Many financial advisers are salaried employees who work for medium to large institutionally owned or institutionally branded licensees, and their clientele usually consists of existing clients of these institutions.
These advisers have often moved from being salaried to being self-employed, paying a fee to keep their clients. Rather than receiving a salary, they pay an agreed proportion of their fees to the institution and retain the balance. In return, they are supported by the financial institution's resources and have access to their research, compliance, paraplanning and other licensee services.
It can be difficult to confirm if an adviser is fully independent. However, some associations have membership criteria requiring financial advisers to practise without incentives and conflicts of interest. This can
potentially help when seeking the services of a fully independent adviser.
There are also financial planning practices that have their own Australian financial services (AFS) licence, with multiple advisers who are authorised representatives of these self-licensed advice firms. Such practices are similar to self-employed financial advisers in that they pay the licensee a proportion of their fees, retaining the support of the financial institution and access to its licensee services.
What is a paraplanner?A paraplanner is a person who works with and provides support to financial advisers. Paraplanners assist with the preparation of:
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What can I do if I'm unhappy with my financial adviser? |
Working with your financial adviser |