Frequently asked questions

What are your qualifications and experience?

I have a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) that I completed at the University of Newcastle in 2013 and a Master of Financial Services that I completed at the University of New England in 2015. I started working at an accounting firm in Gosford (NSW Central Coast) whilst in my final year of uni in 2013. Here I worked on the financial services side of the business and learned a lot whilst working mainly with retirees on their investment and super needs (often with SMSF's) and some younger wealth accumulators, often where a business was involved and there were lending needs. In 2016 with encouragement from Amy to move to Sydney, I started working at a pure financial advice business in the CBD researching strategies and products. Here I worked with a broader range of clients with less of a business and SMSF focus and more of an employee focus with a lot of superannuation contribution and product strategies and a greater focus on insurance. In 2017 I followed my passion for independence and started working at an independent advice business in Brookvale who was one of the first advisers in Sydney to specialise in working with wealth accumulators (generally high income earners) in an independent, fixed-fee way. Here I worked predominately with wealth accumulators on their goals around property and wealth building for the future. In late 2017 the firm merged with another, more establish, independent private wealth manager in Mosman who specialise in managing the often significant wealth of their clients with a holistic approach but investment specialty. The firm is amazing and loved working their with the awesome people as I helped the previous firm and their clients transition across but a desire to work with some younger customers and be closer to Newcastle to be closer to family and friends led me to start my own business in early 2019.



How do I get paid?

I only get paid by my customers where all fees are fixed and agreed upon before any commitment.



What will it cost me?

See options. If there's an unusual situation requiring an unusual service I will let you know beforehand of any cost if there's value in us working together.



Do you work with customers on an ongoing basis?

I aim to have ongoing relationships with my customers when they have another advice need but my business doesn't centre around ongoing advice.



What other expenses might their be?

There's generally fees associated with required products that are paid to whatever product provider is appropriate and this has no connection to me. If there's a requirement for insurance that's not available directly I charge $1,500 to organise the policy where I tell the insurer I don't want any commission (resulting in a cheaper premium). Alternatively you can go directly to an insurance broker or financial adviser who can organise, generally on a commission basis.



How do I know you're acting in my best interest?

I've been very conscious in the set-up of my business and my service options to give my customers as much confidence as possible that I'm acting in their best interest. The best additional assurance I can give is that I get paid the same by my customers regardless of my advice or products so not acting in your best interest would be against my interest as my business relies on providing great outcomes with the hope referrals.



Do you have any conflicts of interest?

If you go to the dentist, you get charged more if they recommend you need a filling and do the work and similarly I have this conflict that I only get paid if I provide advice. I also charge fixed fees which could argue creates a conflict for me to spend as little time as possible.



Do you have any biases?

I have a bias towards options that are available to the public directly. I have a bias to take as little risk as you need to in order to achieve your goals. I have a bias towards diversification low-cost investment options which often leads me to index funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF's) more specifically. I have a bias to be cynical in options, especially when being sold rather than bought. I have a bias for data and generally don't believe something unless I'm confident in the data source and have analysed myself.



How old are you?

I'm 28. Birth certificate available on request ;)



Where do you live?

I live on the Central Coast of NSW.



How do you communicate with your customers?

Phone, Zoom, email, text, slack, WhatsApp, Signal and often a program called samepage.



How do I know my data is safe?

I don't collect data I don't need. For data required to be collected and stored, I use Box for my cloud storage, Boxcryptor when additional security is required over their enterprise grade storage and Microsoft BitLocker for my physical drive I use Cognito Forms for my data collection, samepage for communcation/collaboration, Salesforce as my database and often Google Docs/Sheets or Microsoft Word/Excel. I've specifically chosen all of the tools I use with security and encryption in mind and avoid sending anything sensitive over emails whereever possible.



How do you collect my information?

I will provide you with a form powered by Cognito Forms where you will answer a number of questions and upload any relevant documents. Any additional information will be collected in our communications.



Do you implement my strategy for me?

Generally not. I prefer to recommend strategies and products that can be implemented directly and provide guidance. If a retail insurance product is appropriate I can help you implement if it makes financial sense and you would like me to.



How are you different to other financial advisers?

I'm young. I don't rely on ongoing investment management and I'm independent.



What's your investment philosophy?

Look at situation holistically. Consider after-tax returns. Diversification. Low cost. Consider the end goal and exit strategy. Ownership as direct as possible. Property makes sense in a lot of situations, especially when balancing the lifestyle and tax benefits.



Do you invest my money and where is it held?

I generally don't invest your money rather tell you how to invest it. As such, you're money will be held directly with the external product provider, whoever the appropriate option is.



Do you provide mortgage broking services?

No. Whilst I've completed the required certificate I'm very deliverately not a mortgage broker as this would create a conflict for me to provide advice favoring debt or property due to the additional work it would create and commissions received (even if I did rebate it).



Why are you a financial adviser?

Because I was never very good a tennis or cricket. I've always loved numbers, got mesemerised by compound interest in year 9 maths and my dad could have made better financial decisions to take advantage of his financial situation when I was growing up so love the idea of helping my customers make decisions he would have liked to have made with the benefit of hindsight.



Who works in your business?

Just me at the moment :)



Do you have an investment minimum?

No. Sometimes however the amount might not make sense and I will be upfront if I don't think you'll get good value e.g. a $1,500 fee for advice on $2,000 to be invested might not make sense right now.



I have a lot of money to invest, will you work with me and will it cost me extra?

If I believe I have the experience, of course, and not necesarilly. The financial advice industry is very good at confusing large sums of money with complexity and higher fees, often unjustifiably IMO.



I'm not a millennial, will you work with me?

Yes. Whilst I predominately work with "millennials" I work with some customers that might be further along their wealth journey and maybe approaching or in retirement.



Do you work with interstate and overseas customers?

Interstate, definitely. Overseas, maybe. Depending on your circumstances it might be required that you work with a professional with really specific expertise or even an adviser in the country you're residing in.



Do you advise on property purchases?

I run the numbers on possible property purchases of my customers and appropriate structuring however do not advise to buy specific properties. If you're not confident in purchasing a home or investment property, I can help you find a suitable buyers agent and discuss the pros and cons (generally cost) of doing so.



Do you do tax returns?

No. That's the specialty of a tax agent. I'm registered with the Tax Practioners Board (TPB) as a Tax (Financial) Adviser however this recognition rightfully doesn't given me the ability to submit tax returns for my customers.



Do you implement life insurance etc.?

I can and have access to all insurers however only do so if these products are appropriate and it makes financial sense for me to do so for $1,500 (and get the premium discount) vs not paying $1,500 and not getting the ongoing discount.



How do I make a complaint?

To me directly. To Ben Liddicoat who I share the AFSL with. To Professional of Indepent Financial Advisers (PIFA) where I'm a founding member. To Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) where I'm a Tax (Financial) Adviser, Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) and my favourite, can complain on Google/Facebook reviews where deserved.



What services do you provide and not provide?

My core business is financial advice around the areas of: cash flow, investing, superannuation, debt, property, personal insurances, tax and estate planning. My offering can best be compared to a GP in that cover a broad range of areas and openly aren't a specialist in all. I'd hope my GP can diagnose a knee issue but equally hope they don't perform the surgery. Such specialists required (as I don't provide the services): mortgage broking, legal services, age care advice, complex tax advice, tax returns, property buyers agents and budgeting coaches among others in rarer cases.



How do I know your advice is my best option?

There's often a number of "best" options which I will propose, discuss the pros and cons to helps us decide what the "best" option is for you with all available information.



What is your business history and structure?

Millennial Independent Advice officially commenced in January 2019. I own Millennial Independent Advice entirely. I also own 50% of a company that holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) - Indie Advice Pty Ltd. This is a compliance layer that I require and is a better alternative (IMO) to being licenced by a bank, insurance company, super fund or licence that tells me what advice (and products) I can and can't give to my customers. Millennial Independent Advice pays a monthly service fee to Indie Advice Pty Ltd to cover its Professional Indemnity and auditing costs (among other smalls expenses). Indie Advice Pty Ltd isn't designed to make a profit rather is funded by Millennial Independent Advice and BBK Financial Planning Pty Ltd. Ben Liddicoat from BBK Financial is a like minded adviser who I share Indie Advice Pty Ltd with. Check him out :) Other than respect for Ben and BBK Financial, I have no other relationship other than sharing Indie Advice Pty Ltd. If Indie Advice Pty Ltd receives any commissions (sometimes unavoidable with old products), it must rebate these to the customer in order to legally use the words "independent", "impartial" or "unbiased".



Do you advise on direct shares?

I can but generally don't as there are almost always better options. In the case you already own direct shares e.g. IAG, AMP, Telstra, employer shares etc., I will advise on the pros and cons of keeping after considering the transaction costs and alternatives.



Can you advise on margin loans?

No. I specifically didn't tick the box when applying for the AFSL I share with another adviser as can't envision many scenarios where such a risky product makes sense vs alternatives.



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Kyle Frost is a Director and Authorised Representative of Indie Advice Pty Ltd (AFSL# 511786)

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Any financy info on this site is general in nature, of course doesn't consider your circumstances and may not include details that could be significant to your particular circumstances. Seek personal advice (I would say that, but from anyone ;)) if you're not confident before making a decision. 

 

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