When reading through your Statement of Advice (SoA) you will see a section titled 'Scope of Advice'. This should be a concise and important area of your advice document. The Scope of advice is designed to cover off on two important areas;
The scope of advice should have been determined in the first interview the adviser had with you. Although you may not know what this is before the initial meeting, by the end of your appointment your adviser should have uncovered specific areas of your situation that need to be addressed to put you in a better financial position in the short, medium or long-term. These areas are then translated into your scope of advice.
Here is an example of a well detailed and specific Scope of Advice;
As we have agreed, our financial advice and this report specifically address the following areas of advice.
As our advice is limited to the areas outlined above, we cannot accept responsibility for those aspects of your financial affairs, which are not included in our advice. You should consider our advice with regard to your overall situation.
In preparing this SOA we have relied upon the information gathered during our discussions and as recorded in the Fact Find report completed on the xxth of June 2015. This SOA provides our advice after consideration of this information and your goals and objectives. A copy of the Fact Find report is available upon request.
- What products and services your Financial Adviser is authorised to deal in as described in their Financial Services Guide (FSG). The FSG outlines the advisers education and approved products under RG 146.
- What advice you require as a client and how the adviser can help you achieve that in relation to the products and services the adviser is authorised to deal in as per their FSG.
The scope of advice should have been determined in the first interview the adviser had with you. Although you may not know what this is before the initial meeting, by the end of your appointment your adviser should have uncovered specific areas of your situation that need to be addressed to put you in a better financial position in the short, medium or long-term. These areas are then translated into your scope of advice.
Here is an example of a well detailed and specific Scope of Advice;
As we have agreed, our financial advice and this report specifically address the following areas of advice.
- Personal Risk Insurance – addressing your personal insurance needs including total and permanent disablement, trauma and disability income protection.
- Superannuation Investments – reviewing existing superannuation portfolio in light of current personal and financial details, objectives and research data and recommending appropriate investments and structures for your superannuation benefits.
- Superannuation Investments – implementing an external rollover mechanism to help fund your personal insurances as required.
- Tax planning – investigating ways to effectively manage your tax liabilities.
- Personal Insurance – reviewing your life insurance needs.
- Investment Review – we have not provided advice in relation to personal investment portfolio.
- Wealth creation – implementing a geared investment strategy.
- Retirement planning – making appropriate superannuation contributions to increase your retirement savings.
- Superannuation income streams – drawing income from superannuation assets to meet your regular expenses.
- Centrelink – reasonably estimating and maximising your entitlement to Centrelink benefits.
- Debt management – effectively managing your situation to reduce the negative effects of debt.
- General Insurance – we have not provided advice on insurances such as Home and Contents or Motor vehicle insurance.
- Health Insurance – we have not provided advice on Health Insurance.
- Estate Planning – ensuring that your assets will be distributed in line with your wishes in the event of your death.
As our advice is limited to the areas outlined above, we cannot accept responsibility for those aspects of your financial affairs, which are not included in our advice. You should consider our advice with regard to your overall situation.
In preparing this SOA we have relied upon the information gathered during our discussions and as recorded in the Fact Find report completed on the xxth of June 2015. This SOA provides our advice after consideration of this information and your goals and objectives. A copy of the Fact Find report is available upon request.
If you are unsure if your Scope of Advice has addressed your specific concerns and areas you were seeking advice it is critical that you discuss this with your adviser and request for them to reassess your needs and prepare a new Statement of Advice document.
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