Find an Australian independent financial adviser

Note: You can learn more about the importance of independent financial advice in the SuperGuide article: Independent financial advice: Why it’s important, and how to find it.

SuperGuide has been tracking Australia’s independent financial advisers since 2010. We have always recognised that financial advice can add significant value to your retirement plans, so long as it’s truly independent, free from conflicts of interest and in the best interests of the clients.

Important: SuperGuide does not have a commercial arrangement with any of the advisers listed below, and advisers do not pay SuperGuide to be featured on this list.

What makes a financial adviser ‘independent’?

According to ASIC, which regulates all Australian financial advisers:

Most of the financial advisers listed below belong to the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers (PIFA), formerly known as the Independent Financial Advisers Association of Australia (IFAAA), which requires all members to meet the following criteria:

• No ownership links or affiliations with product manufacturers. Impartiality is impossible where an adviser has links to a product manufacturer. Ownership links create an environment where the adviser resembles, at best, a well-intentioned salesperson.
• No commissions or incentive payments from product manufacturers. Commissions are payments made by product manufacturers to their distribution network. They create a conflict of interest between advisers and their clients.
• No asset-based fees. Asset fees, although authorised by the client, are calculated on the volume of business an adviser places with a product manufacturer. (On this basis, advisers who receive a percentage fee from an administration platform or wrap can’t describe themselves as independent.) Asset fees are incentives that prevent an adviser from being impartial and therefore create a conflict of interest between adviser and client.

President of PIFA Daniel Brammall has also described how to identify an independent financial adviser in the SuperGuide article What makes a financial adviser independent?

The list below includes financial advisers who are not members of the PIFA but who have signed a declaration that they only charge fees for service, and do not receive any remuneration from:

• Commissions
• Trailing commissions
• Asset-based fees for service, including trailing income or fees based on a percentage of assets under management
• Bonuses (of whatever description)
• Conflicted remuneration as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) pt 7.7A div 4
• Any other form of monetary or non-monetary remuneration that could reasonably give rise to a conflict between my interests and the interests of my clients.

The financial advisers listed below that are not members of the PIFA have signed a similar declaration, which you can see here.

Melbourne independent financial advisers

There are 18 independent financial advisers listed across Melbourne, including 14 that are members of the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers (PIFA). Below this list you can also find one independent financial adviser that services Geelong.

VIC regional independent financial advisers

Brisbane independent financial advisers

There are 16 independent financial advisers listed across Brisbane, including 4 that are members of the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers (PIFA). Below this list you can also find 3 independent financial advisers that service regional Queensland.

Adelaide independent financial advisers

There are two independent financial advisers listed in Adelaide, including one that is a member of the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers (PIFA). Below this list you can also find one independent financial advisers that services Port Lincoln.

Disclosure: SuperGuide is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Independent Financial Advisers Australia. Daniel Brammall is a Director of both Independent Financial Advisers Australia and the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers (PIFA).