Financial Advice Online - FAQ and Financial Services Guide
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You have the right to ask us about our charges, the type of advice we will give you, and what you can do if you have a complaint about our services. Key information is set out in answer to the questions below. If you need more information or clarification, please ask us.
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| | Who will be responsible for the advice?
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| FinancialAdviceOnline (FAO) is the online division of MASU Financial Management Pty Ltd (MFM). FAO does not hold its own Australian financial services license but operates under the license of MFM which holds an Australian Financial Services License 231140 and is a principal member (30792) of the Financial Planning Association (FPA).
MFM is a niche, boutique Financial Services Provider. The company is owned entirely by its Financial Planning principals, who all actively work in the business on a day to day basis.
No part of the ownership of MFM is held by any individual and/or institution which is not involved in the day to day running and management of its business.
MFM has concluded Agency Agreements and referral arrangements with most of the major Service and Product Providers who provide financial services and products in Australia.
Except for these arrangements which have been concluded for the purpose of enabling MFM to conduct its business, e.g. Agency Agreements and referral arrangements with various service, product and other providers, MFM has no special arrangements with any product, service or other provider which compels MFM to give any particular advice or recommend any particular product.
As a niche, boutique Financial Services Provider which has no links to any person and/or institution other than as described above, MFM is able to provide advice and recommend products based solely on MFM’s views of the strengths and merits of the particular strategies and products recommended.
MFM as Licensee is responsible for all advice given by FAO.
Any reference in this FSG to “we”, “us” and “our” is a reference to FAO and MFM.
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| |  | STATEMENTS OF ADVICE explaining exactly what you should do to:
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| | minimize your tax through super, investment and mortgage structures
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| | secure your family in case of death, disability or illness
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| | build your wealth through sound investments
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| | manage your cash flow more efficiently through proper debt and cash flow management
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| | prepare for your comfortable retirement through proper long term planning
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| | and more depending on your personal situation
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| | IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS which involves:
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| | implementing all strategic Financial Management recommendations
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| | selecting appropriate investments such as investment properties (residential, commercial, industrial, retail), equities investments such as managed funds
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| | recommending superannuation products
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| | recommending insurance products
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| | putting in place wills and estate planning recommendations
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| | ONGOING MANAGEMENT OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS for twelve months which involves:
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| | assisting with all aspects of the day to day management of your Financial Plan
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| | regular information updates and alerts as to what steps you should be taking to optimize your financial position. For example, whether you should be fixing interest rates, making additional or special contributions to superannuation, taking advantage of new tax laws etc.
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| | quarterly newsletters keeping you up to date with the latest developments in the financial world.
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| How does FinancialAdviceOnline earn income?
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| We charge an annual fee for our Financial Advice Package. These fees are:
Singles $249.00 including GST
Couples $299.00 including GST
We earn income in respect of product advice by way of commissions from the product providers whose products we recommend.
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| | What commissions do we earn?
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| We are paid upfront and/or trail commissions from the fund managers and other product issuers whose products we recommend. “Products” include finance, prospectus investments, property, equities and insurance products.
Details of the upfront and/or trail commissions we will earn from product providers will be set out in the written Statements of Advice that we will give you.
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| | Insurance companies and other financial institutions may provide “soft-dollar” incentives in the form of sponsorship for seminar forums, conference facilities and travel incentives.
These "soft-dollar" incentives are recorded in a register that we keep. You may ask to inspect this register.
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| | Do you get detailed information about actual commissions and other benefits we get from making the recommendations?
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| Yes. You have the right to know about details of commissions and other benefits we receive for recommending investments. We will provide this information to you when we make specific recommendations.
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| Will we give advice that is suitable to your investment needs and financial circumstances?
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| Yes. To do so we need to find out your individual investment objectives, financial situation and needs before we recommend any investment to you.
That is why we ask you to participate in our Virtual Consultation. By doing so you will give us all the information that we need to advise you properly.
You have the right not to divulge information to us if you do not wish to do so. In that case, we are required to warn you about the possible consequences of us not having your full personal information. You should read the warnings carefully.
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| What should you know about any risks of the investments or investment strategies we recommend to you?
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| All investments without exception carry some risk. A general principle of investment is the higher the potential return, the higher the likely risk. Conversely the more secure the investment is likely to be, the lower the return will be.
To reduce investment risk the strategies we recommend involve spreading investments amongst all asset classes and investing for the longer term.
If you have any queries or concerns whatsoever concerning our advice or the strategies we recommend you should immediately raise such queries or concerns with us.
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| What information do you maintain in my file and can I examine my file?
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| We maintain a record of your personal profile which includes details of your investment objectives, financial situation and needs.
We also maintain records of any recommendations we make to you. If you wish to examine your file you should ask us and we will make arrangements for you to do so.
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If you have any complaints:
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| | Who can you complain to if you have a complaint about the Advisory Service?
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| If you have any complaint about the service you should take the following steps:
1. Contact us and tell us about your complaint.
2. If your complaint is not satisfactorily resolved within 3 days, please contact the Compliance Manager, MASU Financial Management Pty Ltd on (02) 8297 6666 or put your complaint in writing and send it to PO Box Q1611, QVB Post Officer NSW 1230. We will try to resolve your complaint quickly and fairly.
3. If you still do not get a satisfactory outcome, you have the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service, GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001.
Telephone: 1300 78 08 08
| Email: info@fos.org.au
| We are a member of this Service.
| 4. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) also has a free call Info-line on 1300 300 630 which you may use to make a complaint and obtain information about your rights.
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