Focus Partners: Accounting & Financial Planning Albury Wodonga

Who are Focus Partners?

While the 'Focus Partners' name may be less than a decade old, the business has been going since the 1960s. Focus Partners is both a Chartered Accounting and a Financial Planning business under the one roof. With financial advice becoming increasingly intertwined with taxation advice, we think this offers our clients a distinct advantage over a financial advice business operating in isolation.

Focus Partners offers a range of strategic solutions for all your financial needs. Tailored professional financial advice can help you make informed financial decisions and create long-term financial security for you and your family.
How much does it cost to get financial advice?

The cost varies from client to client, depending on the complexity of the advice required. The initial meeting with one of our advisers is free of charge. At that point we will gather relevant information about your current situation, and then we will look to see what strategies we can employ to help you achieve your objectives.

Initial cost
Focus Partners provides excellent advice in the form of written Statements of Advice (SOAs). The fee for preparing a SOA will generally be between $1,650 and $3,300, depending on the scope and complexity of the advice. The cost will be fully disclosed to you prior to any expense being incurred, and in most cases the expense can be paid from your superannuation.

Ongoing cost
Our ongoing cost of advice is 0.88% per annum of your investment balance, and this may be less if the appropriate strategy for you involves a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF). The ongoing cost of advice with a SMSF is a flat dollar fee, which varies depending on the complexity of the fund and the level of service that you require.

Transactions: buying and selling on the Stock Exchange
Focus Partners outsources the trading function to Lonsec Limited. The charge we have negotiated with Lonsec is 0.44% with a minimum cost of $44. This is paid 100% to Lonsec, with Focus Partners receiving NIL. If you are not a financial planning client with an ongoing service relationship with us, Focus Partners will charge an additional amount of up to 0.66% with a minimum of $66.

Personal Risk Insurance
We will take great care to identify and recommend insurance that provides the best value for money for our clients. In line with industry practice, Focus Partners receives a commission on insurance placed through us.

Please note that while the commissions are payable based on the premium you pay, the commissions do not form part of your premium and are not an additional fee to you. The level of commission payable to Focus Parnters will be fully disclosed at the time of recommendation.
What do Focus Partners do?
Investing
Whether you are trying to save on a regular basis, or you have a lump sum you want to invest in an effective and tax efficient manner, you need to address some very important issues. Factors to consider include your time horizon and your cash flow requirements.

You will also need to understand a little about 'risk', which is your capacity to tolerate fluctuations in the value of the funds you have invested. This will require an assessment of your financial ability to take risk and your attitude towards risk. Consideration of both will help determine the choice of investments and the asset classes that are selected to make up your investment portfolio.

In simplistic terms, a bank account generally provides high capital stability but no potential growth on funds invested or saved. On the other hand, equities or shares fluctuate in value, but provide high potential growth. By discussing your goals, objectives, and concerns, Focus Partners can help you to identify the asset mix and choice of fund managers to satisfy your requirements.

Retirement Planning
Focus Partners has the capacity to identify if you are on target to achieve your planned retirement goals. By identifying your objectives and considering the progress you have made to date, we can clearly demonstrate if there is likely to be a shortfall or surplus. If we identify a shortfall, we can then set about providing a solution to help you achieve your objectives.

Superannuation
Superannuation is often of great concern to many and can be confusing as rules often change. This is something we understand more than anyone else. The question we get asked most often is: "Just how much super will I need to enjoy a comfortable retirement?"

Asking a few simple but pertinent questions is all we need to enable us to prepare an indication of your requirements at retirement. With the use of a computer program, Focus Partners can determine if your current financial situation is on target or if some minor or major adjustments are required.

We will provide specific solutions to each of the following concerns:
- How much Super you will need at retirement?
- Should you use a Retail Fund or a Master Trust?
- When is it practical to consider running your own Self-Managed Fund?
- How can you gain more control over the investments selected?
- How much can and should you contribute?
Insurance
Personal Insurance should form a very important part of your overall financial security and strategy. It is strongly recommended that every client should have their personal insurance reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure they and their families are adequately covered. In many cases, the insurance can be paid for from your superannuation.

Life Insurance: Death Cover is vital to anyone with family or dependant children, especially when there is debt involved. If the income earner dies, the family and dependants will need sufficient capital to invest, so that they can continue to live in a manner to which they are accustomed.

Disability Insurance and Trauma Cover: This form of insurance is recommended for everyone, even the single person with no responsibilities. This insurance would provide for the payment of a capital sum on the diagnosis of certain specified events such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, etc., or in the event that you become permanently unable to work due to illness or injury.

You can imagine the load it would take off your mind to know you had a substantial amount of money due to you, if you were diagnosed with some debilitating disease which was going to require very expensive hospitalisation or medication.

Income Protection and Business Expense Insurance: Income Protection will provide the insured with an ongoing monthly income in the event of an illness or accident which results in the inability to work. There is a wide range of options for this type of cover and the amount of payments, the waiting period and the term of the cover, are all specified by the client at the time of application.

Centrelink
Centrelink can be confusing, and the source of frustration for many retirees. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way. Focus Partners can assist with all your Social Security and DVA concerns.

If you are about to apply for a pension or are currently receiving a part pension, we can also help to arrange your financial affairs to maximise your Centrelink or DVA entitlement. We can also assist in the completion and lodgement of all relevant documentation, making the task a simple and straight forward process.

If you require assistance, please contact our office and book an appointment. For those retirees that have mobility problems, a home visit may be possible.
What is Focus Partners' investment philosophy?

Focus Partners utilise the resources and investment knowledge of Lonsec Limited, one of Australia's top research houses. Using the guidance and recommendations of Lonsec, Focus Partners will construct a portfolio which is reflective of the level of diversity and sophistication that can be achieved with the financial assets available for investment. Where possible, we try to use direct investments (such as ASX listed Australian shares) in order to keep management fees to a minimum. Where direct investing is not economical or practical, we will utilise the skills of fund managers who are 'Recommended' or 'Highly Recommended' by Lonsec. Where direct investing is possible, we rely largely on the 'model portfolios' of Lonsec, which have a proven and long term track record of strong performance in excess of the relevant market benchmarks.
When is a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) appropriate?

SMSFs are the fastest growing part of the superannuation market, but they are not for everyone. SMSF's offer an unparalleled level of flexibility and diversity of investment opportunities, but with great power comes great responsibility. Being a member, and therefore a trustee, of a SMSF requires you to be actively involved in the management and compliance of your super fund, and there are severe penalties for those who do not take their responsibilities seriously. Focus Partners will work with you to ensure you remain on track with your obligations, but it is important to remember that it is the responsibility of the trustee to ensure the fund remains compliant with superannuation rules.

A SMSF's fee structure differs from a standard retail or industry fund, and this is another area where SMSF's can be worth consideration. While a standard fund tends to charge fees on a largely percentage basis, meaning you pay more as your funds grow, a SMSF tends to have more 'fixed dollar' fee structures. As a general rule, if the combined superannuation balances of yourself and your partner is less than around $250,000, it is likely that a SMSF is not going to be economical from a fee perspective. As your funds increases over and above this level, the balance can shift towards a SMSF being economical. If you have a super balance of over $500,000, it is advisable to compare a SMSF to your current arrangements to see if it is something that will save you money (assuming you are prepared to take an active role in your super going forward).

Focus Partners are specialists in SMSF and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your suitability and compare your options.