Wealth Management Brisbane

Independent wealth management services tailored to your situation

Solace Financial provides private wealth management services to individuals and families in Brisbane who require more than just a simple financial plan. Do you have a complex financial situation involving multiple income streams, investment properties, business interests, superannuation strategies, and tax planning, all of which need to work together seamlessly? This is our specialty. We’re an independent, privately owned financial advisory firm with our own AFSL. This means our tailored advice is based solely on you, nothing else.

If you’d like to learn more about whether our approach is right for you, we’d be happy to arrange a free initial consultation with no obligation.

How wealth management works at Solace Financial

With wealth management from Solace, your investments, tax, superannuation, insurance, and estate issues are all brought together in one strategy. We don’t discuss one of these issues separately from the others, but rather bring them all together in one plan that mirrors the way your money really works. All of these issues are dealt with simultaneously by your adviser, and this is because they all impact one another in a significant way.

Your investment portfolio and how we manage it

Your investment portfolio is the engine of your wealth management plan, and it is as important as the content of your portfolio. We design investment portfolios based on a mix of Australian and international shares, fixed interest, private credit, and alternative investments, depending on your risk tolerance, income needs, time horizon, and overall financial situation. We only include each investment in your portfolio for a specific reason, whether it is for capital growth, income generation, or capital protection during times of high volatility in the market.

We don’t use a single model portfolio for all of our clients. Your portfolio is tailored to your unique situation, taking into account your tax situation, your cash flow needs, your life stage, and your tolerance for volatility. And because of our use of Separately Managed Accounts (explained in more detail below), you’ll always know exactly what you own in your portfolio. Read more about our investment advice and management philosophy.

Portfolio management isn’t something we set and forget. We continually watch the markets and make adjustments when your asset allocation drifts from your financial goals or when we see opportunities. If fixed income yields change or a sector gets overvalued in relation to its fundamentals, we make adjustments. You’ll hear directly from us when we make changes, not months later in a quarterly report.

Tax structuring built into your plan

Tax is an integral part of every decision in your wealth management strategy from the outset. We structure your investment and income strategy, and your contributions, with your marginal tax rate and ultimate tax position in mind. This includes the timing of the realisation of capital gains, the utilisation of franking credits, the maximisation of concessional superannuation contributions within the limits, and the structure of your investment income to obtain the most tax-effective structure for your benefit.

For clients with family trusts, companies or self-managed super funds, things get a little more complicated. We work closely with your accountant to ensure that your financial strategy isn’t working crosswise to your tax strategy. You can learn more about what strategies we use by reading our guide on how to reduce your taxable income. If you don’t have an accountant you’re happy with, we can suggest one who’s familiar with the type of structures we build.

Superannuation as part of the bigger picture

One of the most effective and tax-efficient investment tools for building wealth is superannuation, and it is one that needs to be integrated with all the other things that you are doing. We will look at your superannuation in relation to your personal investment and business interests, as applicable, and your income goals for retirement, to develop the best contribution and investment strategy, including your drawdown strategy.

That may mean making the most of concessional contributions at $30,000 per annum, utilising the ability to carry forward unused cap amounts if eligible, making non-concessional contributions when appropriate, or even rolling an account balance into pension phase to leverage the tax-free environment for earnings. For couples, there can be an important benefit in splitting super between both parties to make the most of the transfer balance cap and minimise the chance of an excess at any given time.

If you are a trustee of an SMSF, we are able to assist with the management of the investment strategy of your fund, working in conjunction with your SMSF administrator and auditor. We provide specialist superannuation advice tailored to your fund structure and goals.

Protecting what you’ve built with personal insurance

Wealth creation is a long-term process that can be destroyed in a short period if you are unfortunate enough to suffer a serious illness or injury. Death can also destroy all that you have built in a very short period of time. Personal insurance is a key component of a wealth management strategy as it protects the income that underpins all other wealth creation strategies. We evaluate the need for personal insurance coverage for life insurance, total and permanent disability, income protection, and trauma insurance and whether this insurance is held inside or outside superannuation based on premium costs and tax implications.

Your insurance policy is reviewed annually as part of your overall plan. What was suitable when you were 48, with a mortgage and school-age kids, may not be suitable when you are 58, with a paid-for house and grown-up kids. We review and adjust as your circumstances change. You can also learn more about our personal insurance advisory service.

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Who wealth management is suited for

Wealth management is worthwhile if you have a financial life with a sufficient number of moving pieces that integrating them into a coordinated effort results in a significantly more desirable outcome than if each piece were managed in isolation. Here’s who tends to benefit most from working with us.

High net worth individuals and families

If you have significant investible assets and those assets are structured in many different ways (personal holdings, family trusts, SMSFs, corporate entities), then you want to make sure that the advice takes into account all of those structures. We deal with high net worth individuals and families, and there are often complex tax implications and estate planning issues, but also investment decisions that have implications for many generations. You want to make sure that your adviser has a complete understanding of your situation, not just your super balance.

For families, this may also mean strategising around both partners and thinking about the financial situation of adult children in the estate planning process. It may also mean managing concentrations in investments, for example, a significant investment in a single company or property. See how we work with high net worth individuals.

Business owners with complex structures

The complexity of running a business is not typically built into the majority of financial models that provide advice. Your business and your personal wealth are linked in many ways, such as director’s loans, retained profits, real estate held in a company structure, and the exit strategy for the business.

We help business owners think about how to extract the money from the business in a tax-efficient manner and how to invest personally alongside the cash flow from the business. We also think about what happens when the business is sold or closed down, or handed over to the next generation. If you’ve been putting everything back into the business and not investing elsewhere, that’s a particularly important conversation to have with us as you approach retirement.

People approaching or already in retirement

Retirement planning is where wealth management really earns its keep. The move from accumulation to drawdown is a major game-changer for your tax position, investment risk profile, superannuation strategy, and estate planning needs all at the same time.

We help pre-retirees and retirees in managing their investments to generate a consistent level of income without risking too much. This includes modelling the longevity of your money based on your spending needs and working out the optimal mix of account-based pensions and other forms of income. We will also ensure that your entitlement to an Age Pension (if applicable) is maximised by proper asset and income test strategies.

If you’re already retired and your current adviser hasn’t stress-tested your portfolio for a prolonged market downturn or a rise in inflation, it’s well worth having that conversation with your adviser. Our retirement planning services cover all of these areas in detail.

How our separately managed accounts give you more control

Most financial advisory firms invest client money through managed funds or a model portfolio that pools your money with that of many other investors. You do not actually own the underlying assets in the portfolio; rather, you own units in a managed investment scheme. This approach has a disadvantage in that you do not actually know what you own, and when the manager makes a trade, everybody in the managed investment scheme gets the tax result whether they wanted it or not.

Solace Financial uses Separately Managed Accounts, or SMAs. The difference is substantial.

When you have an SMA, you actually own the underlying securities. You are on the share register. So if we hold BHP, CSL, or a government bond in your portfolio, you actually own that specific investment, not a proportion of a pool of investments. This provides you with complete transparency over all your holdings and all your transactions, down to a specific dividend payment.

More importantly, it allows us to make portfolio decisions on an individual client basis. If you’ve made a capital gain this year and another client hasn’t, we can make different trading decisions for you both. We can use tax losses in your account if it’s in your best interest, and make individual portfolio decisions based on your individual tax situation, without affecting anyone else.

And real-time visibility is important, too. You can log in at any time and see exactly what you own and what it’s worth, including what income it’s generated. There’s no waiting for a quarterly fund report or trying to figure out unit prices.

This model provides you with more control over your ethical and sectoral preferences. So, for instance, if you would like to exclude gambling stocks or fossil fuels, or even remove a company from your portfolio, we do that at the portfolio level without you having to search for an ethical fund that may or may not actually reflect your values.

The SMA structure is one of the reasons why our clients have a genuine sense of ownership over their investment strategy. You can see all of the decisions that we make on your behalf.

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What to expect from the first meeting to ongoing reviews

It may seem like a big step to bring in a wealth manager, especially if you’ve been managing things on your own or if your past experiences with financial advisers have not been great. This is how the process works from the first conversation with Solace right through the working relationship.

The first step is a free initial consultation, where we’ll spend 30 to 60 minutes getting to know you at a high level. This is a conversation, in person in our office in Brisbane or over the phone or video call, where you’ll tell us about what you own, what you owe, what you earn, what’s stressing you out, and what you’re hoping to achieve. We’ll tell you whether or not we think we can help you and what working together might look like. There’s no charge and no strings attached.

If you’re comfortable with that, we go into a fact find process. This is the process of accumulating the details: superannuation statements, tax returns, trust deeds, insurance policies, valuations for properties, and business financial information if appropriate. The more detail we have, the better the advice we can provide.

From there, we prepare your Statement of Advice (SOA). This is the formal document that outlines our recommendations in investments, super, taxes, insurance, and estate planning. It also outlines the reasoning behind our recommendations and the costs involved. We then walk you through this SOA in person to ensure that you have any questions answered before we proceed.

Once you approve the SOA, we implement the strategy. This entails establishing or reorganising investment accounts, varying super contributions, providing insurance, and working with an accountant or solicitor if necessary.

Then the ongoing relationship begins. Your plan will be reviewed at least once a year, with a formal review meeting where we’ll review your performance against your goals, assess if your circumstances have changed, and make any necessary adjustments to your strategy. Between formal review meetings, we’re available when you need us. If something has changed in your life (you’ve sold a property, received an inheritance, need to pay for a parent’s aged care, or something else significant), we’re here to help.

How wealth management fees work at Solace Financial

We charge fees based on the complexity of your situation and the services you need. There are no commissions on investment products and no hidden platform fees that benefit us. We have no incentive to recommend one product over another.

Our fee structure usually consists of an initial advice fee that covers the preparation of your SOA and strategy implementation, and an ongoing advice fee for portfolio management services, annual reviews, and access to your adviser throughout the year. The ongoing fee is usually a percentage of the funds under management, with the percentage decreasing as your portfolio increases. We will provide the actual figures for you before making any commitments.

For those with relatively simpler needs, a fixed fee structure may be more appropriate. For those with more complex needs and multiple entities involved, such as SMSFs and business succession planning, the fee structure takes into account the additional complexity involved.

All our fees are clearly disclosed to you from the outset with your SOA document. You’ll understand exactly what you’re paying for and how it compares to what you might be paying elsewhere. If you’re an existing client of another adviser and would like to understand how our fees stack up against your current adviser’s fees, simply bring your existing fee disclosure statement with you to your initial appointment, and we’ll go through it with you. Our article on whether financial advisers are worth it breaks down how to assess the value of ongoing advice.

Why independence matters when choosing a wealth manager

Solace Financial has its own Australian Financial Services Licence. We’re not owned by a bank, an insurance company, or a product manufacturer. The difference is more important than most people think.

When your financial advisor works for a bank-aligned dealer group, what’s available to you is a list of products pre-approved by the bank. What’s more, those products are generating revenue for the bank. While your financial advisor may be well-intentioned about serving your best interests, he or she may be incentivised to serve somewhere else. You may never even be offered a product that was a better fit for you, simply because it was not on the list.

That independence removes all conflict. Our investment choices and insurance selections are based on what’s best for you. Our platform choices are based on what’s best for you. If a competing product is best, we’ll use that. If an institutional product performs better than a retail equivalent, we’ll use that. Our compensation isn’t based on any product we sell you. Our compensation comes from the advice fee you pay us.

This is particularly relevant to high net worth individuals, where their portfolios are substantial enough that any differences in product costs, tax efficiency, or investment manager performance add up over a 10-year period. Independence means that we’re constantly seeking those marginal gains on your behalf.

We’ve been operating independently since 2013, and our expert team’s experience stretches back even further than that, through the global financial crisis and many market cycles. You can read more about our approach in our guide to choosing an investment adviser. You can read more about our approach in our guide on how to choose an investment adviser.

When wealth management overlaps with estate and generational planning

For a high net worth family, wealth management and estate planning are essentially one conversation. The manner in which you currently hold your wealth has a direct impact on how easily you can transfer it to the next generation, and what you’re doing within your wealth management plan has a direct impact on your estate.

A simple example: a couple in their early sixties with a combined super of $4 million, an investment property in a family trust, and a share portfolio held individually. If one member of a couple dies, the tax implications of a super death benefit depend on whether a tax dependant or a non-tax dependant receives it. The investment property has a cost base reset on death, but the trust arrangement may make transfer more difficult. The share portfolio may generate a capital gains tax event unless correctly structured in a will.

These aren’t hypothetical problems. These are the types of problems that we help clients with on a regular basis. Your wealth management strategy needs to be designed with your estate plan from the outset, not an afterthought.

We also liaise with your solicitor to ensure that your will and power of attorney, as well as any structures involving a testamentary trust, are all integrated with the financial plan. If you wish to start transferring assets during your lifetime (for example, to help children get into a home or fund your grandchildren’s education via a trust structure), we assess the implications for your own retirement before any money changes hands.

Generational planning also includes the preparation of the next generation to manage what they are inheriting. We offer to sit down with the adult children and discuss the family’s financial situation and the reasoning behind it, so there are no surprises, and the relationships with the adviser and accountant continue to be seamless. Our generational wealth advisory service is designed to help families in these situations.

This type of planning is where having a long-term relationship with one firm pays off. We already know the family’s structure and objectives, as well as the relationships between family members.

Meet our team of advisers

Scott Quinlan

Certified Financial Planner ®”

Principal / Financial Adviser
MFP, B.Comm, CFP®

I hold a Master’s degree in Financial Planning from Griffith University along with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Newcastle. I’m a Cert…iles-stratford/”>Learn More

Stephen Horton

Certified Financial Planner ®”

Principal / Financial Adviser
B.Comm, CFP®

I am a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and a member of the Financial Planning Association of Australia. I have a degree in Commerce (Accounting) from the University of Queensland and an Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning.

Learn More

Giles Stratford

Certified Financial Planner ®”

Principal / Financial Adviser
MFP, AFP®

I hold a Masters in Financial Planning and a Member of the Financial Planning Association.

Learn More

Joel Carty

Certified Financial Planner ®”

Financial Planner
CFP®, MFP, CTA

I hold a Master’s degree in Financial Planning from the University of the Sunshine Coast and am a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). Additionally, I am a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) and a proud member of both the Financial Advice Association Australia and The Taxation Institute of Australia.

Learn More

Between our advisers, we bring more than 80 years of professional expertise. Meet the full team.

FAQs

How often will my wealth management plan be reviewed?

At a minimum, once a year. This will include a review of portfolio performance, any changes in your personal circumstances, any changes in legislation or tax law, and whether the plan remains appropriate. Between reviews, you’ll always be able to speak to your adviser about anything else you need to discuss immediately.

Do I need a minimum amount of investable assets to start?

We do not disclose a hard dollar figure for the amount of investable assets that a client needs to have in order to benefit from our service. We do say that our service is best suited for clients with a level of complexity in their financial affairs. So, if you have investable assets of $500,000 or more in your super and private accounts, or if your financial affairs involve business structures and trusts and/or significant real estate holdings, we believe that our service can help you. The only way to find out for sure is to schedule your free initial consultation with us.

Can you coordinate with my accountant or solicitor?

Yes, and we prefer to. Wealth management works best when your financial adviser, accountant, and solicitor are all singing from the same song sheet. We often work closely with clients’ existing professional contacts to ensure all strategies are integrated. If you don’t have an accountant or solicitor you’re comfortable working with, we’d be happy to suggest some people we know and trust.

How is wealth management different from financial planning?

Generally, in a financial plan, there is a focus on achieving a goal, such as a plan for retirement, insurance, and strategies for contributing to a superannuation fund. This is where wealth management comes in, which is a broader service that includes all of this, together with investment management, tax structuring, and estate management, and a more consultative approach to working with a client. A financial plan is created, and wealth management is where the plan is implemented and acted upon.

What happens to my plan if my circumstances change significantly?

We review and change it. Life doesn’t always move in straight lines, and neither should your wealth management plan. If you sell a business, inherit money, go through a relationship break-up, have to pay for aged care for a parent, or simply decide you want to retire earlier than you had planned, then we review and change your plan. Significantly changed circumstances mean a review outside the usual annual cycle at no additional cost.

Talk to a wealth management adviser in Brisbane

If your financial position has become too complex for a simple super fund and savings account to handle, and you want someone to take a look at the whole picture independently, we’d like to hear from you.

You can contact us by phone, email, or by using the contact form on this page. We are based in Brisbane, and we are happy to catch up with you in person or via video call, whatever you prefer!