Principal Financial Adviser
GeorgeIacovou.
For sixteen years I’ve helped people across south east Queensland retire with a plan they actually understand.
Why I started Great Advice.
Sixteen years in, the reason I started has not changed.
My parents moved to Springwood when I was little. I went to John Paul College, played rugby league for the Springwood Tigers from the age of five, and still live locally with my family.
I started in large financial planning firms, learning how the advice industry actually works from the inside.
In 2011 I became AMP’s youngest licensed adviser. The experience was useful, but the work I cared about most was helping regular families understand super, tax, retirement and the big decisions they had not been taught at home.
The ones who reminded me of my parents were not even getting through the door. That is why I started Great Advice.
Who I help, and how it works.
Most of the people I work with are in the last ten years before they finish work.
It’s the stage where the super rules get most complicated and a wrong call costs the most. They’re usually in their 50s or 60s, weighing up the same practical questions. Have we saved enough to stop work? Is the super doing its job? And where does the Age Pension fit? Those are the questions I spend my days on.
The first meeting.
It’s free, runs about an hour, and mostly it’s me listening. No pressure to go any further.
A fixed fee, in writing.
If we both want to keep going, I scope the work and put the fee in writing before anything starts.
A plan you can use.
Written in plain English, reviewed when it counts, and built around decisions you can act on.
A specialist, not a generalist.
I do one thing: superannuation in the years right before retirement.
Knowing the rules is the easy part. The real work is that final decade, when a catch-up contribution, the sale of a house or business, a redundancy or an inheritance can all land in the same year, each with its own tax and timing trap. Working out how they fit together, and what order to act in, is the job. The thresholds move most years, so I keep up with them, because advice built on last year’s numbers is how people breach a cap.
Contribution caps
Concessional, after-tax, carry-forward and bring-forward, timed so nothing breaches.
Downsizer contributions
Moving home-sale proceeds into super, outside the usual caps.
Balance & transfer caps
How total super balance and the transfer balance cap interact, and what they allow.
Division 293
The extra contributions tax for higher earners, planned around rather than tripped over.
Preservation & access
When you can actually touch your super, and on what conditions.
Estate & beneficiaries
Passing super to the next generation as tax-effectively as the rules allow.
Deep in one field, aimed at one stage of life. That’s what a generalist can’t match.
Postgraduate adviser qualification level
Akumin Financial Planning, my licensee
My authorised representative number
Member, Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA)
Verify my advice record
Great Advice is fee-based and does not accept commissions on superannuation or investment advice. Any insurer commission on risk-only advice is disclosed in the Statement of Advice. The current FSG / FSCG is available here.
If retirement is getting close, let’s work out what your super can do.
Free first meeting. No obligation, and usually about an hour.
Shop 1/50 Chatswood Rd
Springwood QLD 4127
Monday to Friday
9am to 5pm
In person, by phone,
or over video
General Advice Warning: anything published on this page is general information only and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation, or needs. Before acting on any of it, seek personal advice from a licensed adviser.
05Questions
Meet George.
The questions I get asked first. If yours isn't here, the first meeting is the place for it.
Book a first meetingWhat qualifications and experience does George Iacovou have as a financial adviser?
I'm George Iacovou, Principal Financial Adviser at Great Advice. I hold a postgraduate qualification in financial planning (AQF Level 8), and I've advised for more than 16 years, the whole time on superannuation and the years right before retirement. I'm an Authorised Representative of Akumin Financial Planning Pty Ltd, AFSL 232706, so you can check my record on the ASIC Financial Advisers Register.
Who does George Iacovou usually help, and what does he specialise in?
Most are within about ten years of finishing work, or already retired, living across Brisbane's south side, Logan and the Gold Coast. I'm a specialist, not a generalist: superannuation in that final decade, where the contribution and tax rules often matter more than chasing returns. Getting your super and the Age Pension working together, in the right order, is most of what I do.
What happens at a first meeting with George Iacovou?
It's free, there's no obligation, and it's mostly me listening. I'll ask about your situation, your retirement plans and what's worrying you, then explain how I'd work with you and what it would cost before you commit to anything. It helps to bring recent super statements, any insurance, and a rough idea of your income and spending. No pressure to go further afterwards.
