You do not need to understand super to ring your fund and ask a question.
Most of us have that backwards. We wait to feel qualified enough to ask, the feeling does not arrive, and so the question never gets asked. Meanwhile the person on the other end of the phone is paid to know the answer. Answering is their job.
You do not have to be a mechanic to ask what the noise is. You point at the noise. They are the one who has to name it.
This is thirty questions across five conversations. Your super fund. Your employer. Your bank. A financial adviser at a first meeting. And the six only you can answer.
Every one of them comes with the words to use, why it is a fair thing to ask, and what the answer tells you. None of them says what to do next. Each one stops at what the answer means.
This is general financial education and it does not consider your circumstances. Tamara Bonamy is not a financial adviser and holds no financial services licence.
The six for a first meeting with a financial adviser are on this page, in full. The other twenty-four are one email away.
4. A financial adviser, at a first meeting
General financial education. It does not consider your circumstances.
Some advisers offer a first meeting at no cost and some charge for it. Either way, asking what this one costs is a fair first question. These six are about the person sitting opposite rather than about your money.
"How are you paid, by whom, and what would this cost me in dollars in the first year and in each year after that?"
Fee structures vary and they are disclosed in a document you will be given, which is easier to read once you have heard the answer out loud.
What the answer tells you: the price, in dollars, before you read it in the document.
"Who is your licensee, and where can I check that for myself?"
Financial advisers in Australia operate under a licence, and there is a public register. ASIC's Moneysmart explains where to look.
What the answer tells you: whether the answer matches the register.
"Are there products or a product list you are limited to, and who owns them?"
Some advisers can recommend from a wide field and some from a narrow one. Both are lawful and both are disclosed.
What the answer tells you: the size of the field, which is context for the conversation rather than a mark against it.
"What happens to my information if I decide not to go ahead?"
You are handing over a picture of your whole financial life to someone you met an hour ago.
What the answer tells you: how the practice thinks about the person who says no.
"Would you say back to me, in your own words, what you think I am trying to do?"
You are allowed to check that you have been heard.
What the answer tells you: what they heard, next to what you meant. A mismatch is a thing you can correct on the spot.
"What will you send me in writing, and by when?"
Advice arrives as a document. Knowing when it is coming is not a small thing.
What the answer tells you: what you will have to read at your own pace, at your own kitchen table.
Where should I send the other twenty-four?
Your super fund, your employer, your bank, and the six with nobody to ring.
What this is
It is general financial education. It explains how a thing works and hands you the words to ask about it. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it names no product, no bank, no fund and no platform. Nothing here is scored, and nothing sorts you into a type. There is no correct order. Start with the conversation you were closest to having anyway.
Written by Tamara Bonamy, who built Her Long Game after a decade in insurance, most of it leading teams, and a lot of it watching capable women be handed no explanation of any of this. She is not a financial adviser and holds no financial services licence.