Case Study 3 -Choosing the right adviser who has YOUR interests in mind is the key

Snapshot

Gary Smith, 56, runs his own taxi business.  He is married to Jane, a nurse aged 46, and they have one daughter, Jessy who has just finished high school.  Gary has a keen interest in his personal finance situation, and has actively managed his own Self Managed Super Fund since 1995 (through an adviser).  He also has a few investment properties across Australia and some managed funds overseas.  Prior to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the SMSF fared well, and Gary and was looking forward to retiring at age 60.  Gary decided that he wanted to reduce the risk in his SMSF, and requested that his adviser sell out of his high-level risk stocks.  The adviser insisted that this was not the right option, and the stocks were not sold.  Within a week, the GFC hit, and Gary & Jane lost almost 40% of their SMSF.  As a result, they severed ties with their adviser and began sourcing a new adviser who they could trust to have their best interested in mind.  The Smiths were introduced to JBS by an associate at a local sporting club, and then did extensive background checks before meeting with them.

The Smith’s goals were to maintain their current lifestyle with Gary retiring at age 60 and spending six months a year overseas.  Jane would remain in Australia while Gary traveled, and he had funds overseas to sustain his lifestyle while there.

They needed:

•    Reassurance that superannuation was important for retirement and can be tax effective;

•    Information (and possible implementation if appropriate) on a Transition To Retirement (TTR) strategy

•    Information and options around having direct property in their SMSF which is a delicate area;

•    Regular consolidated reports for their SMSF & Family Trust so they were up to date; and

•    Most importantly, to trust their adviser and the products and services they provided.

To read the detailed strategy for Gary and Jane, please click here.