The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has recently released information about advisers who are allowed to give personalised financial advice – these are the Authorised Financial Advisers (AFAs). There are only 1800 AFAs in New Zealand, and the number of these is falling every year (as the qualification isn’t easy to achieve, plus AFAs tend to be experienced advisers, who are of retirement age). In the Manawatu, there is only one AFA for every ten thousand people. If you take out the advisers working as Qualified Financial Entities (QFEs), like the banks etc, the number of advisers who aren’t going to only sell you their employer’s products, are few.
Private banking or personalised advice offered by banks, is only for the wealthy. For example, you need $1,000,000 in assets to get personalised advice from the BNZ, or $2,000,000 if you are a Westpac customer.
At WealthDesign, we have been offering personalised financial advice for over 16 years, backed up by independent research. You don’t have to be ‘wealthy’ (although we have clients who are) to get personalised advice, as we understand that different people, at different stages of life, have different needs. We have advisers of different ages who will work alongside you, who take the time to focus on your stage of life, and your unique life experience.
We aren’t owned or licensed by any one insurance company or bank. We aren’t part of the QFE telling us what and how we should manage your money. We deal with a wide range of insurance companies in the market and back up our recommendations with independent research. If you work with us, you have the peace of mind of knowing you have someone who works just for you. We have your interests at heart, and will be there today and in the long term, working alongside you, to get the best outcome for you, and you alone. You get total transparency when you work with WealthDesign.
Give us a call and discover how easy it can be to gain peace of mind with your finances.
John Barber
WealthDesign – a life well planned