Investment Advice &
Wealth Management
Having money to invest is a good problem, and it is still a problem. The number of options is overwhelming, most of the advice available online is generic, and the cost of getting the structure wrong is usually invisible until years later, when it shows up as tax you did not need to pay. Investment advice is about matching what you own to what you are actually trying to do.
What investment advice involves
Investing wisely can be challenging due to the variety of options available and the differing needs and goals of individuals. Financial advisers can help assess your current financial position, determine your investment objectives, set investment timeframes, and recommend appropriate investment options.
We will advise you on the most appropriate investment strategies to build your personal wealth. Specific recommendations will be provided regarding the optimal way to own these investments, any upfront and ongoing contributions required, and the portfolio of investments which may best achieve your goals.
How an Investment advisor can help
A financial adviser cuts through the noise of an overwhelming number of investment options and helps you build a strategy that’s tailored to your specific goals, whether that’s wealth accumulation, generating income, funding retirement or building a legacy for your family.
At Viridian, we assess your current financial position, define your investment objectives and timeframe, and recommend an appropriate portfolio of investments to help you achieve your goals. We look at the most tax-effective ownership structures, advise on upfront and ongoing contributions, and conduct regular reviews of your diversification, risk tolerance and access needs, including how your superannuation holdings fit into your overall investment picture.
Goals and timeframes
Every investment decision follows from two questions: what is the money for, and when do you need it. Money needed in three years should not be invested like money needed in thirty. Most portfolio problems trace back to this being skipped.
Asset allocation
How your money is split across shares, property, fixed interest and cash drives most of your long term return and most of your risk. Choosing individual investments matters far less than people assume.
Risk profiling
Not a questionnaire exercise. The useful version establishes how much loss you could absorb financially and how much you could tolerate without abandoning the strategy at the worst moment. These are often different numbers.
Ownership structures
Specific recommendations regarding the optimal way to own these investments. Personal names, joint names, a family trust, a company or superannuation each produce different tax outcomes, different asset protection and different estate consequences. This is where advice most often pays for itself.
Tax and capital gains
Our regular reviews consider your overall asset base. When you sell, in whose name, and in which financial year all affect what you keep. Planning before a sale is worth considerably more than accounting after one.
Ongoing review and rebalancing
Our regular reviews will consider diversification within your overall asset base, your tolerance to risk and any need to access these funds. Portfolios drift as markets move. Without rebalancing, your risk rises without you choosing it.
Ethical and sustainable preferences
If you want your investments to reflect your values, that can be built into the strategy. The trade offs should be explicit rather than assumed.
Direct investments versus managed options
Holding shares directly gives control and visibility. Managed options give diversification and simplicity. The right mix depends on the size of the portfolio and how involved you want to be.
Investment advice by situation
1 – You have received an inheritance
Often the first time someone has a significant sum to invest, and frequently arriving alongside grief. There is rarely any need to rush.
2 – You have sold a property or a business
A large sum plus a capital gains tax event. Advice before the sale is worth more than advice after it.
3 – You have received a redundancy payment
Part of it may need to fund living expenses for a period. That changes how the rest should be invested.
4 – You have built up savings and cash is losing value
Cash feels safe and quietly erodes. The question is how much to move and over what period.
5 – You have inherited a portfolio that doesn’t suit you
Someone else’s investments, chosen for someone else’s circumstances, with embedded capital gains that make changing them a decision in itself.
6 – You hold a large parcel of one company’s shares
Often from an employee scheme or a long held family holding. Concentrated risk, and usually a capital gains problem attached to fixing it.
7 – You are investing for children or grandchildren
Who owns the investment matters more than what the investment is, because of how minors are taxed.
Who this is for
- People with a lump sum to invest and no clear plan for it
- Investors whose portfolio has grown without structure
- Anyone whose investments are held in the wrong name for tax purposes
- People who want a strategy rather than product recommendations
Who this isn’t for
- Anyone looking for stock tips or short term trading ideas. We do not do that.
- People wanting a guaranteed return. No such thing exists.
Our advice process
01 Evaluation
02 Discovery
03 Strategy
04 Implementation
05 Review
Speak to our experienced team today.
Investment Advice FAQ's
Should I invest inside or outside superannuation?
It depends chiefly on when you need the money. Superannuation is generally a tax effective place to hold investments, but you cannot access it until you meet a condition of release, which for many people is decades away. Money you may need before then usually needs to sit outside. There are also contribution limits on how much you can put into super each year. For most people the answer involves both, in proportions that shift with age.
What is asset allocation and why does it matter?
Asset allocation is how your money is divided across the broad types of investment: shares, property, fixed interest and cash. It matters because it drives most of your long term return and most of the ups and downs along the way. The specific investments you choose within each category matter far less than people expect. Getting the allocation right for your timeframe and your tolerance for a fall is the single most important investment decision.
Should I invest in my own name or through a trust?
There is no default answer. Personal ownership is simple and cheap. A family trust can offer flexibility in how income is distributed and some asset protection, at the cost of setup and ongoing administration. A company structure behaves differently again. Superannuation has its own tax treatment but restricts access. The right structure depends on your income, your family circumstances, what you are protecting against, and how long you intend to hold the investment. It is difficult and expensive to change later, which is why it is worth getting right at the outset.
What happens to my portfolio if markets fall?
Falls are a normal part of investing, not a failure of the plan. What matters is whether you are positioned to avoid selling at the bottom. That usually means holding enough in stable assets to cover anything you need in the near term, so that longer term investments have time to recover. It also means having agreed in advance what you will do, because decisions made during a fall are rarely the ones you would make calmly.
How often should my portfolio be reviewed?
At least annually, and whenever something significant changes in your life or your goals. Regular review matters because portfolios drift. As some investments grow faster than others, your allocation shifts away from what you chose, and your risk rises without you deciding to take it on. Rebalancing brings it back. Reviews should also check that the structure still suits your circumstances, not just that the investments are performing.