How advice works. From the first chat to a decision you make.
If you’ve never sat with an adviser, or you did once and it felt like a sales meeting, you’re not sure what you’re walking into. Start with a free half hour. You’ll hear whether we can take the work, and you’ll see any fee, before you commit to anything.
A client on how the process felt
A client’s account of their experience, shared from Google with its original attribution.
“Guideway have been remarkable helping me get my finances in order for my retirement. Every step if the way has been clearly explained and agreed upon before implementation”
What happens next?
Three steps. You can stop after the first one, and any advice fee is agreed with you before advice work starts.
- 1. Book a free half hour
- Pick a time that suits. We can talk from anywhere, or sit down in Melbourne. You don’t need a folder of paperwork to walk in.
- 2. We listen
- You talk. We say honestly if and how we can help, what the work would cover, and what it would cost.
- 3. You decide
- There’s no obligation. Nothing is prepared until you accept a written fee. After the advice arrives, you still choose whether to act on it.
What is the first chat like?
It’s a conversation, usually about thirty minutes, and this meeting doesn’t attract a fee.
We’ll spend it on what’s actually bothering you. A super decision, a retirement date, a letter you haven’t opened. Your adviser will ask why you’re looking for advice, what you’re trying to achieve, and enough about your situation to know whether personal advice is something we can provide.
By the end of the half hour we should be able to say whether we can take it on. If we can’t, you’ll hear that here. If we can, we’ll outline the work and the fee before you leave the call.
How do we agree the work and the fee?
If you want to go further, you get a written proposal with a fixed quote. We don’t start the advice work until you’ve said yes to that quote.
A focused piece of advice and a broader plan are different jobs, so we don’t publish one website price. The quote is set from the complexity of your situation and the time the work will take.
ASIC’s MoneySmart guidance says advice fees can vary by complexity and by whether advice is one-off or ongoing, and that an adviser must explain fees before you agree. Read the current MoneySmart guidance on advice costs. Ask us for a Financial Services Guide at any time.
What is a Statement of Advice?
Once you’ve accepted the fee, personal advice is usually prepared and given to you in this written document.
Think of it as the write-up of the advice you paid to receive: what’s recommended and why, what you would pay, and any relationships that could colour the advice. Your adviser walks you through it in the room or on the phone, then leaves it with you.
Read it, and any product documents that sit alongside it, before you go ahead with a change. Later or narrower advice can come as another Statement of Advice or as a Record of Advice.
If you want help putting recommendations in place, say so. We only act on your instruction. Regular reviews are a separate conversation, not something that starts on its own.
Do I need ongoing advice?
You can take a single piece of work and stop there. Staying on is optional after the first document.
- One-off advice
- Useful when there’s a defined decision, or a short set of decisions, to work through. The fee and the help to implement it are for that job.
- Ongoing advice
- Available where regular reviews and adjustments would be useful. Those services and their fees are explained on their own, and require your written consent, before anything starts.
What should I bring?
Start with the decision that’s actually in front of you. Paperwork can follow once it’s clearer what we’re looking at.
Can’t put your hands on a statement? Come anyway. Your adviser can explain what would be useful and why.
Which page matches my situation?
What people ask us
Am I committing to advice by booking a first conversation?
No. The first meeting has no advice fee, and personal advice fees are always agreed with you before any advice is prepared. You can stop after the first chat.
What will financial advice cost?
The first conversation has no charge. If you go further, your adviser gives you a fixed-price quote before any advice is prepared, and the fee is agreed with you first. The amount depends on how wide and complex the work is.
What is a Statement of Advice?
A Statement of Advice is the written document you usually receive when a licensed adviser first gives you personal advice (the law allows some exceptions and shorter records for later advice). It sets out the recommendations, the reasons for them, the products or strategies, the fees, and any associations that could influence the advice. You can sit with it and ask questions before you decide to implement anything.
Can I ask for advice on one decision?
Yes. We can focus on a single decision, or cover a wider set of connected ones. We settle that with you before any paid work starts.
Will I have to change my super fund?
No. We start with the fund or scheme you already have. The advice might be to keep it, change something inside it, or look at another arrangement, depending on your circumstances.
What should I bring to the first conversation?
Bring what’s on your mind and any recent document that sits next to it, if it’s easy to find. You can also come empty-handed. We’ll talk through what would help next.
We’re not owned by a bank, super fund or insurer.
We start with the arrangements you already have. Booking a chat doesn’t mean something has to change.
Your current fund can stay
A first conversation doesn’t assume a product or provider needs to move.
The work is defined first
The job and the price are on paper before we open a file.
One-off is an option
Ongoing advice is raised only where reviews would be useful and you want to consider them.
Ready to talk?
You’ll speak with Nareena Aracas or one of her team. The half hour costs nothing. If more work follows, the fee is on the table before you agree to it.
About our adviser team
Nareena Aracas leads the Guideway Wealth advice practice, supported by our team of advisers, paraplanners and compliance reviewers.
- Nareena AracasSenior Financial Planner · Authorised Representative no. 398311
- Scott NanfroSenior Financial Planner in the broader adviser team · Authorised Representative no. 1255832
Authorised Representatives of Guideway Financial Services Pty Ltd ABN 46 156 498 538, AFSL & ACL 420367. Read our Financial Services Guide before we provide you with a financial service — it explains who we are, our fees and how we handle complaints.