While your initial statement of advice is limited to your agreed scope of service, as full-service financial advisers we provide clients with valuable ongoing assistance, helping our clients review their evolving goals, needs and circumstances.

We know that your overall wealth management requires a deep discovery process, planning and ongoing co-ordination. And as priorities and outlooks may have changed over the course of life events, the pandemic and recent world struggles, it is now more important than ever that you are well served with regular communication and updates.

When talking to our existing clients, the regular feedback we receive is, that by helping our clients remain invested through the market turbulence, we helped them prepare for an uncertain future and are constantly working with them to determine their post-pandemic goals, we can look back with a real sense of having provided true value.

We also believe it’s important for you to understand the value that you are receiving from us and the services we provide in helping achieve your financial goals and aspirations. At Diligent we want our clients to not only reach their goals, but to help inspire and empower you.

When looking at the overall advice we provide it boils down to three key points;

A – active approach to interaction and investment

B – behavioural coaching throughout times of life events and market volatility

C – customising your experience for wealth planning and wealth transfer

We provide intrinsic value to our clients, we have compiled a list below of the three integral roles to the advice and the service we provide for our ongoing advice fee.

Ongoing advice

• Being in regular contact with you to determine whether your goals or any critical details have changed. 

• Considering if your risk tolerance is still appropriate for your age and circumstances.

• Evaluating market conditions, tax and inflation assumptions and if there are any long-term changes in expected returns.

• Considering any changes in your tax status and or any tax policy and its potential effects on the portfolio and goals.

• Reviewing and update prior planning assumptions, in terms of saving, spending, and market assumptions.  Determine whether the existing retirement gap analysis remains relevant or needs updating.

• Using modelling software to determine if you are on track to achieving your goals.

• Recommending strategy changes based on overfunded or underfunded goals.

• Considering the role and relationship of a KiwiSaver account to the entirety of your other assets and accounts in relation to their overarching risk tolerance, goals and objectives and asset allocation choices.

• Considering the role and relationship of other investment account/s to the entirety of your overall portfolio in relation to the overarching risk tolerance, goals and objectives and asset allocation choices.

• Considering your options and providing advice around mortgage re-fixing or repayment and potential draw down from your investments in regard to your long term goals and objectives.

• Referral to appropriate mortgage, tax or insurance specialists should you require advice outside of our expertise.

• Keeping you up to date with any regulatory changes that may affect your investments.

• Providing you with education on markets to build resilience for inevitable future market events and volatility and to reduce natural behavioural susceptibility to recency bias.

• If your goals are unchanged, your financial plan is appropriately funded, and you have an asset allocation appropriate to your risk tolerance, the advice may be to maintain the current portfolio settings.

• Documenting each completed review, noting any action points, recommendations and approvals of new implementations; then implement.

• Assisting with life events, death, divorce, financial hardship and first home withdrawals.

• Emailing, answering calls, assisting with logins, compiling and sending reports, dealing with buyer’s remorse, and answering questions ranging from information about markets, to ESG investment options and ad hoc questions and concerns.

• Evaluating possible levels of exposure of wealth and asset protection where relevant.

Administration

Another role the adviser has within our service is administration. The adviser’s job will always be to ensure that the portfolio remains consistent with the investment direction and is managed in a prudent fashion, these administration tasks can include:

• Entering buy/sell instructions on the relevant platform to implement and maintain the portfolio.

• Monitoring all buys/sells until completion.

• Loading any currency conversions required.

• Maintaining the minimum cash balances at all times.

• Creating cash when instructed by the client for provisional tax payments or other reasons.

• Ensuring dividends and coupons are received correctly and on a timely basis (typically quarterly), obtaining a written investment direction from the client on what to do with the income received and implementing this.

• Where an elective corporate action arises – researching this, making specific recommendations, obtaining an investment direction from the client and implementing this.

• Maintaining current AML and updating AML records as required.

• When/if the client makes a change to an investment direction, this must also be submitted to the relevant investment platform.

• Ensuring that the target weights of the portfolio remain consistent with the investment direction and if they drift beyond tolerable parameters, recommending trades, obtaining client approval then implementing.

 Investment monitoring

The adviser’s responsibility is to ensure that the investments are behaving as expected and meeting the portfolio objectives.  Monitoring activities include:

• Conducting regular due diligence on recommended funds and asset allocation including fund and portfolio benchmarking.

• Conducting peer group analysis, if appropriate.

• Updating our internal approved investment list and determine if newly available investments or asset classes can improve portfolio results for you.

• Updating capital market assumptions for recommended portfolios, if appropriate.

• Documenting investment governance procedures for the portfolio and any changes.

• Considering any changes in relation to your views on SRI/ESG preferences.

• Updating the risk indicator score for portfolios if markets move and ensure these remain consistent with your risk tolerance.