Financial Planning Process

Financial Planning is a process and NOT a product. Its purpose is to identify strategies which are designed to help you in achieving your goals and objectives. For many clients this may seem overwhelming but there is no need for them to attempt to resolve this alone when experienced professionals can assist. During your initial consultation, your financial planner will:

1. Collect detailed information Your financial planner will guide you through a fact-find and collect detailed, factual and up-to-date information about your finances, investments, superannuation, insurance, estate planning and any other relevant matters. 2. Identify obstacles, traps and other issues The financial planner has to act as a detective – they will ask you many detailed questions about matters which may seem trivial or unrelated. This is essential as it allows the planner to identify anything which may prevent you from achieving your financial objectives. 3. Discuss the scope of the advice to be prepared, timeframes and fees. The meeting will conclude with a discussion of the scope of the advice to be provided, the timeframes for implementation and agreement on the fees and charges.

The next step is for us to analyse the information you have given us, identify appropriate strategies, conduct financial modelling and finally prepare a Statement of Advice.

4. Prepare a Statement of Advice A Statement of Advice is your road-map to achieving your financial objectives. It will detail your current circumstances, what you would like to achieve, how we believe you can realise these goals and what you need to do to implement the recommendations. Once ready, we will meet with you to present the SOA and explain the strategies. If necessary, at this meeting we will also undertake steps to implement the advice. 5. Implement the Advice If you agree to undertake the recommended strategies we will assist you with completing any documentation required and will lodge them on your behalf. We will monitor the process and keep you updated on progress until we are confident that the strategy has been fully and correctly implemented. The last step of the financial planning process is just as important as the strategy itself. 6. Monitor, review and revise the financial plan and strategy At Critique we place particular emphasis on this step and strive to meet with you at least annually to discuss whether the strategy is still appropriate and what changes need to be made to ensure that you are still on target to achieving financial security. Remember, a Statement of Advice is a living document that needs to be frequently updated to keep it inline with your circumstances and changes in legislation and financial markets.