9 Keys To Financial Independence

Personalised Wealth Management Strategy

9 Keys to Financial Independence

We understand that merging various components to achieve financial organisation and create an effective plan can be challenging.

In working with you to develop and implement a personal wealth management strategy, APC takes a methodical approach which applies our 9 Keys to Financial Independence. Through this process, we help ensure that each component of your financial life is optimal, cohesive and aligned with your personal objectives. Further, a financial plan is not evergreen – it needs to be periodically reviewed and adjusted to reflect the dynamic world in which we live.

Our Private Client Service is built around our 9 Keys to Financial Independence – which revolves around you and your needs.


9 Keys to Financial Independence
  1. If you don’t know where you’re going, any path will get you there
  2. The engine room of any wealth management strategy
  3. Structure your balance sheet wisely  to lower tax and protect assets
  4. Will your money last your life?
  5. What return is required for an acceptable level of risk?
  6. What percentage of your debt is tax effective?
  7. If your circumstances change, will your strategy survive?
  8. Manage your affairs effectively as you consider a move to care support
  9. How to pass on your assets with flexibility and tax effectiveness

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there” – Lewis Carroll

A sound financial plan is not just about smart financial decision making, but about ensuring your strategy supports your vision and is in alignment with your personal objectives. There is simply no one size fits all approach.

Fundamental to establishing an effective framework is to gain a deep understanding of your goals and the things that are important to you. Reframing financial decision making as not the end but the means, we believe part of our role is to facilitate and assist you with articulating your goals, as well as helping you establish a roadmap to realise them. This means working through what is most important to you, what is achievable, establishing actionable steps, tracking progress along the way and importantly, working with you through life’s changes.

More than simply ensuring your income covers your day-to-day living needs, a solid understanding of your incomings and outgoings is critical to you gaining real control of your money management and long-term financial wellbeing.

Your cash flow and expenditure represent a major lever when it comes to your financial future. Assisting you in working through these, in understanding the cumulative effect of your decisions over time and ensuring you allocate your resources as efficiently as possible will form cornerstones of your individual financial strategy. While there are always challenges, good cash flow management and understanding gives you the control and ability to maximise your financial potential.

The legal minimisation of tax is a legitimate consideration and when utilised intelligently with sound balance sheet structuring, you can really make the most of these two financial elements.

Keeping your personal objectives in mind throughout, our strategic and comprehensive advice will focus on how you should own your financial assets to take full advantage of the ever-evolving taxation system as well as understanding when you may need to access your financial assets. This approach is comprehensive by design to ensure you completely understand all of your available options and can make fully informed decisions.

The notion that clarity brings about a greater sense of control, informed decision making and ultimately confidence resonates throughout APCs approach. We understand however that it can be difficult to maintain a sense of visibility over the future in light of what is a complex and ever changing financial landscape, given the range of options and pathways that are available to us.

To achieve greater clarity over where you are today in relation to where you would like to be in the future, we utilise industry leading software to both analyse and concisely illustrate your trajectory, plus consider different scenarios.

Detailed financial modelling pulls together the various components of your financial world and the impact of various decisions, changes and events. Regularly tracked, the ability to see the path ahead in a visual sense can be a powerful conduit to empowerment and confident decision making.

Investment is one of the key means through which our goals can be realised. We believe that the overarching investment decision; that is how and where you invest, should be in constant alignment with and driven primarily by your personal goals and objectives. This means understanding the rate of return required, achieving it without undue risk and understanding that trade-offs might be required.

Our investment philosophy is based on decades of research and evidence about how markets work and how they reward investors. The belief that investing is not speculating and that diversification and discipline are paramount underpin an approach which has consistently delivered on its objectives.

You can review APC’s Investment Philosophy here.

The ability to borrow money can be a valuable tool at various stages of life. From purchasing a family home to investing in a business, the capacity to leverage can be a great facilitator in both the achievement of important goals, and the creation of wealth.

Thoughtfully utilising and managing debt can be vitally important to your financial wellbeing. From reducing a mortgage to the suitability of employing tax effective strategies and ‘good debt’, APC provides strategic advice across the broad scope of debt management, within the context of your personalised financial plan.

An essential pillar of a sound financial plan is to ensure that risks are identified and managed. Life is by its very nature full of unknowns and we will undoubtedly be faced with the unexpected from time to time.

Our ability to earn and provide an income is often an integral component of our long-term wellbeing and security. The absence of that – even if for a short period of time – can pose a critical threat to your individual or family’s financial security. The best laid out plans can unfortunately be swiftly eroded.

Whilst not every risk can be fully mitigated, the financial impact of certain events like illness, disablement or premature death can not only be stress tested but largely protected against with appropriate risk cover. Through thorough analysis, discussion and recommendation, we aim to ensure that you have peace of mind.

Arranging for an in-home care provider or a move into an aged care facility can be a challenging time. Many will be faced with making decisions or being a part of them, on behalf of elderly parents or family members at some time or another.

Navigating the Aged Care system can be complex. APC places high importance on establishing an effective and appropriate financial strategy but recognises that there are several moving parts when it comes to choosing the right aged care service provider. Through our collaboration with aged care specialists, you will have the ability to access a complete and unified solution, if required.

This is encompassed within our Aged Care Service.

The distribution of your assets after your death is part of your financial journey. More than just simply having a Will, estate planning can be about your legacy, ensuring your beneficiaries are protected and provided for, the causes you support, those you appoint in the event you cannot act for yourself, the succession of business interests and advance consideration of tax issues.

Through regular reviews, understanding needs and a holistic approach, APC works in conjunction with your other professional advisers to ensure that you have a cohesive strategy that reflects your wishes and aligns with your objectives.

APC provides personalised financial solutions that take into account all aspects of your financial life and offer guidance to you and family groups when making important financial decisions.

We can provide a framework that offers ‘clarity’ of thought, a sense of ‘control’ coupled with informed decision making, and the ‘confidence’ to help you gain a more secure financial future.

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APC’s Investment Philosophy

APC’s investment approach is based on rigorous analysis of investment markets, how they work and how they reward investors. APC’s investment aim, through the portfolios recommended, is that clients achieve the performance that is delivered by asset classes and over time, outperform benchmark indices, while also carefully managing risk.

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