Let us find the Best Financial Planner for your Needs and Situation.
Brenton Tong – Financial Spectrum
Brenton’s own financial education started early, talking through the concepts in the Australian Financial Review with a friendly commerce teacher. Today, listening and talking through concepts is exactly what Brenton does for his clients and in the media at Financial Spectrum – an award winning financial advisory with offices across Sydney.
Consistently ranked one of Sydney’s top financial planners (Adviser Ratings), Brenton believes strongly in separating advice from commissions, instead focusing on delivering genuine value to clients.
Brenton holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Accounting and Law, as well as an Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning. He is completing his Masters of Business Administration and is enrolled in the Fellow Chartered Financial Practitioner programme (FChFP). Brenton is a Senior Associate Member of FINSIA and member of the Association of Financial Advisers, Association of Independent Financial Professionals and Responsible Investment Association of Australia. In addition, Brenton is an accredited trainer for financial planners and writes part of the Continuing Professional Development syllabus for Kaplan.
Outside of the office, Brenton spends time with his ever-expanding family, working on the farm or sailing the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
Office
Level 13 447 Kent Street Sydney, NSW 2000
Cameron Howlett – Independent Wealth Partners
Cameron is the founding partner of Independent Wealth Partners, a financial planning practice with offices in Sydney and Melbourne which provides truly independent advice to its clients. He is a Certified Financial Planner, an accredited SMSF Specialist Advisor™ and a Registered Tax Agent with the Tax Practitioners Board of Australia, whilst he has worked on the Financial Planning Associations CFP Board Committee.
Having won numerous industry awards, he is the “2015 National Investment Adviser of the Year” awarded by the Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) Magazine, whilst also being a finalist in the 2015 SMSF Adviser of the Year. He was nominated again in 2016 as a finalist for SMSF Adviser of the Year as well as Investment Adviser of the Year, whilst again in 2017 for SMSF Adviser of the Year.
Cameron writes and is quoted regularly on Financial Planning issues in the Age, Australian Financial Review and The Australian and has been profiled in BRW Magazine.
Why are we independent?
Unfortunately, for too long the public has not been able to trust in the advice of most financial planners. Tainted by commissions and schemes designed to sell the product of their masters has meant that most advice couldn’t be relied upon. When starting our business, we wanted to be different. We wanted our business to reflect who we were. As such, our advice is 100% independent. We receive no ‘kick backs’ or ‘incentives’ from any product or investment that we recommend to you. None. Never. 0%. Ever, ever, ever. Our work is paid for by the fee you agree to before we start. This allows us to be ruthless about the effectiveness of the strategies, products and services we recommend to you. If we think something is a good idea it’s because we think it is a good idea, not because someone offered us an incentive. To learn more about who we are click here.
How we do it?
Cameron and his partners at Independent Wealth Partners work with their clients to help them understand and achieve their dreams, goals and aspirations. We do this by working together to give advice that empowers our clients to align ‘their money’ with the things that matter to them most, giving them the clarity, control and freedom to live a full life.
For some clients, this might be spending 6 months travelling the world, or maybe a dream of a quiet life in the country, or perhaps its being able to get out of the rat race and retire as soon as possible. Our specialty is to help our clients identify what they want to do, provide independent advice tailored to this and then chart a course to ensure it’s achieved.
We’re working for you. Full stop.
Testimonials
“Independent Wealth Partners and in particular Cameron Howlett have recently steered me back on track with my finances after I had received some extremely poor financial advice from my previous financial adviser, who I had been seeing for some years. I am forever grateful to Cameron for his honesty, competence and professionalism as a financial adviser, he has filled me with the confidence that I am now finally on the right path to achieving the goals I had originally set out a few years ago.” Sarah Fitzgerald
“My wife and I have been receiving advice and services from Cameron Howlett for over seven years. His experienced and practical advice and management has helped us achieve all our objectives and retire two years earlier than planned, with confidence. Cameron is a much trusted professional adviser who we highly recommend. He is fun and personable when making us think about, not just our financial objectives, but also our aspirations and dreams. He is also very patient and diligent in explaining things. We could not be happier.” – Ian Bramstedt
“Cameron and the team at Independent Wealth Partners have been fantastic to deal with. My partner and I landed there after an extensive search, looking for independent advice as well as hoping to build a long term professional relationship. Cameron has provided exactly that, giving us guidance and clarity on our direction, and importantly, helping us stay focused on our goals. Cameron is fantastic to deal with, making us feel comfortable immediately, is extremely personable and trustworthy, which is important to us in a relationship of this nature. Highly recommended!” Nicholas Twomey
Book in a call by clicking on this link or check out more about Independent Wealth Partners
Office
Independent Wealth Partners
L17, 9 Castlereagh St, Sydney NSW 2000
L16, 530 Collins St, Melbourne Vic 3000
Contact – Cameron Howlett or phone 03 83939371
Chris Smith – VISIS Private Wealth
Chris Smith is one of Australia’s most awarded and respected Financial Planners. As the Founding Partner of VISIS Private Wealth, Chris has built a professional team founded on a rare commitment: truly impartial advice to help clients achieve their financial and life goals.
Chris is a Certified Financial Planner and has over 20 years’ experience in providing strategic financial advice, successfully delivering tailored, practical and smart solutions that get results. After establishing VISIS in 2001, Chris has worked to build a respected, 100% privately owned practice – with no alliances to other financial institutions. “Quite simply, I am genuinely and solely driven by client needs”.
Chris is proud to offer the best of both worlds at VISIS: the size and resources to offer market-leading services, with personal attention and close relationships with his clients. Every client has comprehensive financial expertise at their fingertips, covering investment management, personal insurance, finance/lending, superannuation, taxation advice and accounting services whilst having direct access to Chris and his team.
A hands-on and personal approach gives Chris real insight into clients’ challenges and the ability to offer solutions that work for them and make the difference. With the VISIS team, Chris helps High Net Wealth clients, self-funded retirees, executives and business owners to effectively manage, grow and protect their wealth every day. Chris has a proven track record of building long-term partnerships with leading business people, high net wealth individuals and families. “I strive to combine my deep industry knowledge with a proactive and straightforward approach so my clients can make clear, informed decisions with confidence”.
While providing a full range of wealth management advice and strategies, key areas of specialist knowledge include:
Over the past decade Chris and his Firm have won the Professions’ most prestigious awards including:
Office
Level 35, One International Towers
Barangaroo Av, Sydney, NSW, 2000
Independent Financial Adviser CFP®, B Bus (Acc), Dip FP, SMSF Specialist, MCIFAA
Andy provides independent, affordable, honest, and expert advice that puts you first. For those who would like to have this service, please reach out for a no obligations, no pressure, no sales conversation today.
Independent Wealth Advice clients will receive financial advice that puts them first and that is always:
Independent: Yes – member of Profession of Independent Financial Advisers (PIFA) and Certified Financial Advisers Association (CIFA)
Typical Client: We help clients navigate: superannuation, investments, insurance, getting retirement ready and reducing tax.
Typical client size: Our clients range from $100,000 up to $5M+ in assets.
Flat Fee (fee for service): Yes
Accepting new clients: Yes
Imagine knowing your super is perfectly invested for you, you and your family are covered if anything were to happen, you’re going to minimise tax by maximising superannuation, and you’ve got a clear idea of how you’re going to retire wealthy. That’s what they aspire for every single one of their clients to know.
Andy has spent his career working at some of the most prestigious investment houses in the country, including Macquarie Private Bank. He takes great time and expense to ensure that his clients receive the highest quality advice that benefits them, not him.
Book a no cost, no obligation, no sales, no pressure phone call with Andy Darroch to understand how Independent Wealth Advice can save you tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees, taxes and lost investment earnings.
Office
Level 12, 14 Martin Place, Sydney, NSW, 2000
Phone: 0412 295 392
Gareth Colgan – Wellbeing Wealth
If you want a financial planner who speaks in the first person read on……
Although my job title says Financial Planner, my role is better described as somewhere between an asset project manager and a financial coach. Because, for me, finances are such an integral part of people’s wellbeing that it can’t all be about the numbers. Relationships always come first, not a financial plan. So, I will get a real sense of what you are trying to achieve, and what drives you, before we create your plan to financial freedom.
Where I add the most value is in amplifying success for my clients. Most have high incomes and a large asset base, and they look to me to develop their portfolios with robust strategies designed to achieve their goals, whether that be income requirements or capital growth. My recommendations aren’t clouded by offers of commissions, as I don’t take any from providers of new products. All of which builds trust.
Now, if you’re looking for a Financial Planner ‘Trusted Adviser’ is a buzzword that’s thrown around a lot in financial services. So much so that it’s lost all meaning. I think that real trust only comes with time and is proven. That’s why I’m most proud of the intergenerational wealth management side of my business, which means trust is handed down through a family year on year.
If you’re looking for a Financial Coach/Project Manager, then please get in touch.
You’ll see plenty of qualifications below. However, they are only a part of the equation. Drawing on my experience to fully understand the impact my advice will have on your situation is where the real value of my service comes in.
Qualifications
His clients say it is his honesty, pragmatism and the fundamental desire to get things done that sets him apart from others in his field, while his peers cite trustworthiness, clear strategic thinking and a thoroughness that goes above and beyond expectations. It is these qualities that equip John for the role of Eqeus Managing Director, where he leads an innovative, yet grounded, team of financial professionals committed to offering a fresh approach to financial planning.
Developing close relationships with his clients, who include young adults accumulating wealth and those in their middle years consolidating and planning retirement, is an area that he continues to enjoy. John says that amongst his strongest skills are his ability to analyse then communicate complex matters through practical roll-out strategies, a proficiency that he intends to nurture within Eqeus’ strategic and original thinking. John understands that regardless of stage of life, his clients have aspirations and goals that often need a coach and mentor to bring to fruition.
While researching, planning and providing a tailored financial strategy are among his technical skillset, it is close listening, understanding and interpretation of needs where John excels to define personal goals and financial planning objectives aimed at helping his clients achieve their personal vision.
After graduating university, John worked as an accountant, moved on to become a paraplanner with a major financial services group, stepped up to financial planner, moved into the role of business development manager with a major property developer before settling in to his role at RK Financial Planning, which proceeded his Eqeus evolution.
His success also has a lot to do with life experiences. At 17 years of age, John’s family home was gutted during the Sydney bushfires. Everything he owned, and everything his parents had worked for, was destroyed. It was a life changing event and John says that as an introverted and quiet young man it brought a realisation that life is to be lived and material things are just that.
Importantly, he learned that planning for the unexpected and having a financial plan that is flexible and able to adapt to your changing life circumstances is essential for establishing the support necessary for financial and emotional recovery.
It was perhaps this personal experience that paved the way for John’s career in financial planning – a role which allows him to help clients to organise, understand, anticipate risk and make the most of their financial affairs for now and in the future.
Personally…
Away from the office, John’s most important job is being a father to his children Ryan, Mackenzie and Madison. While these days a couple of nagging injuries see him more on the sideline than on the field he has enjoyed his share of accolades since he began playing hockey at the age of seven. John played 1st Grade for more than 10 years and scored a couple of Best & Fairest awards including Best Player in a Grand Final and the University Blue Sporting Award from UTS. He has been a good club man too – Treasurer for a few seasons and now a coach – roles that match his innate sense of team work and mentoring.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Business (Accounting & Finance)
Certified Financial Planner®
Chartered Financial Analyst
Offices
Level 21, 133 Castlereagh Street Sydney NSW 2000
Suite 206, 16 Wurrook Circuit Caringbah NSW 2229
Matt Dragovic – LDM Private Wealth
Director – Financial Advisor
Understanding a client’s unique situation and then helping them build a pathway to wealth is the experience that Matt finds most satisfying in his role. Matt believes that building strong relationships with clients is the only way to find the right financial solutions for them.
Matt abides by the philosophy that ‘Understanding where you want to be financially in the future is just as important as the Journey to reaching that goal”. With this in mind, he takes a methodical approach to his work, ensuring that ‘no stone is left unturned’ in his pursuit of successful outcomes for clients.
One of Matt’s strongest beliefs is that poor short-term management leads to longer-term issues and delaying action creates a bigger problem. He works with his clients to ensure that issues are kept to a minimum and potential opportunities are maximised.
Matt is the founder of LDM Private Wealth having been in the finance industry since in 2002. He established LDM from his previous role with Westpac Private Bank where he won a number of national awards.
Matt loves taking time to allow clients to truly identify what is most important for each client, essential for setting and prioritising their individual goals. This forms the foundation of our relationship for us to utilise our vast experience, skills and understanding to form an aligned plan focusing on realising these dreams. Matt values the inherent trust from clients very seriously and loves nothing more than bringing their dreams and plans to life.
Qualifications
Office
Level 25, Tower 3, 300 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo NSW 2000
About LDM Private Wealth
LDM Private Wealth is Sydney based wealth management firm servicing both Sydney and Wollongong. The name for LDM Private Wealth is based on his three sons Logan Dante and Myles.
Matt Dragovic is a Authorised Representative (1003251) and LDM Private Wealth is a Corporate Authorised Representative (1273394) of the Crown Wealth Group Pty Ltd (AFSL 494274)
David Hancock – Montara Wealth
David is a Director and Senior Financial Planner at Montara Wealth. His role is to oversee the running of the business and ensure the delivery of exceptional service and strategic based advice to clients. David is well known for developing strong long-term relationships with clients and is passionate about helping them identify and implement life changing financial strategies.
David provides monthly content through the Montara Wealth blog. Here is an example of one of their articles ‘An introductory guide to investing in the share market’.
Experience
Along with his team, David provides strategy based holistic advice to his clients, focusing on their goals and aspirations – not selling products! The unique financial modelling process Montara Wealth undertake, provides their clients the clarity and confidence to move forward with their financial decisions.
David has extensive experience providing financial advice to organisations and individuals across Australia and the UK. His expertise has seen him featured in various media publications including the Australian Financial Review, Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun and news.com.au.
Experienced in developing property strategies
David has extensive experience in assisting clients to develop their property strategy, with a high number of his clients purchasing their dream homes and/or investment properties after going through a strategic modelling process. For an example of how David has helped an existing client, click the following link to read a case study of John and Annie.
Personal interests
Outside of the businesses, David enjoys spending time with his family, keeping fit and going out for a good meal with friends. David also likes to dedicate part of his time to charity work, including driving charity initiatives with organisations such as Kookaburra Kids, Starlight Foundation and Birds of Passage.
Office
Suite 1, Level 6/309-315 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®
I’m a Financial Adviser at Verse Wealth, a team of multi-award winning financial advisers. I’ve chosen to align my career with a leader in the profession, who listens to clients, values people over product, and provides truly personalised advice. In my more than 15 years in advice, I’ve been dedicated to my clients, as well as championing causes I’m passionate about including promoting females within a historically male dominated profession, and helping attract young people to financial advice as a career choice.
Our Approach
At Verse, our approach is wildly different to most of the industry. It’s not just about money – it’s about your entire life. Money is just fuel for living the life you want, which means something different to everyone. To learn more about our Approach, click here.
Our Services
Our advice embraces your whole financial life. Your situation will dictate what combination of services and advice you need to make the most of your resources. To learn more about our Services, click here.
Our Clients
We work with professionals, pre-retirees, high achievers and more. They reach out because they might be making good money but not making the most of it, are unsure on the right strategy or uncertain about the future. To learn more about our Clients, click here.
What our clients say
‘Getting financial advice has been one of the best things we’ve ever done.’ Olivine. M
‘Verse have been indispensable helping my family achieve our goals.’ Greg. P
‘Professional, personable, responsive and highly knowledgeable.’ Ryan. C
‘I could not be happier with their professionalism and knowledge.’ James. F
‘The Verse team will change your lives forever.’ Stephen. S
To see more of what our other clients have to say about the experience of working with us, we encourage you to check out our Google reviews.
Recent awards
If you’d like to have a short, no-pressure chat you can book a call with us below or visit www.versewealth.com.au
Office
Hub Wynyard, Level 11, 10 Carrington Street, Sydney NSW 2000
John is the founder and principal financial planner at Sierra Wealth. He has over 20 years of experience in assisting clients growing and securing their wealth. His extensive experience in the financial services span across financial planning, stockbroking and corporate finance. John spent over 10 years in stockbroking and corporate finance, where he advised companies on capital raising on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and assisting private clients on investing in the ASX. His wealth of knowledge is evident in his ability to succinctly articulate the finer details of investment, wealth management and financial planning to his clients.
John specialises in providing clarity and direction to professionals and their families, supporting them with critical financial decisions and resultant executions that will help them achieve their financial goals.
John speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese.
He is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) and the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). In addition, he has a bachelor of Business (Honours – Banking and Finance) and is a Certified Financial Planner®.
This testimonial from one of John’s clients speaks for itself:
“Over the course of the last 12 years I have had a number of great financial planners that have worked with me on my financial plan but without reservation John Kuo stands as one of the very best. John brings enormous credibility with his insightful questioning and calmness that enabled him to get to fully understand my real needs. Following extensive research he was then able to present a number of options to guide my decision making being always mindful to ensure he acted as the facilitator and that I made the ultimate decision. He has a wonderful style about him that makes him an absolute pleasure to work with and his honesty, openness and up to date knowledge of the financial planning landscape sets him apart from the rest. I would highly recommend John as he has and always will put the clients interest above anything else. You would do very well to engage him for an initial discussion to see for yourself why he is so highly regarded in his field.” – Alan Brown
John offers a complementary 1-hour discovery session to understand and uncover clients’ needs and how he can add value.
Office – Suite 4, Level 11, 6 O’Connell Street Sydney NSW 2000
The cost of a financial advisor is dependent on your financial position and what services you are looking for. For example, are you looking for a advice on a specific situation or goal or do you need a complete holistic financial plan.
Most financial advisers will charge a fixed price for the service that is agreed on. Usually, there will be an upfront fee for the initial plan and strategy, with an annual fee for regular reviews thereafter. According to the Financial Planning Association (FPA), the average initial set-up cost is around $3,300, and then around $4,300 per year for annual advice and maintenance. However, some advisors have varying fee structures, so be sure to discuss fees with your financial planner up front.
The majority of the best financial advisors in Sydney are based in the city centre and Barangaroo. However, there are a number of financial planners who operate out of offices in North Sydney and Caringbah.
However, many financial planners are now offering virtual appointments. So if your preferred financial advisor isn’t in a convenient location of you, you may still want to reach out to them to check on availability.
We have reviewed all of the financial advisors in Sydney to put together a list of the best financial planners. To determine our top ten planners, we assessed qualifications, length of service, testimonials, and their history of reviews on Google and Facebook. Only those with consistent positive feedback have been included on our list of best financial planners in Sydney.
It’s important to find the right financial planner for you, but it can be a difficult process with many different types of financial planners. If you are looking for a financial advisor in Sydney, here are some key factors to consider.
First, what qualifications and accreditations do they have? These do not necessarily make them the best financial planners, but at least it sets a baseline of expertise.
Second, do they have a particular specialisation or type of client? This can help you determine if they are best suited for your type of situation.
Finally, what is their communication like? You need to know that you can communicate easily with them and that they will listen to your concerns and answer you questions in a timely manner. Overall, you need to be comfortable with your financial planner as you are usually dealing with some very intimate issues.
Need financial planning advice in another area of Australia? Check out our recommended best financial planners in:
If you would prefer a female advisor, our list of the best women financial planners and advisors in Australia is a great resource.
This website showcases the best Financial Planners in Australia and makes it easy for you to find them. We have listed the Top 10 Financial Planners in each capital city based on our selection criteria.
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