Financial Adviser in Australia

The financial adviser in Australia play a useful role in helping the client to save money on:

* income tax
* superannuation (ie to save for retirement)

The tax system in Australia is complicated. The adviser help the client to arrange the financial affairs to get the best tax saving. The client his happy to pay for the advice, as it is more than covered by the tax saving.

In Singapore, there is little tax saving for most people. Hence, the financial adviser cannot give this value to Singapore clients.

The adviser can help the client to choose the right product. Unfortunately, the adviser gets a commission that is built into the product. This adds to the cost paid by the client. The value added by the adviser is doubtful, as it is impossible for any expert to advise on the fund or product will perform better in the future.

Lesson: Invest in a low cost fund (where you pay less charges to the fund manager and adviser). Invest for the long term.

Read in this FAQ.