Who

we

are

I get it - you want financial advice, real financial advice.

And from my 20 years of experience, I can tell you that financial advice is not just about switching your super fund and get some life insurances, it is way much more than that.

But unfortunately too many financial advisory firms focus on this part only rather than focussing on you and your unique needs. So you've been hesitating, resisting, unsure and searching for a financial advisor that you can trust and quite simply - looking for someone who puts your needs first.

Well I can make a commitment to you right from the outset - we are no ordinary financial advisory firm. I measure our success based on our ability to listen to you and put you in a better position compared with your situation before you saw us.

And by better, I mean the best it could be - both emotionally and financially. Our financial advisors will share strategies and advice on aspects that you did not know and you will be pleasantly surprised along every step of your financial roadmap journey.

We are FinancialAdvisor.com.au, your financial sounding board, your trusted advisor and we have been the experts helping Australian residents and expats optimise their finances since 2006.

Yours sincerely - James Gerrard, Founder - FinancialAdvisor.com.au

From 1983 until now:

Born and raised at the foot of mountains in the working-class town of Penrith located about 1 hour West of Sydney, I enjoyed a childhood with fond memories of weekend fishing trips with my father and the excitement of finding something new at a garage sale or car boot sale that we’d stop at on the way home.

After finishing high school I commenced a double degree in accounting and applied finance at Macquarie University while concurrently undertaking a traineeship at the NSW Public Trustee in their corporate finance department.

Determined to succeed, I worked 8:30am until 5pm during the day then attended university until 10pm for night classes. During this period, I unexpectedly met my future wife while door knocking in my local area looking for garage to rent for my car which I had to keep on the street. But not just any car, it was my pride and joy - a 1994 HSV 215i with a 5.7 litre V8 engine.

Quickly realising that accounting was not my passion, I was referred by my manager at the Public Trustee to the NSW Office of the Protective commissioner where I joined as a financial planning officer. The work was challenging and varied from helping people with acquired brain injuries invest their compensation payment to advocating the financial rights of older Australians with age related disabilities with their family who were sometimes more interested in protecting their own inheritance than looking after their elderly parent’s care needs.

From there I moved into private sector financial planning, first for Godfrey Pembroke and then in 2010, Charter Financial Planning where at the age of 27 I become a partner in one of Sydney’s largest financial planning firms. I also completed an MBA, became a Certified Financial Planner and started writing for The Australian newspaper as a contributor on a weekly basis.

In 2015 I applied for an Australian Financial Services Licence with ASIC which was granted and allowed our firm to operate as a self-licenced financial planning practice. With one daughter at this point and another on the way, life was busy but I always found time for family. One of my former colleagues said that your children only grow up once and his biggest regret looking back was not being there to experience it with them, instead focussing on his career.

Fast forward to today and FinancialAdvisor.com.au works with clients all around Australia (and the world). We manage over $200 million dollars of money and I appear regularly in the media, writing for The Australian newspaper, appearing on their finance podcast called The Money Puzzle and have a regular spot as a finance commentator on ABC breakfast news TV.

I have three beautiful daughters from my wife that I met in 2005 (when looking for that car spot). We live in East Killara on the north shore of Sydney and I enjoy collecting whisky, watches and artwork from Max Mannix and Pro Hart. I also play soccer and going mountain bike riding and although my life is worlds apart from my childhood, my attitude has not changed.

On the weekends you’re likely to find me shopping at the local charity shop with one of my children, educating them about the value of money. I order baked beans with my breakfast bowl and drink VB over Young Henrys. I pick up things from council clean up and my favourite food is a simple yet satisfying Hungry Jacks whopper burger (with extra sauce of course). Life is too short to take yourself too seriously.

So why am I telling you all this?

Well, the way that I approach life has shaped the way that we operate at FinancialAdvisor.com.au.

We are not pretentious; we treat our clients like real people (rather than a number) and we believe there is a right way to do business. We go home at night to our families and relax, knowing that we’ve done a good job and put our clients into a better position.

We listen to our clients and give advice in their best interests, rather than feed them pre-planned expensive super and managed fund recommendations that unfortunately so many financial planners do.

We focus on enriching our clients’ lives by adding value, providing them with peace of mind that their finances are on track and showing them investments and strategies that they would never have otherwise been exposed to.

We have a tight-knit corporate culture and all staff put client interests above their own which is reflected in how we measure success. Our primary KPI is measuring overall client satisfaction rather than a financial based KPI metric.

We pride ourselves on advising on areas that other financial advisors are too scared, or reluctant to cover. We tailor our advice to each client and we utilise the same strategies, structuring and investments that our clients do - we practice what we preach.

Finally, my top 5 pieces of advice are:

• Spend money on quality things that last;
  
• Enjoy the moment as life is short;
  
• Don’t sweat the small stuff;
  
• Goals are dreams with deadlines;
  
• Surround yourself with positive, selfless and genuine people.