Advice process
Financial planning advice is all about helping you
achieve your goals, both long and short term.
Your dedicated ESI Financial Services (ESIFS) adviser will work
closely with you to identify your:
- Financial needs and objectives
- Current situation, and
- Available resources.
And it works like this:
Step 1: Do you need
advice?
It is sometimes difficult to know whether you need information or
advice so the first step is to talk to you about what you think you
need from us. Our ESI Assist staff is trained to know the
difference so that we don't waste your valuable time. If you only
need information or general advice our ESI Assist staff can help
you.
Step 2: Let's get
personal
If it's personal advice you need you will be asked to provide us
with relevant facts about your circumstances by completing a Financial Planning Questionnaire and Risk Profile Questionnaire. Sorry, there
is no way around this one - it's the law!
All of your information will be kept strictly confidential.
Please refer to our Privacy
Policy.
Step 3: Your first
appointment
Your first meeting gives you and your adviser a chance to get
to know each other. Let's face it, if you are about to share much
of your personal situation with someone, you want to feel
comfortable with them. It is best for couples to both attend this
meeting.
At this stage your adviser will confirm their understanding of
your objectives, develop some early thoughts about possible
strategies, obtain your agreement on the scope of the advice and
provide you with a quote on the fees you will incur for obtaining
the advice. You will be given a Term of Engagement letter
that you will need to sign and return if you agree to proceed with
advice.
Step 4: Analysis and
recommendations
Your adviser will analyse your situation, develop strategies to
meet your goals and make recommendations about what you should do.
This is provided to you in a Statement of Advice document,
otherwise konwn as a financial plan. A number of people are
involved in this process, including a second adviser who "peer
reviews" the advice to make sure it is appropriate for you.
Step 5: Understanding the
advice
A second meeting is arranged with you to review the advice
contained in your Statement of Advice. Questions are asked
and answered and any refinements that need to be made to the
strategies are discussed.
Step 6: Implementing the
advice
Once you are happy to implement, your adviser can help you put
things in place. Implementing the strategies often involves a
number of steps which are laid out in your Statement of
Advice. Your adviser will help with preparing forms for you to
sign and guiding you through the processes involved.
Step 7: Review your
situation
Circumstances often change over time so it is advisable to review
your situation from time to time. You are encouraged to meet with
your adviser every 12 to 24 months to check that your plan is still
relevant. If you need to meet more often than this a more formal
on-going advice agreement may need to be developed. This really
depends on you and your needs.
Click on the appropriate link to see our Financial Planning Questionnaire or Risk Profile Questionnaire or Financial Services Guide.