Frequently Asked Questions
The Initial Appointment
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During your first appointment, we will establish why you are seeking financial advice, what your goals are and what you expect from us. To assist us, we ask that you bring in as many documents as you can, such as photo ID, tax returns, superannuation, loan and bank statements, copies of wills, insurance details, and/or a budget.
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Your first meeting can take up to two hours. In this time we address your goals and objectives, current financial position and personal situation. It is an opportunity for us to get to know you and you to assess whether we are the right fit for you. If you have brought your financial documents or copies of them, this will speed up the process. This investment of time ensures we understand you and what you are looking for
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Your initial appointment with Tupicoffs is provided free of charge. If you decide to proceed, we will prepare an Initial Statement of Advice and an annual invoice for you, which will cover all advice, implementation, appointments, phone calls and any other requirements you might have for the first twelve months.
Ongoing annual costs differ from person to person, depending on the complexity of your situation and the amount of work involved. You will be provided with a written quote prior to appointing Tupicoffs as your financial planner.
About Our Processes
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After your initial appointment we will send you a client agreement which outlines the services we will be providing and our fees. You should take the time to read and consider your client agreement before signing and returning it to us. There is no rush to make a decision and typically clients take one to two weeks to consider our agreement and make a decision. We commence work once a signed client agreement is received.
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There is a strict set of standards laid out by the Corporations Act that must be adhered to before an adviser can be called ‘independent’. The term fundamentally means that the adviser cannot have any incentives or interests that may influence their advice. They cannot receive commissions, or sales incentives, they cannot have ownership or stakeholdings with a financial product provider. This standard is difficult to meet and there are only a small number of independent advisers in Australia. We strongly recommend you seek advice from an independent financial adviser to ensure that you and your best interests are your advisers priority. All Tupicoffs advisers have signed our Declaration of Independence, confirming that they are independent, and they reaffirm this annually.
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Yes, If you agree to use our services, we will provide you with a written Statement of Advice. We always act on your authority and don't implement recommendations without your consent. Our ongoing advice also requires your authority for us to act. You will always know and authorise what we are doing with your money.
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You will see your adviser multiple times a year as part of our standard advice process. In addition we are available to answer your questions and sometimes we will want to meet with you in response to changes in investments or legislation that might require a review of your plan.
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Tupicoffs runs on a Fee-for-Service model of advice. This means that you only pay for the work we do, no commissions, and no hidden costs. We quote all of our clients an annual fee based on their circumstances and the amount of work we do for them. As each client's circumstances and therefore level of advice differs, the fees vary for every client. After our first meeting ( which is complimentary ) we will be able to provide a fixed fee for our work
About Our Services
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Yes. We offer comprehensive advice and can certainly cover advice on SMSFs. Tupicoffs assist clients to set-up or close down SMSFs where appropriate, as well as their ongoing management. We also offer advice on retail superannuation funds, industry super funds and small APRA funds as well.
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We do not offer accounting services. We are happy to work with your existing accountant or we can provide a referral to an accountant if you do not have one. Similarly we are not solicitors and do not do legal work. We will happily work with your existing solicitor or refer you to one if you don't already have one.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes we have on-site secure parking spaces which we can reserve for you upon making your appointment. Ask us to book a carpark when making appointments, and simply ring as you approach the building for us to let you in.
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We are located on Ann St in Brisbane City, overlooking Cathedral Square. We know the city can be difficult to traverse particularly in terms of parking, so we do have free undercover car parks reserved for our clients. Simply let us know when booking that you will require a carpark, then on the day of your appointment call our helpful office staff just before you arrive and one of them will be downstairs to give you access to the carpark and welcome you to the building when you arrive.
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Yes, of course.
We do have limited capacity so make sure they tell us you referred them.