Northstar Accountants provides Financial Planning service in St Leonards.

As your trusted Advisers, working with our in-house Financial Planning team means we can seamlessly manage all aspects of your financial affairs.

A Northstar Accountants Financial Adviser can help you make the right decisions about your finances by understanding your financial situation and helping you develop a financial plan to meet your short and long-term goals.

Why do you need Financial Planning Advice?

Financial advice can help you make better decisions about your financial future at any stage in your life. You work hard so why not make sure your money is working as hard as you are?

The value of good financial advice isn’t exclusive to ‘the wealthy’. We all have the potential to build financial independence. A skilled Financial Adviser could help you reach that potential and put thought into action, especially if you tend to put things off.

Our Financial Planning Services

• Superannuation
• Retirement Planning
• Debt Management
• Wealth Protection
• SMSF
• Aged Care
• Estate Planning

Superannuation

The team at Northstar Accountants can help you understand, grow and manage your superannuation.

We can help you:

• Consolidate your super funds and help you save on fees
• Identify investment options tailored to your goals and risk profile
• Review your concessional and non-concessional contributions to super
• Identify strategies to help boost your superannuation
• Enjoy the benefits of salary sacrifice
• Understand your insurance options within superannuation
• Determine if you have the correct beneficiary nominations in place
• Determine whether a self-managed super fund (SMSF) is right for you.

Retirement Planning

Northstar Accountants Financial Advisers can help you work out how much money you have now, how much you might have in the future and where it is coming from.

We will help you:

• Identify your retirement goals
• Review your income and cashflow requirements
• Identify what assets (house, savings, investments) you have and how much they are worth
• Assess how much super you have and when you can access it
• Find ways to grow your retirement income
• Put plans in place to make your money last in retirement
• Determine when you can apply for the age pension and whether you are likely to be eligible.
• Review your estate planning

Debt Management

Knowing how to manage your debt can help you take control of your financial future and manage your cashflow.

Northstar Accountants can recommend a debt management plan to help you pay down your bad debt whilst using good debt to build long term wealth.

We also work with a network of mortgage brokers who can help find you the right loan for your home or investment.

Wealth Protection

Life takes twists and turns that we can’t always see coming. That’s why it’s so important that we are prepared for life’s emergencies.  You don’t want to leave it to chance. Having the right insurance cover in place can help protect your family and your income if the unexpected occurs.

Northstar Accountants has access to a large range of insurers and we can tailor your wealth protection plan to suit your circumstances. We will make the insurance process as simple as possible and help you get the right cover to protect you and those you love with a financial safety net in the event that the unexpected occurs.

Self Managed Super Funds (SMSFs)

SMSFs give people full control of their own super fund, including all the legal and tax responsibilities associated with doing this.

The team at Northstar Accountants can assist you with the investment and estate planning strategies for your SMSF.

We will recommend an investment strategy that is in line with your risk profile and incorporates your ideas about investing within your SMSF. We make the recommendations. You make the decisions.

Aged Care

Aged Care is a complicated area to fully understand. There is a lot of information to sift through and the conversation is sometimes a tricky one to approach. At Northstar Accountants at St Leonards we help to make navigating aged care easier for you and your family.

We will help you cut through the vast amount of information that is available and ensure all aspects of your financial situation are addressed;

• the family home
• pensions
• accommodation payments
• care fees
• cash flow and,
• investment planning.

Estate Planning

Estate Planning gives you the peace of mind that the people you care about are looked after if something happens to you. You should consider estate planning if you have assets, whether it’s a house, superannuation, investments and/or a business.

In conjunction with legal and accounting professionals we can help you with:

• Ensuring your Will is current and properly drafted
• Granting Enduring Powers of Attorney
• Reviewing if a family trust is appropriate for your situation
• Identifying whether it is appropriate for you to have Testamentary Trust in place
• Finding the most tax effective manner of passing your assets onto your loved ones (beneficiaries)
• Reviewing your life insurance policies
• Ensuring your nominated beneficiaries are correct for your superannuation
• Gifting to charities
• Identifying the right structure to pass on the family business
• Dealing with capital losses and capital gains
• Dealing with family debts

What to look for in a Financial Plan?

• A financial plan is officially known as a “Statement of Advice” (SOA).
• Australian Investments and Securities Commission (ASIC) says a good Statement of Advice (SOA) should:
• address the reasons you sought advice.
• include recommendations that are relevant to you.
• refer accurately to your assets, liabilities, income and expenses.
• have a defined scope and explain what advice is and isn’t being provided.
• give cashflow projections (where relevant) to show how the recommended strategy will fit your income and expenses.
• present the advantages and disadvantages of complex  strategic recommendations (if relevant).
• explain how financial products fit into the overall strategy and your risk tolerance.
• state all the costs.

For Financial Planning services in St Leonards contact Northstar Accountants on Phone (02) 9436 2301.