Financial Advice – phone or face to face?

When it comes to advice about your financial future, would you prefer to talk to someone you’ve met face to face or to a person down South over the phone?

We often meet clients who have previously got advice over the phone.  Sometimes they have been cold called, sometimes they have responded to an ad or informative article on socials.  Whatever marketing strategy these firms use, once you’ve engaged with the marketing specialist to ‘get you one the hook’ they then pass you over to the Financial Planner to discuss your situation.  Often that person isn’t even a legal Financial Planner and the person with the appropriate qualifications and licenses only chimes in right at the end once you’re signing up for whatever they are recommending.

Generally, the type of advice provided is very transactional and product based.  It’s roll over your super into this new fund and take out this life insurance and income protection or set up this Self-Managed Super Fund and buy this hot property.  It’s focussed on a transaction with no great regard for you long term plans and what ongoing engagement you might require.  Anything tricky and outside the box like Centrelink, tax matters, discussing your business or projecting out how your retirement goals are looking is ‘out of scope’.  Sometimes the product-based advice is reasonable and sometimes it’s an ordinary ‘one size fits all’ type approach with whatever product providers they have a relationship with.  

At Eclipse, our advisers take the time to fully understand your situation and provide advice that takes into account your full financial and family situation, goals and future plans.  We project out your financial future based on where you are now and what you’re currently doing.  This means you can make fully informed decisions about any recommended strategies and products understanding the long term benefits so you can way this up against any costs.  

Talking of costs, we often find out that the phone-based advisers down South are actually charging higher fees than we charge for a full, personalised face to face service.

If you think you could benefit from a discussion with a real Financial Planner based in the Whitsundays, give us a call on 49467359 of visit www.eclipsefp.com.au   There’s no obligation, the first meeting is free and all fees are spelled out clearly in advance.

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