It seems everywhere you look now, there’s another negative story about financial advice. But, for every negative story you hear about, how many positive stories are out there that you haven’t heard about?
That’s why Centrepoint is putting the spotlight on the value of financial advice with a new series of advice stories. Over the next few months, we’ll be releasing a series of interviews that focus on the value clients receive through their relationships with their financial advisers.
For our first interview, we sat down with Felicity Matthews and Alan Specketer, a young couple based in Darwin with two boys, whose financial adviser is Catherine Wells from Plansure.
Thanks so much for talking with us Felicity and Alan. What first motivated you to seek professional financial advice?
We were motivated to seek professional financial advice following a less than ideal relationship with a financial adviser aligned to a banking institution. We were sold products that did not suit our specific needs and the advice was more of a general nature, rather than tailored to our situation. We were referred to Cat via our accountant, and while we held reservations initially, we have found her to be reliable, trustworthy and have our financial security at heart.
How do you feel your financial habits have improved since working with an adviser?
We have found that, through a combination of financial management strategies, we are now more secure in our financial future and more diligent in our spending, investment and superannuation situations than we were previously.
Since you’re engaged, would it be fair to say that you’re saving up for an upcoming wedding? How confident do you feel that you will achieve this with help from your adviser?
We’re not specifically saving for a wedding (one day, but it will be low key!) [but] we do have savings plans and goals in place that Cat has assisted us with. We are confident that between our strategies that our savings goals will be met – having that assurance and confidence is a great stress reliever.
How are you using professional financial advice to prepare for your kids’ futures? Do you feel that your adviser cares about these goals on a personal level?
Cat has given us options for providing for the kids into the future, including getting our financial affairs into order in the event of our untimely passing. We now consider Cat to be a close friend who definitely has our and our children’s financial futures in mind.
Would you recommend professional financial advice to loved ones?
Yes – not only to loved ones, but we have referred several friends and acquaintances to Cat for financial advice and security in the last few years. We have the utmost confidence in her and her colleagues’ abilities and believe that she can assist most people to improve their financial security.
