Find a way or make one

I have been a financial planner now for about 14 years. I have been a business owner and manager for about 6 1/2 years.

I doubt that I ever thought that I would own a business when I started in planning. It really came to a head about 7 years ago, and for a number of reasons.

I was unhappy with the direction that the company I worked for was taking. I felt uncomfortable, to say the least, with the sales at all costs ethic, and what I guess I would consider a product first approach. I felt, and still do, that client needs come (waaay) before the 'product'.

Secondly, I was concerned about the compliance record. I personally did OK, but the practice had...issues. Compliance can be onerous at times, but it is in general for consumer protection, and important.

Finally, I had started to look into ethical and responsible investment. More to the point, it had started to make real sense personally, and from a business sense. Even more to the point, I was beginning to feel uncomfortable about the 'disconnect' between how I felt personally on issues, and what I was doing 'at work'. With regard to that, I don't feel that there is ANYTHING unethical or irresponsible with financial planning or investing per se (fancy, huh). But there can be unethical practices that underline this. Moreso, it is a problem if you (the invetor), aren't aware of the practices, and they are something that in general you wouldn't feel comfortable with (or worse, would actively avoid).

(Oh, OK, so you are aren't an investor? Just about any person under the age of 50 who has had a job has super. And it just might curl your lashes to see where they invest YOUR money).

It came to a head when I mentioned the idea of incorporating thses ideas into the practice. It did not go well. Hippy sh*t may have been mentioned, (as per a Brisbane Times article from a couple of years ago).

So putting the three together, I decided that the practice that I worked at was no longer for me. I couldn't see the point in working elsewhere, thinking that the lack of control would be the same everywhere.

In essence, I felt that the way forward was to go and do something else completely, or go and set out our 'own shingle'. That new business would have to have the clients interests at heart, ensure appropriate client protections were in place, and that we respected, and actively canvassed client values.

A few rushed months of rudimentary business planning later, and Viridian Wealth Management Pty Ltd was born.

Feel free to comment. I would love to hear what you think.

The Future of Financial Advice

Amongst talk of carbon taxes and MRRT's, there is some legislative discussion going on at the mmoment in Canberra looking at the future of financial advice (FoFA). In short, the bill is designed to improve acccess to financial advice. It covers quite a few areas including commissions on investment products, and opting - in to ongoing fees among other areas.

The FPA, while broadly supporting the initiatives, wants to delay implementation (which now seems to be happening), and has some concerns with some other areas. THE CEO of the FPA,  has been quoted today saying it was important that the legislation achieved the following benefits:

Consumer benefits

- To help consumers know how to find a financial planner who is appropriately qualified, educated and works to high professional standards, and clearly separate these professionals from others who give advice
 - To help consumers to easily understand what advice they’re getting, who they’re getting it from, how much they pay and how they will pay

Profession benefits

 - To make sure the professional standards of financial planners are increased over the coming years
 - To make sure that all who give advice put their clients’ interests first

I couldn't agree more.

In the midst of this talk for reform, maybe now is the time to talk about some other industry standards. It is my belief, and soon I will out it to a test, that the majority, no the vast majority, have no idea what happens to their money once it is put in the bank, sent to their super funds, or invested.

Having an ethical policy, or CSR page is good, but what is important in tranparency. Under the guise of commercial in confidence, there are a number of fund managers that will not reveal where they invest their funds. Errr, your funds.

How do you feel about mining? How about uranium mining? What about tobacco, or labour standards, or the use of child labourers by foreign multinationals? Regardless of what your personally held values might be, you should be able to invest in line with, free from the myth that your returns will be negatively effected by your decisions.

The vast majority of people fail to meet their retirement goals without advice. Clearly, returns are important, particularly in light of events over the last few years. However, even keeping this in mind, peoples priorities are changing. People are recycling, composting, growing their own vegies, and keeping some chooks in the back yard. On top of that, people are starting to become aware that there are industries that they don't want to support, and some that they do.

It is one of our guiding principles that we take peoples values into consideration. It would be nice to think that this might be the norm in the future, rather than the exception.

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Happy New Eco-year!!

Happy New Year everyone.

This year, we really saw in the New Year in style.

For us, the holiday period is really about spending time with family and friends, and we got the opportunity to spend 3 days at the eco retreat that is owned by some friends of ours. What's more, we got to enjoy their company, and that of another family of lovely people.

The retreat is only a 2 hour drive from Brisbane, and available for letting. There are mountains, walking tracks, swimming holes, clean air and fantastic views of the surrounds, and, on a clear night, the stars and planets.

The house (above) is situated on land overlooking a gorge. It has solar power, a composting toilet, and a great story on how it got to be where it is now.

Relaxing in the falls, and exploring the area was a great way to start the year and focus on the things that were really important.

In planning your finances, I believe that there are some basic fundamentals that don't change whether we are in the midst of a boom, or when times aren't so good. They are:

1. Spend less than you earn, and do something smart with the difference;
2. Use debt, but use it wisely, and to a level that is comfortable (and even conservative);
3. Ensure you are protected against the things that you can't control.

Being able to spend some time away from distractions with the people most important to me allows me to remember the reasons why I am doing what I am doing with our business, and ensures we keep our eyes on those fundamentals for our family, and for our clients.

Finding the balance between working and lifestyle can be tough, but a few days spent with family and friends in the fresh air has helped us to remember why we are doing all of this, and what is important to us.

Steve

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Viridian Wealth Management Pty Ltd: She'll be right - Part 1

Viridian Wealth Management Pty Ltd: She'll be right - Part 1: "Every quarter, the Association of Superannuation Funds Australia (ASFA) update their Westpac ASFA Retirement Standard . The standard benchma..."

But What Happens Next?

The rallies today in the major capitals calling for climate action were certainly encouraging. But what happens next?

As I have said in previous postings, marching in the streets and starting social media campaigns are certainly highly visible activities. But how much real change will they effect, and what else can be done.

The adshel situation showed that 'people power' could make an impact. However, within a day of returning the ads, they were being defaced in homophobic attacks. So, the ads were back, but maybe attitudes were not altered that much at all.

That is why we assist people to review where there investments are, particularly their super, and help them invest in line with their personally held values. By supporting companies financially that you support morally, they are financially encouraged to broaden the work they are doing. Avoiding and withdrawing from companies that you do  not support sends a real message that can affect companies at the share price.

Finally, you can go even further and and show your activism positions at the shareholders meetings, and put forward your point of view to the people who make decisions.

This financial 'activism' is not nearly as visible as taking to the streets. However, it may be more long lasting, and effective in getting the message across to the decision makers, in a language that they understand.


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What else gets you riled up?

The last few days have seen some really powerful examples of, for want of a better term, people power. There have been some really evocative issues and people have put themselves out there to stand up for things they believe in.

First, there was 'slutwalk'. Then live exports of cattle became an issue. Then over the last day or so, there has been the adshel controversy. While there has been some debate as to the language used, and redeemability of the word slut, what can't be debated, is that these issues have struck a chord, and that people have chosen to act.

These three highlighted issues are important. Regardless of the wording, there is no excuse for rape, and no excuse to blame a victim for being raped. The treatment of the animals in the overseas abattoirs was appalling to watch. Finally, in 2011, are people still scared of seeing two men hug?

But thinking of the positive messages makes me question other things. I don't wish to take away from these issues, but it gets me to thinking about what else riles people up?

I noted the other day that the Australian Government (with your money) invests in companies that manufacture nuclear weapons for Indian submarines via the Future Fund. Is that enough to get you riled up? Or how about your super fund investing (again, with your money) in companies that make weapons, use child labour or damage the environment?  Is any of that enough to get you riled up?

Most people I know would not support weapons manufacture, child labour or degradation to the environment. Except, that they do passively via their superannuation investment. Most people I know would not eat chocolate produced by slave labour in West Africa , yet they own the companies that produce it.

Moreso, the Greens are now getting 10% and upwards in votes at elections, yet only 2.5% of money invested in Australia is done via ethical and responsible investment. Why the gap?

If these things rile you up, then by all means march in the street. Send an email to your MP. But don't support  these things passively. It is possible to support want you want to support, and avoid what you don't like without it affecting your end returns. You can continue your activism by withdrawing financial support for companies that conduct themselves in ways you don't agree with.

To try and find out a little more, I will be asking this over on the Facebook page tomorrow. I would really love your feedback, so please, comment below, or head over to the Facebook page.

PS. News has come through that one of the bus shelter ads has been defaced. Really?


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Food from the Yard

Our dog Violet likes to raid the bin and take food out into the yard, but this is different.

My wife has been working hard recently on edible gardens, and being able to produce food from the back yard. There is a fair bit more to go, and we are only at a early stage, but I thought I would give a brief update.

We have some raised garden beds, some barrels that we have planted potatoes in, some seedlings that have been propagated, and a 'Sweet Temptation' chilli plant, that has two chillis ready to eat.

As we do more, we will post some more details. To see more photos, click here.


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