George Iacovou

My story

My parents moved to Springwood when I was little. I went to John Paul College, where I was a prefect in my final year. I played rugby league for the Springwood Tigers from the age of five. I still go to games most weekends. Great Advice sits on Chatswood Road, around the corner from where I grew up.

I didn’t plan on becoming a financial adviser. My parents ran businesses and did well. But the financial system is its own language. Super, tax, lending, investing, commercial leasing. That stuff wasn’t talked about at home. As the eldest, those conversations landed on me at the kitchen table. I learned that financial literacy isn’t something you’re born with. It can be taught. That’s probably where it started.

I got into the industry at one of the biggest planning firms in Australia. They were big on SMSFs and investments, and I ended up being their top new business adviser. But I always felt like we were missing the bigger picture. It was all product and not enough strategy. When AMP came to me with a role in Sydney I didn’t think twice. I wanted to learn from the best. In 2011 I became their youngest licensed adviser.

I stayed in corporate for a while after that. Sydney, then Brisbane. Big firms, good experience. But the longer I was in it, the more I noticed the same thing. The people who needed this help, the regular people trying to figure out their super and whether they could afford to retire, weren’t the ones the big firms cared about.

The ones who reminded me of my parents weren’t even getting through the door.

That’s why I started Great Advice.

Who I work with

Mostly pre-retirees and retirees in their 50s and 60s from the Logan corridor, Brisbane southside, and the Gold Coast. People within ten years of stopping work who want to know if they’ve got enough, whether their super’s doing its job, and what the Age Pension looks like for them. A few years in, the same clients start bringing me the harder stuff: a parent going into aged care, an inheritance to structure, or insurance that needs a second opinion. That’s where I spend most of my time.

How I work

The first meeting is free and usually runs about an hour, by phone or at the Springwood office, whichever you prefer. If we both want to keep going, I scope the work and quote a fixed fee in writing before anything starts. You can walk away at no cost. Plans are typically 35 to 60 pages, written in plain English. About two weeks from first call to signed plan, depending on the week. Annual reviews are 45 minutes. I answer my own phone.

Outside the office

Married, three little kids, still in Springwood. Weekends are fishing, a fair bit of 4×4, and travel when we can squeeze it between school runs. I’ve supported John Paul College rugby and the Springwood Tigers since I was old enough to kick a ball, and I still do. I speak Greek fluently (my parents’ first language, which comes in handy with Logan’s big Greek-Australian community). I’m probably reading a finance or investment book when no-one’s looking. And the coffee-drinking is a bit out of hand.

Credentials

• Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning (AQF Level 8, above Bachelor).
• FASEA Financial Adviser Exam passed.
• Corporate Authorised Representative and Credit Representative of Akumin Financial Planning Pty Ltd (AFSL 232706).
• Listed on the ASIC Financial Advisers Register.
• Great Advice is Aetos Wealth Advisors Pty Ltd (ACN 160 287 301), trading as Great Advice Financial Advisers.

Fee-based practice. No commissions on superannuation or investment advice. Any insurer commission on risk-only advice is disclosed in the Statement of Advice. Our FSG / FSCG is available here.