A financial planner is fundamentally a money strategist

When potential clients, friends, colleagues, or anyone else asks me about the financial planning industry, I think any advice must pass the “pub test.” We are responsible to our clients and our industry to respectfully use our position of trust. I’ve also been thinking about the term financial planning. While it does frame what I do, helping people plan a financial future, it doesn’t articulate the process.

My role, or that of any financial planner, is not designing a plan on a spreadsheet and saying, “There you go, follow this, and you’ll be right.” Over the years, as a chartered accountant and a financial planner, I have learned the importance of financial strategy. Strategy is the difference between holding investments and structuring a complete financial framework to meet goals, protect wealth, and optimise a client’s tax position.

While most think a financial planner picks the investments, that is a misconception in most cases. The investment selection is important; however, in modern financial planning, day-to-day investment decisions are typically orchestrated by specialist investment managers whom a financial planner works with. Their role is singular. Study the research, use the tools and technology, and make smart forward thinking decisions that align with the client’s risk profile. Mostly, their time is spent in the here and now with an eye on forecasting for results. Financial planners take a much bigger picture approach to their clients’ long-term financial strategy. My role is to identify effective pathways to get you from where you are now to where you want to be.

Working with North Advisory brings advantages. Firstly, you are getting a qualified financial planner with a network of highly professional additional services. Home loans, insurance, and of course, business advisory if required. Secondly, my business partner Marius Fourie and I are Chartered Accountants. We understand tax strategies and are registered tax agents. Our scope is much broader than that of a standalone financial planner. Our optics examines your portfolio through two lenses. We see and can forecast opportunities and strategies that others can’t. Wealth accumulation and tax efficiencies. While accumulating wealth is fun, keeping it is the technical strategy that sets us apart.

Having a thorough comprehension of your circumstances is always the starting point. I examine your assets, liabilities, income, expenses, insurances, and most importantly, your objective. From there, I work with a trusted and professional network of investment managers, insurance, and maybe loan specialists if required to design a plan structured for your risk profile. Throughout the strategy, I monitor its performance, ensure it is flexible to your needs if they change, and adjust every move to fit the broader outcome. Whether to retire early, pass on wealth to the children, or reduce debt, every outcome has a customised strategy supporting it.

Regulatory changes, market volatility, and changing tax laws are part of every maturing financial plan, which is why a set-and-forget approach doesn’t work. Allowing your finances to roll along yearly without professional oversight or review costs you more than you think. Is your superfund performing? Can you reduce the interest on your mortgage or other loans? Are you entirely optimised to minimise tax? By examining the questions and finding solutions to improve small inefficiencies, they can potentially compound into significant sums in the years ahead.

I have experienced clients who have saved thousands of dollars by shopping their mortgage around or restructuring their insurance policies. These are strategic wins; the impact is significant when you create a stream of strategic wins over a decade or more.

At North Advisory Wealth Management, we typically work with clients with $500,000 or more in superannuation or investable assets. At this threshold, we have the strategic levers for tax structuring and investment management to deliver meaningful returns on advice and investment strategies. It is about creating value for the client.

As a chartered accountant and a financial planner, I understand numbers and compliance. I can bring them all together to create a strategy that converts to a flexible and successful financial plan for your future. I don’t look for this next shining object to invest in; I’m looking ahead at the next decade and beyond. How to optimise your tax position, grow your portfolio, and protect your wealth are all front of mind when delivering you a customised financial plan.