“Advice can help people be more confident, clear, and comfortable”
With so many financial products available in New Zealand, it is sometimes difficult for consumers to find the right product for their needs. Now, financial advisers have discussed what makes the biggest difference for clients.
Vinessa Orsbourn, a financial adviser specialising in mortgages and planning at Milestone Direct, helps customers understand their borrowing power when buying property by analysing their expenses.
Orsbourn explained that the amount customers can borrow depends not only on their financial position (which she helps them see in-depth) but also on lenders’ requirements and guidelines. Some loans, for example, are stress-tested by banks at much higher interest rates of 6% or 7%.
“A lot of people don’t understand that,” Orsbourn said, as reported by Live Sorted. “Without needing a full-blown application, I quite often say to them to send through their expenses.”
Orsbourn said she analyses the expenses to “see what is possible” and ensure they do not overextend themselves and end up in a vulnerable position.
Meanwhile, ImPower Limited director Jessica Jamieson shared how they focus on financial wellbeing by identifying the most important issues to clients and what they want their life to look like to produce a major and positive impact.
Read more: Mortgage advisers report dramatic decrease in investor activity
Independent financial adviser Sonnie Bailey said there are no “best” decisions most of the time, but a “raft of really good ones to choose from.”
“The real value that many people get out of the process is psychological,” Bailey said, as reported by Live Sorted. “It’s a pat on the back, an external validation that they’ve actually made really good decisions so far and can make many more.”
His recent clients, for example, “had been making decisions all along according to their values and priorities” – and he helped them see that.
“It made them feel much better about the choices they’ve made and their life in general,” he added.
Meanwhile, Acumen financial adviser Lisa Dudson stated that advice can help people be more confident, clear, and comfortable with their money.
“Most people go into remote control with their finances,” Dudson said, as reported by Live Sorted, adding that she reminds clients to take a step back and breathe “instead of letting your habits make a decision for you.” She also helps clients set goals for their future, emphasising that “you’ve got to have a ‘why’.”
