Adviser Ratings Profiles Sarah Rogers

Sarah Rogers a Platinum Adviser with 12 reviews and an average client rating of 99%. Sarah the CEO and founder of Profolio, in Albury, NSW.

1. Best thing about being a financial adviser?

There are so many great things about being a Financial Adviser. I was drawn to the industry after my own personal journey with investing. After purchasing my first property at 21, my first investment property at 22, and then as many as I could after that, it sparked a major passion for me, especially after I started seeing the financial benefits investing has. This is what inspired me to become a Financial Adviser. Now I get to spend every day helping other people on the same journey I went through, by working alongside them and empowering them to get the freedom and the power of choice I have got out of investing. This is what makes my job wonderful and it is what put me in a position at 26, at the time, to set up my own Financial Planning business. It is an amazing thing when you are in control of your own future because you control your finances and money is no longer holding you back.

 

2. One thing you would like to see improved or changed in the industry?

I would like to see financial advice more accessible for young people, what I mean by that is, the cost of good advice. The current advice process is quite costly for someone starting out or looking to build their wealth. This is a key driver of mine; to work on ways to get more people to seek education and advice around finances. We are changing our business model to support this, with a goal of educating and empowering people with the skills to manage their money and invest, and take those skills and use them for life. We are doing this through online programs and interactive workshops.

If at 40 you decide to see a financial planner, it will be one of the best choices you’ve made for your money, but imagine how much better off you would be if you started getting advice at 20. Imagine the position you would be in by the time you were 40 and the mistakes you could have avoided.

 

3. The areas on their finances or economy that worry your clients the most?

The thing that I’m seeing my clients feel worried about is the government constantly changing legislation. I hear clients say, that even though they see the benefit to super, they are worried about investing in it as the government keeps changing the rules around it and by the time they retire the rules may be completely different.

This is also what we are seeing with the talk of negative gearing, the majority of our clients are young people trying to get ahead, or Mum and Dad investors. They are concerned about what negative gearing changes could mean to them.

We are here to work with our clients through any of these changes and make sure they are in the best position at all times in an ever-changing world.

 

4. What's the strangest question a client has ever asked you?

This is a hard one, there is no strange or silly question when it comes to learning. I guess the funniest questions I would get is different strategies people come up with  to hide money from the ATO and wondering if the strategies would work, that seems to have a common vibe.

 

5. If you could get three things into consumers' heads about what advisers do or don't do what would they be?

a) We do so much more than superannuation. I hear a lot of people say they haven’t been to a Financial Adviser because they just do superannuation. Financial Advisers can help you with so much more than that, from shares to property, debt and budgeting advice, to business advice and much, much more. I say to people, if it involves money in some way, we probably do it or know where you should go if we don’t.

b) Your accountant doesn’t give you financial advice. As much as we love accountants and they have a great place in your team, they do not give financial advice. To master your finances, you need a great accountant AND a great financial adviser, and more importantly you need them to work together as a team. An accountant will help with your tax return and any tax issues and business advice, and we will help with planning towards your financial goals, and the investments and strategies you should use to achieve them.

c) Financial advisers cannot guarantee returns. I have had clients ask if I can guarantee they will make 7-10% returns on their investments. Now I wish that we could guarantee that, but that wouldn’t be what investing is. You take on risk with investing which is why you can potentially make more. You should have a long-term approach and be able to sleep at night with your investment choices knowing some years are good, and some are bad. But overall the results are good.

 

6. How do you describe your job at BBQs?

I am a financial adviser, I work with people who want to make money through investing, in particular through property investment. Most of what I do isn’t about retirement, it is about having freedom and choice to do more of the things you want to do, while building your personal investment empire. If you want to have three months off a year to travel, we can help you get that. If you want to not have to work when you have kids, we can help you get that or if you want to set up a national business, we can also help you get that.

 

7. What do you think is the most important step people can take to set them up for financial success?

Know where your money goes. Although it may not be as exciting as buying shares or property, the key step to financial success is having a budget. When I say budget, I don’t mean you must analyse every cent you spend. It’s about looking at your finances once, and setting up a great, automated way to manage your money. As my gift to you, you can complete our 50/30/20 budget program online here for free www.profolio.com.au/budgeting

 

8. What awards have you won?

AMP New Financial Adviser of the Year 2014

Chamber Business Awards Outstanding New Business Finalist 2016

Article by:

Sarah Rogers

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