How long from when I first see an Adviser, should it take for them on average, to present my Financial Plan? What reasons would delay this process? What is considered a reasonable timeframe before I go elsewhere?
Top answer provided by:
Dennis Di Bartolo
Generally, the time taken for the financial adviser to be able to present a financial plan with full recommendations to a client can vary from anywhere between three weeks and six weeks based on my experience.
Typically, the first meeting is all about getting a clear understanding of the client’s goals and objectives, collecting all the relevant information to assist the adviser in researching/analysing prior to making any formal advice recommendations. We typically would have a second meeting prior to preparing a financial plan which is for discussion purposes only. Prior to doing this however, we need to conduct detailed research on any existing insurance policies or superannuation funds that the client has and that might form part of our advice to the clients in their financial plan.
Some of the reasons that will delay this process is the client’s inability to provide all the relevant information at the first meeting or in the period prior to the next meeting. We also at times experience lengthy delays with the clients existing providers and being able to obtain the detailed information that we have requested about their existing products. It is crucial however, to ensure that all the information we have requested is provided accurately and in full so that our advice is appropriate and in the client’s best interest. What also makes it challenging at times for the adviser to obtain this information in a relatively quick timeframe is that all providers have different requirements prior to releasing any information to the financial adviser.
It is difficult to answer what would be a reasonable timeframe before you would seek advice elsewhere. I would think if the adviser has kept you well informed along the way as to why there have been delays, clearly explained the process and timeframes and when they expect to be able to provide you with a financial plan, I would see no reason to consider advice elsewhere. In summary and in a perfect world, a turnaround time of 4 to 5 weeks from your initial consultation would be a reasonable expectation unless there were any unexpected delays communicated to you.
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"Hi Marie, financial advice is a process that you should be prepared to invest some time in if you would like to get the best result. To offer the best advice a good adviser will will take the time to get to know you, what your goals are and what is really important in your financial life. A good adviser will let you know in advance how long things will take, but as Dennis suggests some things are outside the advisers control. But the sooner you start, the sooner you can get on the right financial path!"
Annie 15:54 on 11 Nov 16