Non je ne regrette rien
When it comes to the most important things in life, we need to prioritise them. Our families, our oldest friends, our communities, our health and even our careers. If we don’t then we run the risk of disconnecting from what’s most important to us; from the people and causes we care most about.
And when it comes to major life goals, we need to prioritise them as well. Otherwise they just won’t happen. But prioritising the big goals means giving up on other things and challenging what feels comfortable. You need courage to change course in life, especially when things are going along fine.
Things were going along fine for us. As financial planners employed within a large institution we had the comfort of a monthly salary, local colleagues whose company we enjoyed, and clients we loved to work for. We built our expertise in retirement planning and were provided with opportunities to become CFP® professionals.
But over the course of the Royal Commission into Financial Services, it became crystal clear to us that things had to change. The financial services industry had forgotten how to serve. It had become unhitched from community expectations.
The community expects financial advisers to serve their clients and their clients alone. There should be no other vested interests. No employer seeking to distribute its in-house financial products. No employer seeking to limit the topics of the advice just because it’s easier.
And advisers should be paid only by their clients. No commissions, volume-based bonuses, or asset-based fees that are linked to the number of products sold. Put simply, nothing less than independent, unbiased advice.
We decided we wanted to be part of the solution. But that would require us to resign and start our own professional practice and licence.
It has now been around two years since we started our own licence, Catalpa Pty Ltd, and we don’t regret a thing. It has been exciting building a community of financial planning professionals who are independent. Specialist retirement planners who are paid only by our clients and only for the services we provide. And what you see is what you get. There are no hidden agendas.
We’re thankful for the support of our families, our community, and of course our clients.
The reality is it’s an honour to serve Australians by advising them on their nest eggs. To help them make informed decisions so that they have the confidence to spend money, safe in the knowledge that their retirement plans are sustainable.
And we are proud that we are enabling the delivery of high-quality, independent, unbiased financial advice to everyday Australians, like us.
This article is general and does not consider your personal circumstances so it may not be appropriate to you. If you would like advice specific to you, let us know.