Investment advice
A portfolio is not a collection of good investments. It is a structure built to do a particular job over a particular period, with a level of risk you can actually live through. We start from what the money is for and when you need it, then build to that — not from a product list.
Financial planning provided by Sal's Wealth (Hightower Financial Planning Pty Ltd).
What you get
- 01
A written view of what your money needs to do, and by when
- 02
How much risk that actually requires you to take — often less than expected
- 03
Diversification across asset classes, not just across fund names
- 04
What you hold now, what it costs you, and what it is doing for you
- 05
A rebalancing discipline, so drift does not quietly change your risk
Start with the job, not the product
The useful question is not which investment is best. It is what this money has to do: fund a retirement in twelve years, replace an income in three, sit untouched for a generation. Each of those implies a different structure, and a portfolio that is excellent for one can be badly wrong for another.
So the first conversation is about time frames and obligations, not products. Everything after that is a consequence of it.
How much risk the job actually requires
Risk is not a preference to be maximised. It is a cost you accept because the return is needed to reach the objective — which means that if you are already on track, taking more of it is simply a larger chance of being blown off course.
We work out the return the plan requires before discussing what to invest in. Quite often the honest answer is that less risk is needed than someone expected, and that is a genuinely useful finding.
Diversification is about behaviour, not count
Holding fifteen funds is not diversification if they all fall together. What matters is whether the things you hold behave differently from one another, across shares and property and fixed interest and cash, in Australia and outside it.
Australian portfolios are frequently concentrated without their owners realising: a home, an investment property, bank shares and a super fund with a heavy domestic tilt is a large bet on one economy and one sector. ASIC's guidance on diversification sets out the general principle.
What you are paying, and for what
Fees compound in the same direction as returns and with the same arithmetic. A difference of half a per cent a year is not a rounding error over twenty years — it is a meaningful share of the outcome.
We will tell you what you are currently paying in total, which is often more than people believe once platform, investment and adviser costs are added together, and what you are getting for it.
Rebalancing, and why it is a discipline
A portfolio set at seventy per cent growth does not stay there. Strong years push it higher, which means risk rises quietly at exactly the point the market has already run — and the drift is invisible unless someone is watching for it.
Rebalancing is unglamorous and it is most of the value. It also has tax consequences outside super, which is where doing this alongside the tax work matters.
What we do not do
We do not forecast markets, and we will not tell you what returns to expect. Anyone who does is guessing. What we can do is build a structure that survives a range of outcomes, and tell you honestly what a bad one would look like along the way — because the plan that fails is usually the one that was abandoned partway through, not the one that was wrong.
Frequently asked questions
What happens in a first meeting?
We talk about what the money has to do and by when — fund a retirement in twelve years, replace an income in three, sit untouched for a generation — not about products. The structure follows from the job, and everything after that first conversation is a consequence of it.
How much risk should my portfolio take?
Only what the plan requires. Risk is a cost you accept because the return is needed to reach the objective — so if you are already on track, taking more of it is simply a larger chance of being knocked off course. We work out the return the plan requires first; often the honest answer is less risk than expected.
Is holding lots of funds the same as being diversified?
No. Diversification is about behaviour, not count — fifteen funds that all fall together are one bet. What matters is whether what you hold behaves differently across shares, property, fixed interest and cash, in Australia and outside it. Many local portfolios are a large bet on one economy without their owners realising.
Do you forecast markets?
No, and we will not tell you what returns to expect — anyone who does is guessing. What we do is build a structure that survives a range of outcomes, keep it rebalanced so drift does not quietly change your risk, and tell you honestly what a bad stretch would look like along the way.
Also in financial planning
Superannuation advice
Making your super work harder, within the caps and rules that apply to you.
Retirement planning
Knowing what you'll have to live on, and when you can actually stop.
SMSF advice
Whether a self-managed fund is right for you, and running it properly if it is.
Estate planning
Making sure what you've built goes where you intend, with less lost to tax.
Personal insurance
Cover that pays when it matters, without paying for what you don't need.
Aged care advice
The costs, the means testing, and what happens to the family home.