How to Choose a Financial Adviser for Investing and Retirement

Choosing an Australian financial adviser starts with a few practical checks: confirming registration, understanding fees and asking how the advice will address your needs.

These checks can help you narrow your options before committing to a plan or an ongoing service.

This article provides general information, not personal financial advice.

Use it to prepare, then seek licensed personal advice for your circumstances.

Key Takeaways

• Check registration and authorisation. Use the Financial Advisers Register to confirm the adviser is registered and authorised to provide the advice you need.

• Read the paperwork. Request the Financial Services Guide (FSG) before the first meeting. Initial personal advice will generally be documented in a Statement of Advice (SOA).

• Get a written fee estimate. Ask what the advice, implementation and ongoing service will each cost, and what is included.

Step 1: Decide the Advice You Actually Need

General advice explains products and strategies without considering your situation. Personal advice takes your goals, finances and risk tolerance into account.

If you proceed with personal advice, you will generally receive an SOA explaining the recommendations, the reasons behind them and the next steps.

Single-issue advice might answer one question, such as whether to make extra super contributions.

Comprehensive advice considers super, investments, insurance and retirement income together.

Insurance belongs in that conversation because, as this guide to portfolio risk insurance explains, an uninsured loss can force you to sell investments at the wrong time.

Some super funds offer limited advice at no extra member cost, while broader advice attracts a fee.

Services may be available face-to-face, by video or digitally. Decide what help you need and how you prefer to receive it before you search.

Step 2: Build a Quality Shortlist

Start with ASIC's Financial Advisers Register, accessible through Moneysmart. It lets you check an adviser's registration and authorisation details.

Licensees supply the information, and ASIC does not pre-verify every entry, so use the register as a starting point rather than a guarantee of suitability.

Next, request the Financial Services Guide from anyone you are considering. It explains services, fees and relevant business or product relationships.

Read it before the first meeting so you can ask about anything unclear.

Firms' adviser directories can help you find candidates, but a directory listing does not replace these checks.

Step 3: Check Registration and Experience

Use these three checks to assess each adviser on your shortlist.

1. The register entry. Confirm current registration, the product types the adviser can advise on and any disciplinary information shown.

2. The licence holder. Look up the firm or individual holding the Australian financial services (AFS) licence on ASIC's professional registers. Check that the licence is current.

3. Qualifications and experience. Review the qualifications listed and ask about experience helping clients with needs like yours, such as moving from work into retirement.

The register and FSG are useful starting points, but they do not determine whether an adviser suits your circumstances.

Ask the adviser to explain how their qualifications and experience relate to your needs.

When Full-Service Help Makes Sense

Single-issue advice suits many questions. Comprehensive personal advice may be useful when several decisions affect one another: setting up retirement income, changing super arrangements, planning for aged care costs or coordinating finances with estate planning handled by a solicitor.

For a documented plan, implementation help and ongoing reviews, options include your super fund's advice service, a national network or a practice such as Viridian financial advisers.

A 30-minute, no-obligation initial conversation can help you clarify the scope of advice, likely costs and who would work with you; ask for details before agreeing to proceed.

Step 4: Understand Fees Before You Meet

Advice costs may include an SOA fee, an implementation fee for putting recommendations into action, and ongoing service fees. Advisers may charge fixed amounts, hourly rates or a percentage of assets.

Ask which charges apply and whether any investment or platform costs are separate.

ADF Consumer provides useful cost benchmarks: many first meetings are free or cost up to about $500, an SOA typically costs at least $3,000, and implementation fees commonly range from $500 to $2,000.

Treat these as a guide, not a quote. The price will depend on the practice and the work involved.

For ongoing fees, Moneysmart explains that ongoing advice arrangements require your written consent each year and that you can end them at any time.

For fees deducted from superannuation, ASIC's guidance on the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) changes notes that the fee-consent changes took effect on 10 January 2025.

Check what services you will receive for that fee and how the consent process applies to your fund.

Step 5: Ask Questions About Recommendations and Conflicts

Look for clear explanations rather than promises. These questions can help you compare advisers.

• How will you make sure your recommendations are in my best interests?

• Exactly how are you paid, and by whom?

• Do you receive insurance commissions, how much are they, and what consent do you need from me?

• What does an annual review include, and what costs extra?

• Which platforms or products do you tend to use, and why?

• Do you or your licensee have ownership links to those products?

• How will the SOA connect recommendations to my goals, risk tolerance and timeframe?

• What happens to my fees if I stop ongoing advice mid-year?

Step 6: Recognise Red Flags and Know Where to Raise Problems

Be cautious about pressure to decide on the spot, one-size-fits-all plans, vague fees or reluctance to explain recommendations in writing.

You should have time to read the documents and ask questions before agreeing to proceed.

Raise problems with the adviser or licensee through their internal complaints process first. Keep copies of your complaint and ask when to expect a response.

If the issue remains unresolved, or you have not received a response within the required timeframe, you can contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

If you end an ongoing arrangement, also notify any super fund or platform deducting the advice fees.

What to Bring to the First Meeting

• Recent super statements, including details of insurance held inside super

• Details of other insurance policies

• A list of debts with balances and interest rates

• A rough budget and recent bank statements

• Your goals and timeframes, written down

You are not obliged to proceed after a first meeting. Take time to compare the proposed service and fees with what you actually need.

Decide With the Paperwork in Front of You

Shortlist, verify, interview, then decide. Whether you choose your fund's advice service, a national firm or another practice, make sure you understand the written recommendations and total costs before proceeding.

If you choose ongoing advice, use each annual consent request to review the services delivered and whether they still meet your needs.