FAQ’s for Mike Beal, Sunshine Coast Fee Only Financial Planner for Superannuation and Investment Advice – No Commissions
Home » FAQ’s for Mike Beal, Sunshine Coast Fee Only Financial Planner for Superannuation and Investment Advice – No Commissions
Cotton Tree - 'Mike's favourite beach to stop for lunch between clients!'
Is Mike Beal, your Sunshine Coast Financial Planner, the right fit for you?
If you are a Diligent saver who has accumulated investment/retirement assets of $500,000 or more who is about to retire or who has retired then we may be able to assist.
The initial consultation fee is $350 + GST. There is a Japanese proverb 'There is nothing more expensive than something free.' For Mike to come and see you there are communications back and forth, there is preparation work prior to our meeting, for example, Mike sends out various information and asks for information from you so as to get a better picture of your situation so that the time together does indeed add value, there is an appt which will generally take 1-1.5 hours, after this Mike must complete diary notes and do further research. After this Mike will send you an executive summary that will provide for indicative ideas for your consideration - even if we are not an exact fit - at the very least you will have some good strategies for you to consider. Hence, it's at least half a day's work for Mike to see you, thus we charge a fee accordingly.
The fee to produce a ‘Statement of Advice’ ranges from $3000 for simple advice to $20,000 for complex advice, although the average fee tends to be around $5,000. This fee can, in some cases, be paid from your superannuation balance so you can plan your future now without having to affect your personal cash flow.
We have an annual advice service which caters to clients who require more than just a single transaction based engagement. This service includes regular newsletters, portfolio rebalancing, investment and regulatory updates. The fee for this service depends on the complexity of your situation; for example, the fees would increase for more labour intensive portfolio administration such as the inclusion of a direct equities portfolio or self-managed superannuation funds, whereas the fees will be correspondingly lower for less complex portfolios. Please refer to the Financial Services Guide (link at bottom of the page) for additional information about pricing and fees.
Regulation and Compliance! As Financial Planners we have a number of regulators. This means, for us to provide compliant advice, regardless of the advice, it takes us at least 30 hours to provide and implement advice - however, this can be substantially more, in many cases it can take us 50 to 100 hours to provide and implement the advice. Further, the costs of being a financial planner in Australia are increasing constantly, for example, regulator fees, licensee fees, educational fees, professional indemnity fees, IT fees, and compliance costs. Unfortunately this means it is very difficult to service smaller investment balances or younger people seeking advice - and of course, in many cases, these are the people who need the advice the most. The time taken to provide advice relating to a $50,000 investment is identical to the time taken to provide advice relating to a $5,000,000 investment. In fact, it can often be more labour-intensive to structure advice for the lower balance as they are more likely to be younger and therefore require advice on other aspects such as personal insurances, savings plans, debt management, budgeting and so on.Ongoing advice fees are paid for regular reviews, reports, newsletters, portfolio re-balancing and so on.
The ongoing advice fee depends upon the number of hours spent to manage portfolios, some clients will have more complex needs. This flat annual fee will be determined according to the anticipated hours to manage the portfolio.
Mike Beal is a representative of Mike Beal Pty Ltd (ABN 55 601 595 555), Australian Financial Services Licence No: 538550 (trading as Mike Beal Financial Planning). Mike keeps up to date with industry education requirements, via formal enrolment in a Continuing Professional Development program which is administered by a registered training provider. In line with Australian legislation, Mike maintains Professional Indemnity insurance.
In other words…..
Mike will recommend the most appropriate product or strategy for your current circumstances. Mike will place your interests first!
Mike has over 20 years experience in financial planning including Senior Financial Planner roles at both ANZ and Westpac.
Mike has been self-employed since 2014.
Experience is important and so are qualifications – Mike has achieved Advanced Financial Planning Diplomas in both New Zealand and Australia, has a Masters Degree in Business Administration and has completed his Masters Degree in Financial Planning.