A Guide To Our Relationship With You And Others

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) requires us to provide you with a Financial Services Guide (FSG) before we provide you with advisory services. In keeping with our aim to make you feel totally at ease with the services we offer, we have put together this easy-to-understand guide that is designed to answer frequently asked questions about our relationship with you and the services we provide.

The guide contains important information about:

The services that we offer you
How we and our authorised representatives are paid for those services
Any potential conflicts of interest we may have
Our internal and external dispute resolution procedures and how you can access them
What to do if you have a complaint about our services

Where we provide financial advice, or if you request that we provide you with advice specific to your needs and personal circumstances, we take into account your current financial situation and future needs. You will be provided with a Statement of Advice (SoA). The SoA details important information about the recommendations we are making and all applicable fees. You should carefully review it before you commit to accepting any recommendations made.

If we recommend an investment product to you as part of our SoA, you will also receive a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) prepared by the product issuer. It contains important information which will assist you to make an informed decision about the Financial Product.

If you have not been provided with these or other regulated documents and think you should have been, please contact us on (07) 3229 7100.

There are, however, some circumstances in which one or more of these documents does not need to be provided. For example, you will not receive a SoA if we only provide you with factual information about products.

Frequently asked questions

Who is my Adviser?

Your adviser will be the person indicated below. If you do not wish to receive advice, we can place investments on your behalf. However, if you do not obtain advice, you run the risk that the financial product(s) you select will not fully take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs.

Your adviser, authorised under the FinGuard Financial Planning Pty Ltd Australian Financial Services Licence (AFS Licence No. 327933) and covered by this Financial Services Guide, is:

Ian Auld - 253152

Ian can be contacted at the FinGuard office or on mobile: 0419 665 200. His email address is ian@finguard.com.au.

Who is responsible for the financial services provided?

FinGuard Financial Planning Pty Ltd (FinGuard) is responsible for the financial services provided to you, including the distribution of this FSG.

Our firm is staffed with competent and experienced professionals who will work with you to provide quality financial services.

What financial services are you authorised to provide me and what kinds of Financial Product(s) do those services relate to?

FinGuard is authorised by its licence to advise and deal in:

Securities
Managed Investments
Government Stocks, Bonds and Debentures
Deposit and Payment products (limited to basic and non-basic products)
Superannuation
Retirement Savings Accounts products
Life Insurance products (investment and risk)
Standard Margin Lending

Do you have any relationships or associations with Financial Product Issuers?

What information do you maintain in my file and can I examine it?

If we provide you with personal advice, we will maintain a record of your personal profile, including details of your needs, objectives and financial situation based on the information that you have provided to us. Your adviser needs this information to give you appropriate advice. We cannot insist that you provide information to us, but you should be aware that, without all the necessary information, the appropriateness of our advice and recommendations may be affected. Consequently, the advice you receive may only be of a general nature and not have regard to your objectives, financial situation or particular needs.

We will also maintain records of any recommendations made to you. If you wish to examine your file, we will make arrangements for you to do so.

In accordance with the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2001, we are committed to implementing and promoting a Privacy Policy which will ensure the privacy and security of your information. Refer our Privacy Policy.

How can I instruct you?

You may tell us how you would like to give an instruction—e.g. by telephone, facsimile or email. We may also ask you to sign a client mandate authorising us to transact on your behalf.

How are any commissions, fees or other benefits calculated for providing the financial services?

The fee structure that is applied by FinGuard depends on the level and complexity of work being undertaken. Please note that your adviser is remunerated by way of salary and profit share .

In all cases, the fee that will be charged is fully disclosed in our SoA and will be agreed with you in advance of us undertaking any work on your behalf. There are generally no set fee charged as each client’s circumstances are different. However, as a guide, the following charging structure generally applies:

Strategic Financial Plans (Statement of Advice)

We quote a fixed-price fee based on our estimate of the time and complexity involved in preparing our advice/recommendations and their implementation. The amount of fixed fee will vary from $1,000 - $7,000 plus GST.

Investment Management

Our fees depend upon the type of investment portfolio implemented and the way the portfolio is administered. Typically a monthly fee is levied that will cover the cost of providing investment management advice as well as ongoing advice /administration - see below.

Ongoing Advice / Administration

For all ongoing strategic advice and other work required to be undertaken, fees apply depending on the work involved. The amount of fixed fee for all ongoing services will vary depending on the amount of service and advice we provide.

Commission

As a general rule we do not accept commissions from Financial product issuers unless those commissions are used to reduce our fee to you. If commissions are received they will be fully disclosed to you and may, subject to the agreed fee basis, be rebated to you, either fully or part payment.

Will anyone be paid for referring me to you?

We do not, as a general rule, pay referral fees. However, if a referral fee should be paid, the quantum of the fee and the party(ies) to whom the fee is payable will be fully disclosed in your SoA.

Lack of independence

FinGuard Financial Planning is not independent, impartial or unbiased under subss 942B(7A) and 942C(7A) of the Corporations Act 2001 because it receives life insurance commissions on legacy life policies arranged prior to 1st July 2013. FinGuard Financial Planning no longer accepts commissions on policies arranged after 1st July 2013.