What to Prepare Before a First Consultation
A first financial consultation works best when you arrive with a few concrete items in hand. You do not need a complete investment plan or a polished net worth statement. You need the raw material an adviser can actually use: account statements, income figures, and a rough sense of what you want the money to do. This post walks through what to gather, what to leave at home, and how to make the hour productive.
Start with the Documents That Show Current Reality
The most useful thing you can bring is a recent statement from each account you hold: superannuation, bank savings, term deposits, brokerage accounts, and any workplace pension. A statement from the last quarter is fine. The point is not precision to the dollar. It is giving the adviser a snapshot of where money actually sits today, rather than a memory of where it sat last year.
If you have a mortgage or other debt, bring the latest balance notice as well. Advisers are not there to judge your choices. They need to see the full picture because a decision about investing is also a decision about cash flow, and cash flow includes repayments.
Write Down Your Income and Regular Outgoings
You do not need a detailed budget spreadsheet. A single page with your take-home pay, rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, and any regular transfers to savings is enough. What matters is the gap between what comes in and what goes out each month, because that gap determines how much can realistically be directed toward an investment plan.
Be honest about irregular expenses too. Car repairs, school fees, or an annual holiday all count. If you hide them, the plan built in the meeting will be built on a false foundation, and you will be back for a second consultation sooner than expected.
Clarify the Goal Before You Walk In
Advisers hear a lot of vague goals: "I want to be comfortable," "I want to retire early," "I want my money to work harder." These are starting points, not plans. Before the meeting, spend ten minutes writing down what you actually want the money to do. Is it a house deposit in three years? A retirement income at sixty? A buffer against inflation over the next decade?
The more specific the goal, the more useful the advice. A target like "I want to draw $40,000 a year from my portfolio starting at age 62" gives the adviser something to model. A target like "I want more money" gives them nothing to work with.
Bring a List of Questions, Not a List of Demands
Write down three or four questions you genuinely want answered. Good ones include: "What fees will I pay on this product?" "How does this fit with my existing super?" "What happens if the market drops 20% in the first year?" These are practical, answerable questions that shape the conversation.
Leave the demands at home. "I want to double my money in five years" or "I want to invest in whatever performed best last year" are not questions. They are requests for something no honest adviser can promise. If you hear yourself saying either, treat it as a sign that the goal needs refining, not that the adviser is being difficult.
Know What You Do Not Need to Bring
You do not need to bring every receipt from the past year. You do not need to memorise the exact return on each fund you hold. You do not need to prepare a defence of your past decisions. The consultation is a planning session, not an audit. If you forget something, the adviser will tell you what to send afterward.
What you should leave behind is any sense that you need to appear more organised than you are. A half-completed list of accounts and a vague idea of your monthly spending is a perfectly good starting point. The adviser's job is to turn that raw material into structure.
What Happens in the Meeting Itself
Expect the first twenty minutes to be mostly questions directed at you. The adviser will ask about your job, your family situation, your risk tolerance, and your timeline. Answer plainly. There is no wrong answer, and the more accurate your responses, the more relevant the advice.
The second half of the meeting is usually a discussion of options. You might hear about different investment structures, contribution strategies, or insurance products. You are not expected to make a decision on the spot. A good adviser will summarise what was discussed, outline next steps, and tell you what they need from you before the next meeting. If that summary does not happen, ask for it.
After the Meeting: What to Review
Within a few days, you should receive a written summary of the discussion and any recommendations. Read it with the same scepticism you would apply to any significant financial decision. Does the recommendation match the goal you described? Are the fees stated clearly? Does the timeline make sense?
If something is unclear, ask. A follow-up email or phone call is normal and expected. The consultation is the start of a relationship, not a one-off transaction. If the adviser is unwilling to clarify, that is useful information in itself.