Paul Moran - Financial Planning Process

Financial Planning Process

Step 1
We will meet initially to discuss your Financial Planning needs. This meeting will usually last approximately one hour, and you should be prepared to ask any questions regarding our qualifications and experience. We will take a 'thumbnail sketch' of your financial position, and help you articulate your short, medium and long term financial goals.
At this meeting, we will discuss our fees so that you will know exactly what we will be charging before you make any decision to engage us as your Financial Planner.
You shouldn't expect to get any specific advice at this session. Rather, you are likely to get some of our strategic ideas about how to deal with your circumstances. In our experience, many people find this enough to make a judgment regarding taking the next step in the process.
We will provide you with a fact find and risk profiling document for you to complete, and explain how best to gather the information required.

Step 2
Having completed the data collection process, you will make contact with us to arrange an appointment to discuss the information. You may have some additional questions, or want to clarify anything you are not sure about - and this is the time to do that. We will confirm that we have all the information we need to complete your Statement of Advice (Financial Plan), and re-affirm the fees that will be charged for the preparation of this document.
You will sign an authority for us to prepare the document. This meeting should last 30-45 minutes and at this meeting, we will generally book you in to receive your plan in around three weeks time.

Step 3
We will identify the most appropriate strategies and perform any calculations, research and projections required to confirm these strategies. The document (generally 25-40 pages plus appendices) will be generated and delivered to you in a meeting that will cover all of the key actions and strategies.
As some of these concepts can be quite complicated, we will take some time to explain these in a meeting that often lasts 60-90 minutes. Realising that there can be a tendency for information overload, we will then send you away to read the document thoroughly, and make any comments for us to review.
You will not be asked to sign anything or commit to any action at this point. It is very important that you take the time to fully understand our proposals and have the opportunity to ask further questions. We will provide an invoice for the preparation of the document at this point.

Step 4
After your consideration, we will ask you to agree to the recommendations (modified if required during the previous consultation period). You will sign any documentation required (Account opening forms, rollover forms, authorities, change of Adviser forms, etc). This is the time you will commit to the implementation of the plan, and our on-going appointment as your Financial Planner.

Step 5
We will lodge any required documents, open any accounts, and begin the process of implementing the strategies. Sometimes this is quite quick, and may be complete in a matter of days. In other circumstances this can take some months - depending on the strategies to be commenced.
We will follow up to ensure that actions are complete, but sometimes this is beyond our control and can take an extended time to complete

Step 6
We will generally organise an appointment around 12 weeks after implementation to confirm what steps have been taken and discuss any difficulties faced. Sometimes this is because other providers have delayed the process, but sometimes it takes longer than expected to complete the process.
After this, you will be scheduled to meet with us at least twice yearly for a portfolio review and discussion. These meetings generally last an hour and allow us to informally touch base to see if any changes are necessary to either the portfolio or the underlying strategy. Naturally, personal circumstances change over time - and life produces the unexpected from time to time - and so it is important that we are both kept informed of any issues that might impact on your finances.
We will also discuss and legislation or investment changes to keep you up to date.
As clients, you are welcome to make additional appointments (within reason) to discuss any other issues that arise from time to time. You can also phone directly whenever you need to.

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