Our Advice Process

Step 1 - Introduction

​Congratulations! You took the hardest step! You decided to seek financial advice and you contacted us. Most people don’t get this far, so well done for being proactive.

Step 2 - No cost, obligation-free discussion - we call this a Discovery meeting

You can get to know Investment Zone and how we work. See if we are a good fit for your needs.

We will ask you some questions so we have a brief overview of your personal and financial goals. We will invite any questions you might have and we will explain our services and fees. And we’ll provide you a copy of our Financial Services Guide (FSG), a legal disclosure document we are required to give out that helps clients decide whether they should go ahead and seek advice from Investment Zone. By law a FSG must be provided as soon as practicable after it becomes apparent that a financial service will be or is likely to be provided.

This meeting takes about 1 hour and we can do it over the phone, video or in person, when convenient to you.

Step 3 - Fact Find

​This is when we go through our ‘Fact Find’ process with you. We’ll talk in detail about your:

• goals

• family

• health

• employment

• income

• debts

• current superannuation

• current insurance arrangements

• savings and assets

• tolerance to risk

• any business interests.

This is a face to face meeting and will take about two hours. If you’re part of a couple, you’ll both need to be present so we’re all on the same page. It’s a great time to get into the financial headspace that you need to be in to make some positive changes.

Step 4 - Research, Strategy Development and Presentation of your Financial Plan

​Using the information collected in the Fact Find in Step 3, we can now build your very own Statement of Advice (sometimes known as a Financial Plan or ‘SOA’). This is a tailored document that outlines your situation, goals and our financial recommendations. The SOA will vary from individual to individual because it has been tailored with your personal situation, needs and goals in mind

Creating an SOA may take a few weeks to prepare, and once completed we will present it to you in person. This is a face to face meeting and will take a couple of hours to go through all the detail. If you’re part of a couple, you’ll both need to be present. You should take the SOA home to read further and think about it. It’s important to take your time and be comfortable; it’s your plan and we would never ask you to sign anything on the spot! It’s your future and you need to be happy with it.

Step 4 - Implementation of the advice in the Financial Plan 

​Once you’re happy with our advice and recommendations in the SOA, we can start implementing them! Or we can make some modifications too. Investment Zone will spend hours (sometimes weeks) working behind the scenes when implementing your plan, however we make this process as seamless as we can! For you, it will often mean just signing forms. But rest assured there’s a lot happening in the background. And the outcome is so worth it. No more sleepless nights worrying. Your life will change!

Step 5 - Ongoing service

While you can relax in the peace of mind that you’ve got a sound financial strategy in place, we keep working, reviewing our recommendations and making modifications with you along the way. We encourage you to contact us any time you like. Ideally, we like to touch base with you every 6 months and certainly if you experience any major life events (such as changes to family, employment, housing, health, and finances) we would like to know. At the end of the process we know that you will be very happy with the advice that you have received and when you realise how valuable life changing financial advice can be, you will want to help your friends and family!