Retirement? Secure future? Total freedom? We can help.
We're here to help you achieve your goals
When you think of financial planning or advice, you may already have an idea of what it’s all about. Planning for retirement, creating a secure future, or maximising your existing wealth. And financial planning is for all of those big things. What you may not have considered is that financial planning is a customisable service, one that we can use to help you achieve your goals.
We’ve supported clients with anything from financial planning to start their own business, ensure their children can attend the best school to planning for a dog – they’re more expensive than you might think.
Our financial advisers set the standard before it existed.
Brand Financial was established more than a decade ago. We came onto the financial planning scene to support people – homeowners, business owners, parents, retirees – people who need support and empowerment when it comes to finance. That wasn’t our only reason, though. When we started, the financial planning industry was convoluted, and missteps from some big players meant there was a real lack of trust – and we understood that.
Financial planning is about the strategy, not the products. These are just the ingredients.
Good financial planning is like a good recipe. The quality of each ingredient matters – you can’t replace butter with margarine. But its more about the method, timing and understanding your customer.
Superannuation
For many of us, our superannuation will one day be our biggest and most valuable asset. Future-proof your retirement with the right superannuation advice.
Insurance
As independent financial advisers, we have powerful tools that allow us to compare insurance policies by price, terms, and quality. Protect yourself and your family’s future, the right way. And as independent advisers, we can remove the commission from insurance, saving you thousands of dollars.
Investments
We all know investing is a great way to maximise your wealth. But without the right strategy and planning, it can do more harm than good. We’ll set you up with the best strategies.
Tax planning
From tax-effective ways to put money in your super to other strategies that ensure your financial plan is tax effective. Our in-house accountant can offer you advice.
We're here to achieve your goals
What matters to you? That's what matters to us.
Just like your finances and the number in your bank account, financial planning is personal to you. We can’t apply the same strategy to every person we meet because not everyone’s goals are the same. We’ll get to know you and your finances and uncover your goals so we can deliver an unmatched financial planning service.
The Perks
Why choose Brand Financial for your financial advice?
We work for you, not the banks.
We don't affiliate ourselves with banks or financial institutions. If we recommend it, it's because we truly believe it's the best product for you.
We're setting a new benchmark
At Brand Financial, we're proud of the reputation we've built in our industry. We're never done, though. We're always striving to be the best and most trusted financial planner.
The partners to create wealth & peace of mind for you.
Wealth, peace of mind, or reaching a specific goal. We're your partner in finance and we're here to help you achieve your personal finance goals.
We set the standard before it existed
We've led the way in independent financial planning for more than a decade now. We're still always working to improve the industry and shake up how it's done.
Have a question about financial advice?
No. Our job is to step into your shoes and set up your accounts and investments with companies and investment managers that we would recommend if we were in your position.
Everything will be in your name only and, in some cases, we will simply be listed as the “servicing adviser”. As your registered adviser, we can oversee administration and adjustments to your portfolio but we cannot move money out of your account into another account.
We can set up transfers of money, but only you can approve and execute the transfer. You will never be asked to transfer money into any account other than your own.
Yes. You will not be investing directly with our company – we will simply recommend a suitable investment. You will be able to log in and see your super or investments anytime you like. You can withdraw money from your portfolio any time (this is subject to superannuation rules).
No. Anything we set up for you can be maintained by you directly, without us. There are some investments and features of products that you cannot access without a financial adviser, but you will always have the ability to directly manage anything we set up during our time together.
Just like a personal relationship, your professional relationship with your adviser cannot work if you feel trapped. Many people call and tell us they are “locked” into an ongoing relationship with a financial adviser. In reality, this is difficult for an adviser to do. However, many advisers make their clients feel like they can’t leave without selling all their investments, which is very rarely the case.
Most of our clients fit into one of three categories:
- Accumulators – people working to maximise their wealth and pay down debt, while managing other goals such as getting the kids through school, travelling or starting a business.
- Pre-retirees – people thinking about winding up work and wanting to make the most of their last few years of income before transitioning into retirement.
- Retirees – people managing their hard-earned savings to create an income that enables them to enjoy their lives.
As independent advisers, we are only paid directly by our clients and take no other forms of income from any source. This means we do not accept commission from products or banks and we do not accept payments for referring you to other professionals.
We charge an annual flat fee for our ongoing advice and service. And we charge a one-off fee when you start working with us, to establish your plan.
We do not charge asset-based fees (a % of your portfolio).
On top of all of that? We quote all fees upfront before you start working with us – so there are no surprises.
Nothing. Our initial meeting with you is all about seeing if we’re a good fit for each other – so we don’t charge you for this stage.
About an hour.
Yes, if you live too far away from Brisbane to meet us in person, we can chat via video call. If you are within an hour’s travel time from our offices in Brisbane, we ask you to meet us in person and take the opportunity to meet our team and see our offices.
We can provide you with general guidance but will not provide any personal advice in this meeting. The goal of our initial meeting is for us to do a deep dive into your situation and your goals and for you to get to know us and ask questions. Most people tell us they find this initial meeting extremely useful in understanding where they stand in terms of moving closer to their goals.
Not at the moment, but we may down the track. It’s difficult for us to provide cost-effective personal advice in an hour-long meeting, given that most people come to us with seemingly simple questions that are quite complex and need thoughtful work to answer. Such questions require (and deserve) detailed research and considerable time to explain the implications, risks and the alternatives of any advice.
You should view our initial meeting as an opportunity for you to get a “Health Check” and a basic understanding of what area of your financial world needs focus and improvement.
If you are in your mid-60s and healthy, a good rule of thumb is to save 20 to 25 times your annual living expenses.
For example:
If you would like $70,000 p.a. to live on, you will need to have saved approximately $1.4 to $1.75mill by your mid-60s. This amount assumes you will live off of income and investment returns but also spend your capital over time.
However, this is general advice and a basic calculation. Your situation may have other factors to consider, such as the need for aged care or a desire to leave money to your estate.
The types of life insurance most people need are:
- Income Protection (that pays a benefit until approximately age 65)
- Life/Death Insurance
- Total and Permanent Disability
- Trauma (Critical Illness)
- Child Cover
The types of insurance, the features and amounts of cover you require will depend on your individual situation, so you will usually benefit from receiving personal advice.
Get started on your way to financial freedom.
Let's get smart with your money.
We’ll call you back within the hour.