7 Reasons Doctors Need a Financial Advisor for Financial Planning

August 7th, 2018

Financial advisers can help doctors make a lifetime of great financial decisions – but they offer more than just advice. From investing to retirement planning, a medical financial adviser has the knowledge and skills to help you achieve your financial goals by developing tailor-made strategies that address your specific needs.

Financial planning involves being smart with money, and a professional medical financial adviser will provide you with assistance and guidance on the following money matters to help you build financial success.

Budgeting

A financial adviser will take a look at your finances and identify ways in which you can manage your debt and save money.

If you have good debt, like investment debt, your adviser will help you find sound and diverse investments (for example property and shares) tobuild your wealth. If you have bad debt, like car loan debt, they’ll show you how to pay it off faster and reduce your interest payments.

When it comes to saving money, your adviser will speak to you about what you want to achieve. They’ll then create a plan that takes into account your income and expenses, showing you how you can better manage your money to reach your goals. They may also suggest that you open a high-interest online savings account, automate your savings so you’re less likely to spend your money, and maintain a cash safety net.

Investment planning

Whether you want to invest in a practice, your home, your practice premises, shares or index funds, a financial adviser can create an investment plan that’ll help yougrow your money. They can also establish and manage an investment portfolio on your behalf, explain how investing works, and provide guidance around what investment options might suit your budget, your personal appetite for risk, and the current economic climate.

Organise loans or finance

Do you want to borrow money for your clinic or practice premises? A financial adviser can act as a broker and help you get a mortgage or loan. In other words, they’ll take all the pain and stress out of organising loans or finance. They’ll consider your specific circumstances and goals, and then shop around to ensure you get the best deal. They’ll also manage all the paperwork on your behalf and discuss loan repayment strategies that won’t put strain on your cash flow.

Insurance planning

A financial adviser can also help you create an insurance plan to protect your family and assets in the event of illness, injury, disability, or death. They can also act as an insurance broker and help you find the best insurance policies.

Here are some of the insurance policies you’ll need to take out:

• Life insurance.
• Health insurance.
• Income protection insurance.
• Car insurance.
• Home and contents insurance.
• Trauma insurance.
• Total and permanent disability insurance.
• Business insurance.

Tax planning

Do you want toreduce your taxes and free up cash flow for other purposes? A financial adviser can help you do just that. They’ll also update you on any legislation changes that may affect your tax strategies in the future.

You’ll need to consider the following taxes:

• Income tax.
• Capital gains tax.
• SMSF tax.
• Company tax.
• Payroll tax.
• Fringe benefits tax.
• Goods and services tax.

By working with a financial adviser on your tax planning, you can structure your affairs to legally reduce your tax liability and create savings. You can achieve this by using deductions, exemptions, and structures, for example by establishing a family trust or buying your clinic and practice premises through an SMSF.

Estate planning

A financial adviser will show you how to best structure your assets and benefit your estate when you’re gone.

Estate planning usually involves:

• Developing an effective strategy to deal with your assets after you die.
• Preparing a valid will that states how you want your assets to be transferred in the event of your death.
• Appointing an executor for administering a deceased estate.
• Establishing a testamentary trust under a will where upon your death, your assets are owned by the trustee and the income and capital generated by those assets are passed on to your beneficiaries.
• Keeping records of capital gains tax (CGT) assets, as CGT rules apply to the transfer of CGT assets from a deceased estate.
• Making a binding death benefit nomination so that your superannuation and death benefits are paid to your estate beneficiaries.

Retirement planning

How much money do you need to retire? What do you need to do before you retire? When can you retire? A financial adviser can help you find answers to these important questions.

Retirement planning involves ensuring your financial independence and a comfortable life when you retire. This means saving as much money as you can now and investing in superannuation early in your career. Compared with industry and retail super funds, an SMSF could give you greater control of your retirement savings. Your financial adviser will look at your superannuation and give you tips on how to get the most out of it when you retire. They may also suggest other sources of income to fund your golden years, such as the age pension, annuity, and investment bonds.

Get the help of a financial adviser today

A financial adviser can help ease your money worries so you’ll have more time to work and enjoy life. The team at MEDIQ Financial can provide you with free financial advice that’s tailor-made for doctors like you. Contact us today and we’ll help you plan a better future for you.