What to look for when seeking a financial adviser...

Here’s how to find a financial adviser who provides the right support for you…

Financial advice plays a vital role in helping Australians build wealth and achieve their goals—whether they’re just starting their careers or planning for retirement.

Effective advice can deliver measurable improvements in outcomes through appropriate asset allocation, cost-efficient implementation, and thoughtful spending strategies. It also offers significant emotional value—providing reassurance, clarity, and confidence during uncertain times.

Advice needs vary from simple to complex. However, there are several fundamental qualities everyone should look for when choosing an adviser. Below are five key factors to help you make an informed decision.

They take the time to understand you…

Personal finance is deeply personal. The best advisers invest time in understanding your interests, aspirations, motivations, and concerns before focusing on the numbers.

This understanding builds trust and encourages open, honest conversations about money. More importantly, it enables advisers to identify and set meaningful, realistic financial goals.

Beyond investment management, advisers may assist with spending decisions, superannuation, cash flow management, insurance, estate planning, and more. Delivering effective guidance in these areas requires a clear understanding of your values, risk tolerance, and long-term objectives.

Because no two people are the same, advice tailored to your personal goals gives you the strongest chance of achieving the life you envision.

They have a clear investment philosophy…

An adviser’s investment philosophy serves as the framework for how they manage your money. It reflects their beliefs about how markets function and how best to help you reach your goals.

For example: Do they view markets as largely efficient, or influenced by periods of irrational behavior? How do they align your portfolio with your risk tolerance? How do they manage costs while keeping your strategy on track?

You don’t need technical expertise to evaluate an adviser’s philosophy—but you should be able to understand it clearly.

A strong investment philosophy promotes discipline and a long-term perspective. It should be grounded in clear principles that shape recommendations, set expectations, and provide guidance during market downturns.

They coach you through market ups and downs…

Investing is emotional. It’s easy to stay committed to a long-term plan when markets rise, but volatility can test your confidence.

Today’s advisers increasingly serve as financial coaches—helping clients make decisions aligned with long-term objectives rather than short-term emotions.

Navigating markets alone can be challenging. A skilled adviser helps you create a tailored plan and supports you through periods of uncertainty by offering perspective, expertise, and behavioral insights.

They listen carefully, address concerns, and recommend prudent adjustments when necessary—while reinforcing the importance of discipline. Along the way, they educate and empower you, building trust and confidence in your financial journey.

They use technology to enhance the human elements of advice…

Technology cannot replace genuine human connection. However, when used effectively, it can streamline processes and enhance your overall advice experience—freeing more time for meaningful conversations.

Research shows that most investors still prefer working with human advisers when receiving financial guidance. While digital tools add convenience, personal relationships remain central to effective advice.

They focus on investment outcomes…

Costs are a critical factor in long-term investment outcomes. Even small differences in fees can compound significantly over time.

Managing investment costs—such as advisory fees and trading expenses—ensures more of your money remains invested and working toward your goals.

Index funds, diversified funds, and ETFs are increasingly used as portfolio building blocks because they can help manage costs while supporting diversified, risk-adjusted strategies.

However, while minimising fees is important, it should not be the sole consideration. The priority is securing a high-quality investment solution aligned with your goals and risk profile.

Even in systematised approaches such as index management, experienced managers can add value through scale, operational efficiency, and disciplined portfolio oversight.

Start the conversation…

Concerns about the future and market uncertainty are natural. A strong adviser combines technical expertise with an understanding of the emotional side of investing.

Ultimately, the value of advice lies in helping you face the future with clarity and confidence.

If you believe you could benefit from financial guidance, consider starting a conversation with an adviser. You may also seek recommendations from trusted contacts or consult reputable resources to support your search.

For more resources on finding an adviser, or to check the financial adviser register, visit https://moneysmart.gov.au/financial-advice.

Rick Maggi, Westmount Financial, Financial Adviser (Perth)

Weekly Market Update...

Investment markets and key developments

Share markets mostly rose over the last week helped by good economic data, solid US earnings results and ongoing signs that central banks are moving towards rate cuts albeit they are pushing back against imminent moves. US shares rose to a new record high and Eurozone and Japanese shares also rose, but Chinese shares fell on concerns that stimulus and market support measures are still not enough in the face of the property downturn.

The combination of lower-than-expected local inflation, increased expectations for RBA rate cuts this year and the positive global lead saw the Australian share market rise to a new record high after languishing for two and half years. For the week it’s on track for around a 1.8% rise with gains led by property, energy, health and consumer staple stocks. Reflecting the positive signs on inflation and official interest rates, bond yields fell with 10-year yields in Australia falling back below 4%. The oil price fell as did metal and iron ore prices. The $A rose slightly with the $US down slightly.

“As goes January so goes the year”…the so-called January barometer has a mixed record when it comes to falls in January, but for gains in January it provides a reasonably consistent but not perfect guide to the year. Since 1980 85% of positive Januaries have gone on to a positive year in the US and in Australia its 76%. So with US shares up 1.6% and the Australian All Ords up 1.1% in January it’s a positive sign for the year ahead.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be corrections though and the rise in shares with US and Australian shares hitting records after a brief consolidation into mid-January has left them overbought which together with positive investor sentiment leaves them vulnerable to a short-term correction as we come into the seasonally softer months of February and March. This is particularly so with key risks around recession, US banks and commercial property, the creeping expansion of the conflict in the Middle East, the Chinese property market and uncertainty about when central banks will start to cut rates all of which could provide a trigger for a pullback. In fact, we saw a bit of the latter in the last week with the US share market initially falling after the Fed pushed back against expectations for a March rate cut.

However, while shares have likely run ahead of themselves, the good news on interest rates and inflation has continued and we see this ultimately underpinning another year of gains in shares albeit it will be more constrained and volatile than was the case last year.

• Fed not rushing to cut just yet, but still heading in that direction. Sure Fed Chair Powell pushed back against market expectations for the start of rate cuts in March by saying it was unlikely as the Fed will want to gain further “confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards 2%”, that was hardly surprising as the March meeting is just six weeks away. More importantly though, he didn’t rule a March cut out, the Fed dropped its reference to further tightening and is now seeing the risks as better balanced and Powell continued to flag rate cuts this year and indicated it will be data dependent. We continue to see the Fed cutting rates 5 times this year starting in May, but a start in March is still possible.

• Eurozone inflation fell to 2.8% in January with core inflation falling to 3.3%yoy, with ECB officials’ comments leaning a bit more dovish. The ECB is likely to start cutting in April.

• The Bank of England has dropped its hawkish bias on interest rates and like the Fed is pushing back against market expectations for early rate cuts but is starting to debate how restrictive it needs to be. Reflecting strong wages growth, it’s likely to lag the Fed and ECB in cutting rates but gradually appears to be heading in that direction.

• The Swedish Riksbank noted that its policy rate can probably be cut sooner than it indicated in November.

• Australian inflation is falling faster than the RBA expected. While hot spots remain (like insurance and rent) inflation fell to 4.1%yoy in the December quarter which is well below the RBA’s forecast for 4.5%, and down from 5.4% in the September quarter and a peak of 7.8% a year ago. Underlying inflation measures also fell with the trimmed mean at 4.2%yoy (below the RBA’s forecast for 4.5%) and services price inflation is now also following goods price inflation down. What’s more the proportion of items seeing greater than 3% inflation has fallen sharply to 43% which is consistent with the pre-pandemic norm and monthly CPI inflation fell to 3.4%yoy in December.

Read full article from Dr Shane Oliver here