There are almost as many insurance and investment providers as there are car manufacturers and no financial adviser (or garage) can be an expert in all of them. ‘Shopping around’ for the cheapest policy would be great if all insurance companies were all the same – but they’re not. Policies, claims records, reliability, financial strength or the consistency of investment returns vary from company to company. We have agencies for insurance with AIA, Asteron, Chubb, Fidelity, nib, Partners Life and Southern Cross. We use the Consilium platform, as well as i-Select, Mercer, SuperLife and Synergy for investments (with options for lump sums, KiwiSavers and UK Pension transfers). We use Quality Product Research (Quotemonster) to compare insurance policies. This gives us the freedom to choose the right policy or investment vehicle for the client depending on their circumstances.
There is no charge for a preliminary discussion. Our disclosure information details how we get paid.
Our personalised plans are designed to give clients the opportunity to get advice at a sensible cost which we discuss with you in advance.
Castle Trust does not accept commissions in respect of lump sum investment. All investment advice is charged on a % of funds under management. Millions of dollars have been lost in recent years by people investing without taking professional advice or by taking advice where the payment of commission or bonuses to advisers may have influenced the advice. For these reasons there is an international trend (which we support) away from commission being paid for investment advice. If the safety of your money is important then be prepared to pay for qualified professional advice.
Yes, our disclosure information is available here.
Yes – we belong to Financial Advice New Zealand.
We place a lot of value on having and keeping the right staff. From time to time, however, it is inevitable that staff will leave or take time off. Accordingly, we make meticulous records of client advice that are kept on a secure, limited-access database. This means we will be able to continue to provide you with the high quality advice you are used to.
We keep in touch – to make sure that investments, insurance policies, trusts etc are kept up to date and amended as your circumstances change. That’s what client support is all about.
However, we recognise that our clients lead busy lives. Accordingly, we fit in around you. Our communication is in person, by email, text, zoom or phone calls arranged to suit the individual client. We've established systems and use technology so that we can advise clients wherever they are in the country. Very often we advise multigenerational families - the grandparents might be in Nelson and the children in Auckland.
Financial planning is not a one-off event, because as people and their families change, so do their goals and financial plans. For this reason, we undertake regular reviews with all clients. For working clients we provide an annual update and generally try to have an in person meeting at least every three years, or more frequently if needed or requested. For investment clients we meet at least annually or more frequently.
As part of our regulatory requirements we belong to the Financial Services Complaints resolution scheme (FSCL).
If you have a problem, concern or complaint about any part of our service, please tell us so that we can try to fix the problem.
Our complaints process is available here.
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