Our services · Choosing an adviser
Choosing a financial adviser, properly.
Five checks expose almost any adviser in about ten minutes. This page walks you through each one, and then runs them on us, unprompted. The information is general only and is not personal advice.
The short answer
How do you actually choose a financial adviser?
Verify before you trust. Confirm the adviser is on the ASIC Financial Advisers Register, check the qualification behind the title, find out which licensee stands behind the advice, get the fee in writing in dollars, and know the complaints path before you need it. Every check below ends the same way: with our own answer, before you ask. If you are still weighing up whether to get advice at all, start with our guide to seeing an adviser before you retire.
The five checks
Run these on any adviser. Including us.
Each check tells you what to look for, anywhere. Then the answer we give every new client, unprompted, so you can hold us to the same standard you hold everyone else.
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01 The licence
AFSL 232706Akumin Financial Planning
Search their name on the register at Moneysmart, free
The register shows the licensee behind the advice, where the adviser has worked, and whether they have been banned, suspended or subject to disciplinary orders. Our entries are public: George Iacovou AR 000429693, Dan Hutchison AR 001269382. Check us before you call.
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02 The qualification
AQF Level 8in financial planning
Check the register entry against the business card
The legal minimum for advisers authorised since 2019 is an approved bachelor degree or higher, and long-serving advisers could instead qualify through the experienced provider pathway. George holds AQF Level 8, a postgraduate qualification one below a Master’s (AQF Level 9). George also holds the AFP designation from the Financial Advice Association Australia, and every practising adviser has passed the national exam.
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03 The fee, in dollars
In dollarsin writing, before you engage
Ask for the dollar figure before you commit to anything
A fee model is not a fee, and vague answers about percentages are a red flag. Our fees are fixed dollar amounts agreed in writing first; the ranges are published on the fees page, and the fee estimator gauges your likely scope before you ever speak to us.
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04 The scope
FSG firstbefore the conversation starts
Read their FSG, on paper or on their website, before advice starts
The FSG lists what the adviser is authorised to advise on and how the firm is paid. If a topic is outside scope, the adviser cannot help on it. With us the scope goes into a written engagement before any fee does.
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05 The exit
AFCA coveredthrough our licensee
Ask how complaints are handled before there is one
The licensee behind every adviser must belong to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, a free external dispute scheme whose decisions bind the licensee. Raise anything with us first in writing; not resolved, AFCA on 1800 931 678 costs you nothing.
What happens next
The first meeting, step by step
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Step 1
Book a meeting
Pick a time online or call. The first meeting is free.
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Step 2
Short questionnaire
A few questions before we meet, so the hour is about you.
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Step 3
Bring what you have
Super statements, debts, income. Rough numbers are fine.
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Step 4
Meet your way
Springwood office, phone or video. 45 to 60 minutes.
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Step 5
Scope the work
What we would advise on, and what stays out of scope.
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Step 6
Engagement and fee
The scope and the dollar fee, in writing, before anything starts.
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Step 7
Statement of Advice
The recommendations, the reasons and the costs, documented.
Common questions
How do I check if a financial adviser is licensed?
Search their name on the Financial Advisers Register at moneysmart.gov.au. It is free, and it shows the licensee, where the adviser has worked, their qualifications and training, professional memberships, what products they can advise on, and whether they have been banned, suspended or subject to disciplinary orders.
What is the difference between an AFSL holder and an authorised representative?
The Australian Financial Services Licence holder is the legal entity responsible for the advice. Some advisers hold their own licence; others, like Great Advice, are authorised representatives of a licensee, which means the licensee has authorised them in writing to advise on its behalf. Either way, the register shows exactly who stands behind the advice.
What should a financial adviser show me before I pay anything?
Three things, unprompted: a Financial Services Guide, or the same information on their website, before the advice conversation starts, the fee as a dollar figure in a written engagement, and, once you proceed, a Statement of Advice setting out the recommendations, the reasons and the costs.
Does an adviser have to act in my best interests?
Yes. When an adviser gives personal advice to a retail client, the law requires them to act in the client's best interests. The advice must be documented in writing, and the documents are what a complaint stands on if anything ever goes wrong.
What does financial advice cost?
Our advice fees are fixed dollar amounts agreed in writing before you engage, and our published ranges are on the fees page. For the market picture, our guide to financial adviser fees in Australia sets out what advice costs nationally and why quotes differ.
What happens if I have a complaint?
Raise it with us in writing first, and we respond through the complaints process set out in our Financial Services Guide. If it is not resolved, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority is a free external dispute scheme, its decisions bind the licensee, and every licensed advice firm must be a member. AFCA is on 1800 931 678.
Your move
Put us through the checks.
Bring the five checks to a first meeting and ask us anything on the list. Free first meeting. No obligation.
