What is a financial advisor? – The Tribeca Way

So you know what to look for in a financial advisor and the questions to ask to choose the right advisor for you.

Our final article in this series highlights how we go about offering value; looking at what’s important to us and the thinking and tools that enable Tribeca to deliver financial advice in a different way.

Living your Good Life

Gone are the days (we hope) where financial advice is hastily given out through the lens of a spreadsheet of demographic filters, where product takes precedence and the client is treated like a number.

The best financial planners and advisors will see you for who you truly are as a person, and want to get to know the real you. That’s our approach at Tribeca. To deeply understand what motivates you so we can accurately plan for what your future needs will be, providing you with highly personalised financial advice that works in tandem with your lifestyle.

Sitting at the heart of our approach is ‘My Good Life’, which is about building the life you want by prioritising what’s most important to you at each stage of your life. And then putting a financial roadmap together to help you get there.

In this way, your financial plan is geared towards what makes you happy and what you care about, so that you can reach your goals whilst still allowing you to live life the way you choose.

Slow and steady

Quite often a life event will trigger that first appointment with a financial advisor; a wedding, death, birth of a child, illness, job promotion, job loss. The last thing you want is a hard sell. Before you even commit to a meeting, you want to get a good sense of what is important to the financial advisor and how their philosophy aligns with your own values and approach.

We think that’s so important. It’s why your first contact with us is typically via our ‘get to know you’ phone call where we can learn a bit about you and your expectations; and you can learn about us and our financial advisors. We can also help you prepare for our first meeting if you decide to take that next step.

No pressure. No awkwardness. Just a great way to start a two-way relationship.

Arrange your obligation-free get to know you call.

All about you

It seems obvious, but every person is different. Different values, risk tolerance, lifestyle, occupations, and goals. A good financial advisor will take the time to gain a clear understanding of how each individual makeup will shape the financial plan of that person, couple or family – and how that sits with their overall life goals. You can’t have one without the other.

It’s why our first catch up with you is what we call a Discovery appointment. It’s where we set the foundation for what you want to achieve based on what’s important to you now and in the future – looking at today, in three years time and in ten years.

Yes, this takes a bit of work on your behalf. But we’ve got plenty of ways to help you think about your short to long-term goals, such as the five L’s – Life, Love, Learn, Laugh and Legacy. Here, we look at:

Live: What does your life look like, now and in ten years time?
Love: What are your important relationships? How will you nurture them and add value to them?
Learn: What are your passions that you’d like to get better at, or things you’d like to try in life?
Laugh: What are the things that make you happy? It could be travelling with friends, painting, baking – anything that makes you smile – or even better, laugh.
Legacy: What do you want to contribute or give back to society or those around you?

Learn more about the Tribeca way of providing financial advice.

Honesty and
trust

For a relationship to be long-lasting, it must be based on honesty, trust and respect. It’s what you should expect and demand from your financial planner and advisor.

This starts with that first call and meeting, and it also needs to be reflected in discussions about fees and agreed standards. Again, this should be clear and upfront so there’s no chance of misunderstanding.

All of this and more should be detailed in your Statement of Advice (SOA), which must be signed by you before your financial advisor can start implementing your plan.

The government’s moneysmart site has a great summary of what is typically contained in an SoA. It should:

address your financial goals and personal situation
list accurate financial details, such as your assets, debts, income and expenses
has a level of risk you’re comfortable with
explain what the advice covers (and doesn’t cover)
explain how the recommended strategy fits your financial goals, risk profile, time frame, and financial situation
explain how investments will be managed
detail how any recommended products fit into the plan
explain the pros and cons of switching to another financial product (for example, another super fund)
clearly shows all the fees you’ll pay, how they’re paid, and who they’re paid to.

Remember, this document is your starting point. It’s in your best interests to make sure you’re happy and clear on all aspects of your plan and how your financial advisor will work with you. Ask questions. Challenge your financial advisor on points you don’t understand. Make suggestions yourself. That’s what we encourage at Tribeca, because we think your financial wellbeing is too important not to be 100% on the same page.

A clear way
ahead

Now that we have a clear picture of where you are now and what the future looks like, the next big question is how we’re going to get you there.

The answer is with a plan and approach that is simple to understand and implement. We know how hard it is to stick to everyday activities like managing cashflow and budgets – essential to any financial/life roadmap. The more equipped and empowered you are to put these things in place, the greater chance you will have to achieve your goals.

We’re like your personal trainer for your financial wellbeing. You’re the one in control of your wealth creation. We’re there to support you, motivate you, and give you the tools to reach your goals.

The value factor

The Value Factor was created by our senior financial advisors as a clear indication of the value you can expect to receive from our advice. It provides you with the quantitative aspects of advice (financial) and just as importantly, the qualitative aspects of advice (emotional). Both aspects are drawn from proven research and our own experience and expertise.

At Tribeca, our benchmark is to return four to seven times the value of your ongoing advice fee. This equates to anywhere from $24,000 to $42,000+ of advice value per annum.

We arrive at this forecast by factoring elements like, the quantitive value our financial advisors can deliver you through:

minimising tax and debt
maximising cashflow and income
smart investing and changing behaviour

Plus the quantitative value our financial advisors can deliver you through:

expert advice and clear planning
reducing stress and making informed choices
achieving goals and ongoing support

Financial wellbeing
matrix

Many people worry about money more than their own health. It’s why finances and wellbeing are intrinsically linked. Our financial advisors embrace financial wellbeing for this very reason.

A healthy level of financial wellbeing results in two very strong emotional responses:

A sense of security
A feeling of freedom

By feeling financially secure, it allows you to enjoy the genuine freedom of making choices you want to make – not have to make. To help you identify and enhance your level of financial wellbeing we’ll take you through our Financial Wellbeing Matrix (and revisit it regularly).

By asking you a series of questions our financial advisors will be able to plot your sense of security and how it relates to your feelings towards control over your finances (now), and capacity to absorb a financial shock (in the future). And we’ll also be able to rate your feeling of freedom that looks at your financial freedom to make choices (today), and whether you feel you’re on track to meet your goals (for tomorrow).

For us, it’s not about creating the roadmap and then leaving you to navigate by yourself. We’re with you every step of the way to help you stay on course – or take a slightly different direction if life throws up the occasional fork in the road.

Talking about personal finance is not an easy thing for most people. It’s why turning to financial professionals such as a financial advisor is such an iportant decision – so you want to be confident and comfortable in your choice.

We hope our ‘Valuing a financial advisor’ series of articles have helped to remove some of the mystery and questions you have around financial advice, and made the journey towards choosing a financial advisor an easier one to navigate.

What is a financial advisor? – The Tribeca Way

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