Challenge the Standard in Financial Advice

If you're a financial adviser for long enough, you're going to come up against one of life's inevitabilities - the death of a client.  And, because you're a diligent financial adviser, your client will have been well prepared. Insurance in place.  Estate planning sorted.  Wealth invested soundly.  But, Nathan and Jordan ask in part of of a double-episode, should we actually do when the time comes?...

If you're a financial adviser for long enough, you're going to come up against one of life's inevitabilities - the death of a client.  And, because you're a diligent financial adviser, your client will have been well prepared. Insurance in place.  Estate planning sorted.  Wealth invested soundly.  But, Nathan and Jordan ask in part 1 of this double-episode, should we  actually do when the time com...

Look, I'll be honest - I don't really know how to caption this episode.  It's chaotic, it's hilarious, it's interesting and it was fun as all get out to record.  We're joined by James D'Apice, of Gravamen Law and the Coffee and a Case Note podcast.  And, wooee, does it get wild.  Belt up, listen in and join us for the ride. Plus, you can reach James via: https://gravamen.com.au/ James d'Apice | Li...

This weeks episode has Nathan and Jordan talking with the inaugural FAAA Adviser of the Year - Sacha Burchgart.  Jordan manages to absolutely mangle  the intro - rolling through all sorts of mistakes - before leaving it up to Sacha and Nathan to save the episode.  In doing so, they discuss: The efficiencies Sacha has found by rolling out a practical tech stack. The critical importance of staff buy...

This week the boys are joined by Jayden Adams, Director and Financial Adviser at Adams Financial Group.  Knowing from a young age he wanted to be a financial adviser, but not knowing the best path, Jayden takes Nathan and Jordan through his journey to date. Jayden discusses what he wishes he'd have known earlier, as well as the tips and ideas he'd like to pass on to upcoming financial advisers.  J...

Back to a technical topic, this week the boys discuss Annuities, looking at  How they work Where adviser reluctance may come from How to identify clients that Lifetime annuities may be appropriate for  What to watch out for And of course a bit of off topic banter.    Remember, this is just a podcast and is not to be taken as financial advice.   As always, Nathan can be reached via  advice@nathanfr...

In this episode, Nathan and Jordan tackle the (at-times controversial) risk profile questionnaire. Where does it come from? How relevant is the old tick-box questionnaire in a modern advisory practice? How can it protect clients, and advisers? And how can advisers take what's often been viewed as a perfunctory exercise in nothingness and make it useful, valuable and interesting for the clients the...

In this week's episode, Nathan and Jordan speak with James O'Reilly of Northeast Wealth.  James - a long-time challenger of the standards in financial advice - discusses: The uniquely tantalising idea of Budget night in a house full of financial advisers.  His path to building a practice aligned with his values, beliefs and priorities. The small steps they took as they made the BIG decision to onl...

Divorce is one of life's most tumultuous transitions. So the more assistance and guidance you can get as you navigate that path, the better. But, as Jordan and Nathan explore in this episode, it can be hard to work out where financial advice can fit in the picture.  After several years focusing in the area, they discuss: The three phases of the divorce process The differences between a divorce and...

This week, we're discussing Video SOAs. What are they, how are they helpful and - most critically - what are they NOT? Jordan spends some time unpacking the process he follows in preparing advice, and Nathan provides clear guidance on how reviewing and rejigging that approach can lead to better client, adviser and practice outcomes. If you've been wondering whether Video SOAs are all they're crack...

In this week's episode, Jordan and Nathan are joined by Martin McGrath of Financial Edge Group. An accomplished business owner and financial adviser, Martin is the winner of the FAAA's CFP of the Year award.  In this episode, Martin takes us through: His journey from accountant to financial adviser to business owner to specialist. Why he decided to (strictly) focus his business on his chosen niche...

This week Jordan and Nathan explore the ASIC Report 779, exploring its aim, interesting findings and key takeouts and learnings for advisers. Before you doze off, the boys try to make this at least mildly interesting, covering How the report works, and why it was written. Why it's important you consider Performance when making investment recommendations. The role of licensees and research houses i...

In this episode Nathan forgets to use his actual microphone so his episode sounds like he is recording from another room. Despite this, this is a great ep where Nathan and Jordan tackle the topic of niching in financial advice, in preparation for an upcoming series of episodes with various planners who found or chose their niche and became more successful because of it.  Jordan and Nathan both des...

This week, Nathan and Jordan speak with the wonderful Lucy Percy, of Head and Heart Estate Planning, to explore how financial advisers and estate planning solicitors can work together.  Most advisers know that estate planning is a key part of their clients financial arrangements - but actually making it work can be really difficult.  How do you bring up the conversation? Who do bring in to help yo...

This week, Nathan and Jordan address a big topic that might ruffle a few feathers - misrepresenting the value we provide clients in our advice.  This episode covers a lot of ground, including debating where the value actually is in what we do how the use of projections in our advice can be a two-edged, and dangerous, sword Why, if they're not tailored, then they're useless And how a recent FSCP de...

In this week's episode, Jordan and Nathan start exploring the big and exciting topic of 'Value of Advice'.  The guys discussdiscuss a few of the big questions: Where does the value of advice sit? Is it in the quantitative benefits our advice brings to the lives of our clients? Or is it in the qualititative benefits that come with good advice? The tangible? Or the intangible? Both? Neither? How do...

Jordan and Nathan tackle the fundamental, but complex topic of Superannuation switching, and the ethical considerations that appear.  They discuss the history of Superannuation products, investment philosophy, replacement, tradeoff discussions, Industry Funds versus Wrap accounts and the ethical challenges advisers face when looking at product replacement. 

The ATO's release of Tax Determination 2023/D4 in late 2023 was swept up in the QAR kerfuffle. But it's a big, positive change worth talking about.  'Tax deductible' advice fees has felt like a pipedream for financial advisers for a long time. But a committed group of professionals, led by the FAAA, have spent over four years on making it a reality.  So Nathan and Jordan invited Conrad Travers, a...

This first episode of 2024 has Jordan and Nathan exploring the world of Aged Care in Australia. Nathan's deep expertise in the area is obvious as Jordan assumes the (comfortable?) role of Ignorant Idiot - asking Nathan questions other advisers might be too embarrassed to ask.  If all you know about Aged Care advice comes from those times you visited your Nan, then this episode will help you better...

In this slightly more casual episode, Nathan and Jordan discuss how they make plans in their businesses. They go into detail about the structure they use to plan for the New Year - from their 'why', strategic objectives and tactical action plans.  Bringing in their expertise from the worlds of fitness and strength training (Nathan) and doubt and discomfort with success (Jordan), they explore how f...

Hot off the back of the most recent, and quite controvercial Quality of Advice review annoucements, Jordan and Nathan got Ben Marshan into the studio.  Ben is a consultant for financial advice practices, having previously been the head of policy and engagement for the FPA. With his extensive experience in advocacy and lobbying the boys delved into what the latest annoucements would mean for advise...

In this episode Jordan and Nathan are joined by Michael Miller, Senior Financial Adviser at Capital Advisory in Canberra, an FAAA fellow, CFP, Textbook author and frequent contributor to the Financial Planning industry on all things ethics.  They discuss Michaels blog where he summarises the AFCA and AAT determinations to provide learnings to the profession as a whole, as well as the role of AFCA....

In this thought-provoking podcast episode, Jordan and Nathan explore the complexities of pricing in financial advice, taking a relatively high level look at the history of how financial advice has been priced, how firms approach it in modern context and the pros and cons of each approach.  As always the boys dont take things too seriously, nor do they claim to have all of the answers.  Don't forge...