s essential to understand your cash flow. Contribution is one of the 3 key planning levers – How much you start with and the amount you can contribute over time has a significant impact on the outcomes you can achieve. It impacts the level of risk you need to expose yourself to in order to achieve your goals.

Your spending habits also have an impact on your ability to obtain credit or lending. This effects your ability to take advantage of leveraged wealth building opportunities. Understanding your cash flow is a critical step in obtaining finance.

While nobody appreciates a restrictive budget, it is amazing how much more you can achieve when you have a definite purpose, a specific goal with a timeframe, and a disciplined approach to spending. We can help you implement methods to refine your budgeting approach and improve your savings capability over time.

We support a balanced but planned approach to spending and to goal setting in general. It’s important to ensure that your financial approach supports your lifestyle needs. The long-term success of any plan requires that you balance your needs; financially, physically, mentally and spiritually. This is a key area that we cover in our initial meetings and continue to review on an ongoing basis.

To find out more request an obligation Free Planning Consultation Today.

While budgeting is one method to maximise your available contributions, reducing your tax burden can also have a significant effect. As the late Kerry Packer famously said: “I am not evading tax in any way, shape or form. Now of course I am minimising my tax, and if anybody in this country doesn’t minimise their tax, they want their heads read, because as a government I can tell you you’re not spending it that well that we should be donating extra.”

You don’t need to be super rich to take advantage of strategies designed to legally minimise your Tax. For those on the highest tax bracket, every tax dollar saved is the equivalent of almost $2 earned.  Together with our Accounting service provider we can assist you to enhance your current tax position and plan ahead for future years.

Tax law is complex and ever evolving. The methods you choose in how you derive your income, hold your assets, and how you structure your investments can have a significant impact on your tax outcomes. Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty rules also have a further impact that require careful consideration when implementing changes.

While the best time to get tax advice is before your start a venture or acquire an asset, it is generally beneficial to review your structure and tax planning on a regular basis. Together with our Accounting Service provider we can help you better understand your Tax position and identify strategies available to legally reduce your tax obligations.

Our Annual Subscription family office styled service can be tailored to include all your Taxation preparation and lodgement needs via our Accounting Service provider.

To find out more request an obligation Free Planning Consultation Today.

Just as a home needs to be built on solid foundations, having the right insurance protection in place is a critical foundation step for the setting of a solid Financial Plan. Insurance is about the transfer of risk, from you to the insurer. Its purpose is to allow you to plan ahead with confidence. It is effectively a payment by you in exchange for a contractual promise made by the insurer. A promise to make a prescribed payment in the event that certain covered events occur in the future.

The core insurance function is to provide support when things go wrong. A strong plan seeks to ensure you have sufficient coverage in place so that you can effectively maintain your lifestyle and ideally not jeopardize your future plans.

Life Insurance products are designed to cover specific Accident and/or Sickness events. Coverage is typically available in 4 formats: Death Coverage, Income Protection Coverage, Total Permanent Disability Coverage, and Critical Illness/Trauma cover.

Not all products and product providers are designed equal. Like all things financial, the Life Insurance industry has undergone significant change over time. Legislation has seen mandated product option changes, benefit changes, pricing impacts and considerable focus on ensuring insurers provide sustainable coverage, so it’s there for you in the long term.

In addition to varying product options, there are generally options available allowing you to fund your cover through your Super. This adds an additional layer of complexity and financial considerations.

Our services make Insurance selection easy for you. We navigate the complexities of the industry and the multitude of providers to find you the cover that best meets your goals, objectives and Insurance needs. We’ll provide information and education for informed decision making and use our attention to detail to drive a smooth implementation process.

To find out more request an obligation Free Planning Consultation Today.

Another important part of any strategy is ensuring that you are protecting the assets that you hold as investments. This is done to safeguard them against various risks such as loss, personal injury, market changes, legal issues, and bankrupt debtors.

The two main strategies available to help protect your assets are Insurance and Structuring.

Insurance works by transferring risk, or the financial impact of that risk, from you to the insurer when a covered event occurs. There are a wide variety of insurance products available to cover a broad and growing range of risk types. Insurance is divided into two categories – Life Insurance products (See above Planning Services – Life Insurance) and General Insurance products (See Related Services page – General Insurance).

Structuring involves the use of separate legal entities like Companies, Trusts and SMSFs, to hold your assets. This approach can provide both an opportunity to hold your assets in a manner that better protects them and may also provide potential tax benefits. There are numerous factors that need to be taken into consideration when considering structuring changes, including Taxation, CGT, Stamp Duty events and potential Legislative risks. The key in choosing the right structure lies in the effective beneficial ownership and the control of the asset and entity.

At Clever Advice, together with our service partners we can cater for your Structuring advice needs. We are also authorised and highly experienced in providing Life Insurance advice. When it comes to General Insurance, we have identified specialist service providers who can look after your General Insurance needs. (See Related Services page – General Insurance).

To find out more request an obligation Free Planning Consultation Today.

The first thing we get asked when meeting someone new and occupation is inevitably raised, is “what share should I invest in?”. The truth is there is no simple answer, as it depends on so many different factors. No good adviser is going to suggest that you put all your eggs in one basket, and no insurer would cover the adviser that did!

There’s a huge selection of domestic and international equities to consider, along with private funds, managed funds, ETFs, currencies and other platform providers. The choice is endless. There are more and more funds entering the market each year catering to specific niche themes, specialist investment areas and responding to investment trends.

Developing the right investment strategy requires consideration of your whole portfolio, existing assets, your income, lifestyle and cash flow requirements, and most importantly, your risk appetite. Typically, a well- built portfolio will seek to match your risk profile and provide a suitable level of diversification across different investment classes and investment markets.

In addition, there are various strategies that can be adopted, subject to the time you have available to implement them, and the speed of return you are looking to achieve.

We take into account your circumstances and goals, to develop a risk appropriate investment strategy to support your long- term goals. We subscribe to the principals of time in the market, rather than timing the market, to seek to deliver sustainable long-term returns in line with your risk profile.

To find out more request an obligation Free Planning Consultation Today.

Superannuation is in our opinion one of the most neglected assets that most people have. The vast majority of people that we talk to are not aware of what balance they have, how it’s invested, what its performance has been or even if it has any insurance in place.

Don’t leave it to chance! Its important to get to know your super and understand your options. Even a small improvement in costs or performance can make a significant difference when accumulated over time.

As superannuation has favourable tax treatment, which improves as you reach retirement, it should be given some priority in your planning process. Developing a Contribution strategy can save you tax now and help you grow for the future.

We encourage our clients to think of Super in the same way as a side business that they’re growing to replace their income. Just like a side business, every effort that you put in along the way brings you one step closer to your retirement lifestyle goals. The key difference is that you can only draw from it upon reaching retirement age.

From Industry funds, through to WRAP accounts and SMSFs, there are plenty of fund options available with the main differentiator being the level of control you wish to have. In each case you have investment options available to choose from, with SMSF’s giving the highest level of control.

An SMSF, is a special kind of Trust where you become the Trustee of your fund. The SMSF Trust deed dictates what types of investments it can make. It’s subject to numerous regulations to follow to remain compliant and retain its favourable tax treatment. Legislation prescribes rules around asset diversification requirements, fund use and purpose, and inhouse assets.

A key benefit of an SMSF is that it is the only Super structure that allows you to utilise lending to purchase direct property. This is a popular strategy as the Capital Gains Tax rate of Super is lower than what can be achieved outside of super, and if the asset is sold in retirement, it is capital gains tax free. In addition, there are certain asset protection benefits of holding property in Super.

An SMSF is not for everyone. As trustee you are responsible for its administration, maintaining its compliance and setting its investment strategy.

At Clever Advice we can help you determine the right Super Strategy for you. We can assist with all stages from fund selection, contribution strategy through to advice on SMSF establishment and Investment Strategies.

To find out more request an obligation Free Planning Consultation Today.

You’ve worked hard to build your legacy and provide for your loved ones. So, it’s important to consider what happens when you are no longer around. A thoroughly drafted Will, written with clarity, avoiding ambiguity, and addressing all relevant parties (beneficiaries or not) can help to avoid additional stress and potential legal challenges to those who are grieving and the executor of the will.

For business owners and the self-employed, in addition to Wills, thought should be made towards succession planning, business and partnership agreements, sale agreements and key man insurances.

Where you have young children, there are complex family situations (either for yourself or your intended beneficiaries), multiple entities, or simply a large estate, there may be benefits of establishing a Testamentary Discretionary Trust (TDT). A TDT can provide Asset Protection, Taxation and Family Law Benefits.

A Testamentary Discretionary Trust is a trust established under a valid Will. It functions in a similar way to a discretionary family trust, with certain provisions of the will operating like a trust deed. As a TDT is established by a Will, it only commences following the will maker’s death. This occurs at the point when the residue of the will maker’s estate is identified, all specific gifts are distributed, and all debts and liabilities of the estate are paid.

Its important to note that your Superannuation is not automatically included in your estate – it is maintained separately. Super funds are distributed by your fund’s trustee in accordance with the relevant legislation and rules of the fund. It is guided by, but not always limited to the beneficiary nominations you may have made. So, it is important to also consider and review your Superannuation nominations on a regular basis.

Naturally as time passes, our circumstances also change. It’s important to ensure that you regularly review both your Will and Super nominations. Different life events like marriage, children, asset acquisition, divorce, inheritances should also trigger a review.

We are here to help ensure every aspect of the plan is considered. We can assist you to understand the key considerations and help you to prepare for developing a thorough Will or TDT via our Legal Services related business partners. (See Related Services page – Legal Services).

To find out more request an obligation Free Planning Consultation  Today.