Whether you're brand new to financial advice or comparing advisers, here are clear answers to the questions that come up again and again. Can't see yours? Just ask us.
You don't need one — but most people benefit from one once life gets a bit more complex. That usually looks like: multiple super accounts, a growing income, kids, a mortgage, business ownership, or starting to think seriously about retirement.
An adviser brings three things you can't easily DIY: a structured plan that ties everything together, technical knowledge of tax, super and contribution rules, and an accountability partner who keeps you on track year after year.
The discovery chat is a relaxed 45–60 minute conversation, either in person, by phone or via Zoom. We talk about what's prompted you to seek advice, where you're at financially, and what a great outcome would look like for you.
You don't need to bring documents and there's no obligation to proceed. By the end you'll know whether we're a fit, what advice could help you, and what it would cost.
Yes — the discovery meeting is complimentary. We only ever charge a fee that's been agreed in writing first, and that doesn't happen until you've decided you want to proceed.
From your first meeting to fully implemented advice, plan on roughly 6 to 10 weeks. Around 2–3 weeks for us to research and build the strategy, then a presentation meeting to walk you through the recommendations, then 4–8 weeks for implementation (insurance applications and super rollovers are the slowest pieces).
Whichever you prefer. We're Melbourne-based and happy to meet face-to-face for clients in metro Melbourne, but we work with clients across Australia by Zoom. The advice and service are identical either way.
It depends on the complexity of your situation, but here's an indicative range:
Every fee is fixed in advance and agreed in writing before any work begins. Full details are in our Financial Services Guide.
Our advice fees are fixed dollar amounts, not a percentage of your assets. That means a client with $300k of super pays the same SoA fee as someone with $1.5m if the complexity is similar — which we think is much fairer.
Ongoing service plans are also flat-fee, scaled to the complexity of your plan and how often you want us in your corner.
For investments and super: no. Asset-based commissions on those have been banned in Australia since 2013.
For personal insurance: yes — insurers in Australia generally pay an upfront commission and an ongoing trail to the adviser, capped by law. We always disclose the exact commission in your Statement of Advice. Art Wealth retains the commission — we do not rebate it back to you, and we don't charge a separate fee in lieu of it.
Yes, in many cases. If the advice relates to your super (contributions, investment options, insurance through super), the fee can usually be deducted directly from your super balance — which is more tax-effective than paying it from after-tax cash. We'll explain this clearly when we agree the fee.
Some advice fees are tax-deductible (typically the portion relating to managing existing investments or income) and some aren't (typically initial advice that creates a new investment). The ATO updated its guidance in TR 2024/D2. We'll always provide a fee invoice that itemises which portion is deductible so you (or your accountant) can claim correctly.
For most people, yes — having multiple accounts means paying multiple sets of fees and potentially holding overlapping insurance you don't need.
The catch is that consolidating can cancel insurance cover you've been paying for. Before consolidating, we always check what insurance is attached to each account and either preserve it or replace it with equivalent or better cover.
Your employer contributes 12% (Super Guarantee, from 1 July 2025). Beyond that, the right top-up depends on your income, tax bracket, cash flow and goals. Salary sacrifice and personal deductible contributions can be very tax-effective if you're earning over $45,000 — the catch is the $30,000 annual concessional cap (2025/26) and you may also be able to use carry-forward unused caps.
SMSFs make sense for some people and are overkill for others. They suit you if you want direct control over investments (especially direct property or specific shares), you have enough balance to make running costs proportionate (typically $200k+ combined), and you're prepared to take on trustee responsibilities.
For most accumulators, a well-chosen retail or industry super fund is simpler, cheaper and equally effective.
Industry funds (AustralianSuper, Aware, Hostplus etc.) are profit-to-member, generally low cost, and offer a curated investment menu.
Retail funds (HUB24, Netwealth, BT Panorama, Macquarie etc.) typically sit on a wrap platform and offer a much broader investment menu — useful if you want direct shares, ETFs, managed accounts or model portfolios.
SMSFs are funds you (and up to five other members) run yourselves. Maximum control, maximum responsibility.
Enough to clear debts, replace income for the years your family depends on it, fund kids' education, and provide a buffer. There's no universal figure — but a typical Australian family with a mortgage and young kids often lands somewhere in the $1.5m–$3m range for the primary income earner.
We use a structured needs-analysis (and have a free calculator) rather than a rule of thumb.
Life: pays a lump sum if you pass away or are diagnosed terminally ill.
TPD (Total & Permanent Disability): pays a lump sum if you can never work again due to illness or injury.
Income Protection: pays a monthly benefit (usually 70% of income) while you're unable to work due to illness or injury.
Trauma: pays a lump sum on diagnosis of a major medical condition (cancer, heart attack, stroke etc.) — even if you can keep working.
Some inside, some outside, usually. Holding Life and TPD inside super is tax-effective because premiums come from pre-tax super contributions instead of after-tax salary. Income Protection often makes sense partially through super too.
Trauma cover can't be held inside super at all, and there are reasons to hold some Life cover outside super too. The right structure is very personal — we model the trade-offs in your SoA.
Default cover is better than nothing, but it's almost always insufficient — typically a fraction of what a family with debts and dependants actually needs. It's also often poorly suited to your occupation, and benefits can be hard to claim under restrictive definitions. We always start by reviewing what you've already got, then layer additional cover only where you genuinely need it.
The ASFA Retirement Standard (most recent figures) suggests around $73,000 per year for a comfortable single retirement and $103,000 for a couple, assuming you own your home outright. Backing into a balance, that's roughly $595k for a single and $690k for a couple — but those figures assume you'll also receive a part Age Pension.
Your number depends on your lifestyle, debts, longevity assumptions and how much you want to leave behind. Our retirement calculator gives you a starting point.
You can access super once you've reached preservation age (60 for everyone now) AND met a condition of release — usually retirement, or turning 65 (at which point access is unconditional).
From age 60, you can also start a Transition to Retirement (TTR) pension while still working, which can be a powerful pre-retirement strategy.
From age 60, you can start drawing a pension from your super while still working full-time. The classic TTR strategy involves salary-sacrificing more into super (taxed at 15%) while replacing the lost take-home pay with tax-effective pension income — boosting super and reducing tax in the lead-up to retirement.
The Age Pension is means-tested under both an Income Test and an Assets Test (whichever produces the lower payment applies). Eligibility starts at 67 and the payment phases down as your assets and income rise above thresholds. Many self-funded retirees still qualify for a part-pension and the Pensioner Concession Card, which we always factor into our retirement modelling.
We don't have a "preferred" product — recommendations are built around your goals, time horizon, risk profile and tax situation. In practice that usually involves a diversified blend of Australian and global shares, fixed interest, listed property and cash, accessed through low-cost ETFs, managed funds, or model portfolios depending on your platform.
It depends on your interest rate, your tax bracket, your appetite for risk, and what the alternative investment looks like. There's no universal right answer — but our offset vs super calculator is a good starting point and we model the trade-off properly in your SoA.
For long-term goals, the best time to start was 10 years ago — and the second best time is now. Trying to time the market consistently fails, even for professionals. What we focus on is matching your investment strategy to your time horizon and risk capacity, then staying disciplined through cycles.
Yes. Arthur How is an Authorised Representative (AR No. 1007694) of Lifespan Financial Planning Pty Ltd (ABN 23 065 921 735, AFSL 229892). Art Wealth Management Pty Ltd is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 1313420) of the same licensee. You can verify this on the ASIC Financial Advisers Register at moneysmart.gov.au.
Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting & Finance) from Monash University, Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning, and the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation — the highest globally recognised qualification in financial planning. Plus 11 years across major banks and boutique advice firms.
The word independent has a very strict legal meaning under section 923A of the Corporations Act — almost no Australian adviser meets the test (largely because of how insurance commissions work). We don't claim to be independent in that legal sense.
What we are: a boutique practice with no in-house product list, no sales targets, no ownership ties to product manufacturers, and no investment commissions. Our advice is built around what's right for you — not what we're paid to recommend.
You can always raise concerns directly with us first. If you'd like to escalate, our licensee Lifespan has a formal internal complaints process, and you can also lodge a complaint externally with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) at afca.org.au — a free, independent dispute resolution service.
We're bound by the Australian Privacy Principles and Lifespan's Privacy Policy. Your information is only ever used for the purpose of providing you advice and never shared with product providers without your consent.