Congratulations on winning Holistic Adviser of Year QLD at the ifa awards, what do you think set you apart to win this award?
Many firms claim to be holistic but stay focused on retirement planning, superannuation and insurance. Our practice genuinely looks at every part of a client’s financial life, including estate planning, property, business planning and entity structuring.
We collaborate closely with accountants, lawyers and mortgage brokers so clients receive coordinated advice rather than fragmented recommendations. From the first meeting, clients are told that anything connected to money is on the table for discussion, whether or not it fits neatly into traditional advice categories.
What sets us apart is that holistic advice is not a slogan for us; it is how we design our service, structure our team and measure success for clients.
What does it mean to be a good holistic adviser to you?
A good holistic adviser can work with almost any goal a client brings in, from helping children, starting a business or exploring property ideas, through to more traditional retirement planning. Instead of forcing goals into a narrow service model, we adapt our advice to the client’s real objectives and circumstances.
A strong, long-term relationship is essential, because good advice is about far more than investment returns or fee levels. Many new clients come from firms that were cheaper and performed well but never connected strategy to lifestyle.
Our ideal clients want an ongoing relationship where they can talk openly about any financial or big life decision, confident their adviser understands the bigger picture and will keep their plan aligned with what matters most to them.
As a holistic adviser, you are dealing with many aspects of people’s lives, what is the most common issue clients are coming to you with?
The most common issue right now is parents’ concern about their children and the property market. Prices have risen sharply in recent years, making first homes feel out of reach for many young Australians, especially in cities like Brisbane and Sydney.
Often, parents project their own anxieties, so we start by clarifying what the children actually want and whether buying property suits their career and lifestyle stage. We then step through practical options such as gifting or lending a deposit, using parental security, or structuring low-cost family loans, outlining the pros and cons of each.
For business owners, the biggest recurring issues are a lack of planning, especially succession or exit planning. Many are nearing retirement without a clear strategy to extract value from the businesses they have spent decades building. Each business is different and requires its own approach depending on the industry. I deal with business owners as I can bring that ‘business owner’ experience that has come from building my own practice from scratch, as well as experience consulting with owners from many different industries.
What is one piece of advice you make sure every client hears when they come to your practice?
The best financial plan is useless without consistent execution. Most clients are busy and already have a fair idea of what they “should” do; the real gap is following through year after year. Our role is to turn plans into action by providing structure, accountability and course corrections as life changes.
This is also why we avoid simply handing over a long, prescriptive document and wishing clients good luck. Experience shows that very few people implement those plans on their own, no matter how detailed they are. Instead, we position ourselves as a long-term partner who checks progress, removes roadblocks and keeps decisions aligned with evolving goals, so that strategy and implementation stay tightly connected.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the profession going into 2026?
The biggest challenge for the profession going into 2026 is balancing rising regulatory oversight with the need to serve more Australians. Industry levies and compliance obligations remain significant, limiting efficiency and the number of clients each adviser can sustainably look after.
Demand for quality advice is growing as financial decisions become more complex, yet adviser numbers and capacity are constrained. Managed accounts have helped streamline portfolio management, but they are likely to attract further scrutiny as regulators respond to past misconduct by a minority of firms.
Thoughtful use of artificial intelligence can ease the capacity crunch by automating routine tasks, improving documentation and enhancing client service, provided it is implemented in a compliant, data-secure way. The challenge is to harness these tools while protecting client trust.
