The financial advice market in Australia is changing rapidly, with new barriers to entry and ever-increasing demand. This reality has led to the need to evaluate the prices of financial services, including financial advice, in Australia. However, the commission and fee for financial advice depend on the financial advisor and the advice you seek. Therefore, this article intends to discuss the tips to determine the typical fees and commissions for financial advice in Australia.

How are financial advice fees charged?

On meeting a financial advisor, they will likely hand you a financial service guide to reflect the fees they charge, deal with complaints and the services they offer. This strategy is used to compare the services of different financial advisors to get the best deal.

How are fees charged for financial advice?

Financial advisers often charge fees depending on the advice they give. For instance, if financial advice is given for products, then the commission can be charged by the amount of the product sold. If paid for the dividends of the investments, they will likely work harder to grow their investment to earn more. Financial advisor fees are paid in two forms, namely, fixed and percentage-based prices.

Fixed fee

• Statement of advice (SOA): This is the fee paid effect deducted from your investment for preparing the statement of advice.
• Fee for the implementation of financial advice: This is a fixed fee paid for the implementation of financial advice.
• Review fee: This is the fee for reviewing and implementing a financial plan.
• Service fee: This is a fixed fee meant for a particular service. All of these fees can be paid at an hourly rate during consultation.

Percentage Fee

This is the fee charged when an agreed percentage of the investment or asset is required.

Commission

Commissions are the fees financial advisors earn for the products sold through them. The commission is often a percentage of what is being paid for a product. Although your advisor cannot charge a commission for an investment or superannuation products, they can charge commissions over life insurance products.

Assess your fees

It is important to assess the fees you pay for his financial service, especially if it’s ongoing. You must receive a fee disclosure statement (FDS) at least once a year.

You can use the following tips to assess the cost or value of the financial advice you receive:

• Ensure your adviser did everything they are going to charge you for
• Evaluate the amount of the fees (find out why they have gone up)
• If you are paying an investment performance, you must ensure that your advisor consistently manages your portfolio instead of barely monitoring your investments.
• Ensure that every asset-based fee aligns with the portfolio’s value.

Conclusion

Indeed, the financial market is changing, and the value of financial services is along with it; therefore, you must be able to justify the value of the financial services you pay for to get the best deals.