- Independent Advice
FM Financial Solutions provides independent advice, free from any third-party influence or conflict or bias, which in our view is the only way to deliver quality advice and help clients achieve better financial and lifestyle outcomes.
Independent advice is important for clients, as it reduces the risk of being ‘sold’ inappropriate strategies and products that may not help you to achieve your objectives, or in fact may result in you losing everything, the Storm Financial scandal is just one example, where clients were given conflicted advice.
- Achieving Certainty
FM Financial Solutions believes that when you engage with a Financial Planner that you are seeking greater certainty of achieving your goals and objectives. As a result increasing ‘certainty’ permeates throughout everything we do for you, whether it is:
• helping you to increase your savings so that you have money for your future,
• putting in place a contingency plan to ensure your access to money in times of need,
• or a succession plan designed to make sure that your family and loved ones benefit when you are gone,
• or investing in a manner to compound returns while reducing risk.
It is all about increasing the potential for you to achieve your objectives.
- Cash Management:
Increasing your savings and therefore your wealth.
- Contingency Planning:
Reducing the risks of illness, disability or death derailing your plan and your loved one's financial security. We reduce the cost to you as we do not take commissions.
- Family Wealth Succession:
Increasing the certainty that your loved ones are financially cared for.
- Strategy:
Developing appropriate courses of action designed to increase wealth.
- Portfolio Construction & Management:
Building investment portfolios designed to generate REAL returns with less variability, thus reducing capital loss to provide greater certainty of outcome.
- Age Care Advice:
Helping you and your family make the right decisions for you when you need that additional care.
- Investment Entities:
Selection of structures or entities to increase post-tax returns.
- “…trustworthy, well informed, hardworking advisers who, most importantly, are truly independent.”
"I am happy to recommend Fergus & Margaret as financial advisers. It was very important to my husband and me to find trustworthy, well informed, hardworking advisers who, most importantly, are truly independent. That description certainly fits Fergus & Margaret. Too many financial advisers are not independent and unfortunately are little more than salesmen pushing products. As a solicitor, I know how important it is to retain a professional adviser who I can be assured works in my family's interest alone, without he or she being influenced by personal considerations. Fergus & Margaret's friendly, personal service since we became their clients in early 2009 has been excellent."
—S & M Peterson—
- “Communication is excellent and we are kept very well informed.”
“The reason for my search was…our dissatisfaction with my previous advisor. This dissatisfaction was due to (in retrospect) poorly thought-out advice, lack of attention to detail, general shoddiness, and severe lack of communication or any evidence of proper monitoring of our situation. This was particularly disturbing in view of the fact that we put our finances in his hands just before the GFC hit, and did not feel supported in any way during this time. He took his (significant) commission regardless, and we felt, to put it plainly, 'ripped off'.
I am happy to say that FM Financial Solutions could not be more different (from many other businesses we have dealt with) in the way it does business and the service it provides. The advice we have received has been carefully thought-out and realistic, everything has been meticulously documented. Communication is excellent and we are kept very well informed. Fergus and Margaret have given consideration to our overall situation and covered all bases. We now have a much better idea of where we are headed financially and how to get there. We feel that we are in 'safe hands' and that this business is conducted with honesty and integrity.”
—K & D Turner—
- “…The service … excellent in every respect. The reporting that we receive has been detailed and insightful.”
“Fergus Hardingham was highly recommended to us by the chairman of an industry superannuation fund. He knew Fergus well and commended him for his enthusiasm and passion for financial planning. We have found Fergus to be extremely thorough and very efficient and prompt in answering questions whether by phone or e-mail. There has not been one occasion when Fergus has failed to answer a question. We value this level of responsiveness very highly. The other issue that attracted me to Fergus was his "fee for service" approach to his business. We were well aware of the exorbitant commissions that some advisers receive in the form of trailing commissions and % based fees.
The service that both Fergus and Margaret have delivered to us has been excellent in every respect. The reporting that we receive has been detailed and insightful. We look forward to our continuing relationship with them into the future.”
—J and S Bock—
- “We have immense confidence in Fergus’s financial ability. We unreservedly recommend his service.”
“We first met Fergus Hardingham 3 years ago and during the time he has been our financial advisor we have learnt to appreciate his professionalism. His attention to detail and record keeping is meticulous. Fergus contacts his clients frequently to keep them informed. He seeks confirmation of all actions and works diligently in the interests of his clients. We have immense confidence in Fergus’s financial ability. We unreservedly recommend his service.”
—David and B Rayner—
- “…very knowledgeable and sensitive with his advice and direction, which has led to a sound and profitable financial plan ….”
“We have found Fergus to be very knowledgeable and sensitive with his advice and direction, which has led to a sound and profitable financial plan for my wife and myself. As a result, when Fergus decided to leave FuturePlus and establish FM Financial Solutions with his wife, Margaret, we had no hesitation in deciding to retain Fergus’ services, and thus became clients of FM Financial Solutions.
My wife and I have no hesitation in recommending Fergus Hardingham to advise, develop and administer financial plans for any person who is retired or considering retirement.”
—D Herd and J Herd—
- “…their attention to detail, proactive service standards and trustworthiness to be first rate…”
“I cannot praise enough the ability of Fergus and Margaret in providing first rate advice on all aspects of financial advice. It was for this reason that when I retired in November 2004 I transferred my superannuation portfolio to them as quickly as I could. I consider their attention to detail, proactive service standards and trustworthiness to be first rate and my wife Barbara and I are pleased we made the right decision in November 2004 in selecting them both as our financial advisors.”
—T and B Kelly—
- “Leading up to my retirement … built a good rapport with Fergus and relied heavily on his advice.”
“Leading up to my retirement both my wife and I built a good rapport with Fergus and relied heavily on his advice. When Fergus made a decision to leave FuturePlus and establish FM Financial Solutions we decided to retain his services. Both my wife and I have no hesitation in recommending Fergus Hardingham to any person who is considering retirement to assist and advise them in financial matters.”
—R and R Johnston—
- “The financial Statement of Advice … was presented clearly and concisely and was very easy for us to understand.”
“When we decided to retire we sought advice from our Superannuation Fund and Fergus Hardingham was the financial planner assigned to us. The financial Statement of Advice he prepared for us was presented clearly and concisely and was very easy for us to understand. Fergus made every effort to ensure we understood exactly where and how our money was to be invested and how our income stream would work.
Fergus is always available, by phone or email, for any queries we might have and our questions have always been answered quickly. He constantly reviews our portfolio to recommend improvements to our investments. We would have no hesitation in recommending FM Financial Solutions Pty Ltd.”
—G and J Capsanis—
- “… wanted someone with a personal touch, we found that in Fergus and Margaret.”
“My wife and I knew nothing about investing our money and wanted someone with a personal touch, we found that in Fergus and Margaret. We will forever be grateful to both of them, rest assured, the next time we encounter any such problems we hope Fergus and Margaret will be there for us. We have recently moved to Queensland but will continue our association with Fergus and Margaret.”
—T and B Clarke—
- “…helpful, prompt and accurate in their assessment of our financial affairs.”
“We have no hesitation in recommending Fergus and Margaret Hardingham. From their initial interview right through the completion of our superannuation and Centrelink (Age Pension) arrangements we found them to be very efficient. We also found them to be helpful, prompt and accurate in their assessment of our financial affairs.”
—J and R Griffiths—
- “…no commissions …, means that the advice you receive is in your interests only and not in the adviser’s.”
"Fergus Hardingham is exactly the type of honest, extremely-well-informed financial advisor who cares about his clients' positive financial future. In doing so, Fergus constantly monitors each investment and makes immediate recommendations depending on the situation. His fee-based services, and the fact that he accepts no commissions from anyone, means that the advice you receive is in your interests only and not in the adviser's. The long-term and positive outcome for him in doing so is in referrals, and I have referred many friends to him that have subsequently become his clients. Each is extremely satisfied, as I am, that their financial future is in the safest of hands. I could not recommend him more highly.”
—D. Lonsdale—
- “… the personal interest … professional approach, tailored to our objectives.”
"Fergus. and Margaret, have been our financial advisers for many years, leading up to and since our retirement. We have appreciated the personal interest they take in our concerns and their professional approach, tailored to our objectives. “
—W & E Hatton—
- “… Fergus and Margaret feel like family members that have all the answers to our financial needs.”
"To be honest, we don't know where we would be without Fergus's insightful knowledge of the complexities of our financial situation. He and Margaret have helped us transcend into retirement with ease. They contact us regularly and we find their style to be very transparent, cordial, professional, and above all trustworthy in every way. Fergus and Margaret feel like family members that have all the answers to our financial needs. We appreciate their advice to the letter. Warm regards, Mark and David”
—Mark and David—
- “… make retirement an enjoyable and worry free time …”
"I am confident that Fergus & Margaret Hardingham do everything possible to make retirement an enjoyable and worry free time for my husband and I.”
—K and L Szabo—
- Case No. 1
Young Professional Couple
A highly paid young professional couple came to us for some guidance to help them get their financial affairs in order prior to starting a family and to design a plan aimed at increasing the potential for them to secure and grow their already sound financial position.
We assisted them to put in place a cash management mechanism to help them increase their savings. We then helped them to implement a contingency plan via a comprehensive life insurance portfolio, which thanks to our firm’s policy of rebating commissions in the form of lower premiums, resulted in them paying over $6,000 per year less in premium. The purpose of this plan being to ensure that significant illness or disability did not de-rail their lifestyle and financial goals and importantly protected their young family from having to make unpalatable decisions.
We also identified with them that it was important that if either of them passed away prematurely that family assets remained in the family regardless of future changes to the surviving partner’s relationship status or circumstances, and that tax was minimised. If both of them passed away prematurely that their baby would be more likely to be cared for by guardians they had nominated, and that their family assets, including life insurance proceeds were structured appropriately to maximise the benefits for their child.
We recommended that they engage a specialist Estate Planning lawyer to draft the recommended legal documents and that they use a superannuation fund that would pay the anti-detriment payment (return of contributions tax) to maximise the level of benefits paid to beneficiaries. The implementation of this advice has provided our clients with a much higher level of comfort and security that their child (and future children) would be financially very well provided for.
Our other recommendations included consolidating the couple’s multiple superannuation funds to improve ongoing management of this important investment vehicle. The implementation of individual, well diversified investment portfolios within their superannuation accounts was designed to compound returns over time and reduce risk. We also recommended a tax efficient strategy to increase their superannuation balances and advice to reduce their outstanding mortgage debt.
We believe that the most value our clients received from engaging us was having a PLAN in place that they could understand and use to help them increase the certainty that their financial future would be assured.
- Case No. 2
Single doctor
A medical professional engaged us to assist him to get this financial house in better order. Issues included multiple superannuation funds and a lack of a structured investment strategy. He had successfully accrued significant assets, but now needed some professional assistance and guidance in how to structure his assets and invest to ensure future financial security.
We consolidated the majority of his superannuation assets into two new accounts, one a Transition to Retirement Pension, consisting predominately of tax free-free money, the other a Super Account (consisting predominately of taxable money). He was also advised to add to these accounts.
Our strategy was also to retain the status of an existing Government super plan in order to avoid compromising the ability to commence an indexed life-time pension in the future.
The result was the commencement of a close-to tax-free pension or income stream, which did not add to his already significant salary income as a doctor, and consolidation of multiple superannuation accounts into two funds, one in the Pension phase, the other in the Accumulation phase. In addition we deployed a very diversified and defensively focused portfolio in each of the new accounts, designed to generate CPI+3% returns with very low volatility.
Now our client has a greatly simplified set of arrangements. He is maximising the available tax concessions and has in place an investment strategy which should provide him with greater certainty of growing his wealth and minimising the RISK of loss.
- Case No. 3
Small Business Clients
Very successful small business clients approached us with complex existing arrangements, including a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF), Investment Company, Family Trust and an Operating Company. However, what was missing was some direction in how to build their wealth outside their business and the fact that they had no family wealth succession plan in place.
We simplified their entities by closing their SMSF (which had been an unnecessarily complex vehicle for them). We then established individual diversified investment portfolios in their new superannuation funds, as well as in their investment company and in their new family trust. We also worked with them so that they better understood their business and investment entities, as well as the tax implications of placing investments in their new Super Fund, Family Trust and Investment Company.
We also recommended that they put in place a family wealth succession plan designed to ensure that their chosen beneficiaries, namely each other and their young children, would benefit in the event that they passed away prematurely. This provided our clients with a greater level of certainty that their hard earned wealth would remain in their family.
- Case No. 4
Couple, one member not able to work
A couple came to us after one member had been made redundant and he had decided that it was time to retire. The other member was unable to work due to a physical condition that caused him great pain.
We re-structured their significant assets, including superannuation so that one member of the couple was able to secure the FULL rate of Disability Support Pension or DSP (which pays the same benefit as the Age Pension), while the other member was paid a tax-free income stream from a portion of his superannuation benefits. We also ensured that the superannuation fund of the recipient of the DSP was made unrestricted non-preserved, so that even while he was under preservation age he would be able to access his superannuation, if needed.
In the future, even with the significant assets they have worked hard to accrue, when the older member of the couple is eligible, he will receive the FULL rate of Age Pension, while his partner continues to receive the FULL rate of DSP. Our advice resulted in excess of $30,000pa of income being generated from a source other than their investment capital, hence reducing their capital longevity risk.
As a result, our clients have been able to live a comfortable life, undertake renovations to their beautiful home and importantly, do not need to worry about their financial security.
FM Financial Solutions P/L
Suite 2.12, 55 Miller Street
PYRMONT NSW 2009
PHONE: 02-9518 7822
AFSL: 327 277 ABN: 87 108 527 617