As a self-employed bookkeeper with more than 30 years of experience, Trish Curtis is no stranger to money management. Having dedicated her career to helping small businesses organise their finances, Trish recognises the value of professional support, and had been working with a financial adviser of her own for close to five years.
However, despite a long relationship with this particular company, Trish had her doubts. Was all of the advice being offered in her best interests? Trish was beginning to question whether she was receiving the level of service she deserved.
“At the time, there was something about it that just didn’t feel right. Although I had been with the company for a considerable amount of time, I found the service I was receiving was increasingly becoming institutionalised (‘tick this, sign here’) and not personalised. As a result, I would find myself putting off doing the things they had advised me to do,” recalls Trish.
“Then when I read my recent service agreement renewal, I found, buried deep within the fine print, they had doubled their service fees without any notice whatsoever – despite the fact that I had been with them for so long! If I had have blindly signed the agreement, like so many of us tend to do, my investments would’ve been reduced by the increased investor service fees.”
Having had some of her suspicions confirmed, Trish set about finding a financial adviser who she could be assured would act with transparency and within her own best interests. On the recommendation of close friends, Trish reached out to Rising Tide Financial Services and set up a meeting with Financial Planner Ali Hussaini.
“Right from the outset, Ali was so easy to work with. There just wasn’t the pressure I had experienced when working with other advisers. Ali was so accommodating and always happy to work around my schedule. He was even willing to come out to meet with me at my home after hours, which was a welcome change and the first indication contacting Ali was a good decision,” says Trish.
“Instead of dictating to me what I needed, Ali asked me what I wanted – and then explained how Rising Tide Financial Services could help me achieve that. It was like, ‘let’s talk about what you’re after, and let’s talk about your experience. Then we’ll talk about what we can offer you.’ It was just such a change to everything I had experienced in the past.”
For Trish, her first experience with Rising Tide Financial Services was a breath of fresh air, and she was delighted to have finally found a trustworthy company that could deliver a professional, yet personalised service.
“To me, everything about working with Rising Tide Financial Services has been a breath of fresh air. The whole company has such a great vibe and the information they’ve provided me is spot on – it’s detailed enough that I can be confident in my choices but still simple enough that I’m not overwhelmed,” explains Trish.
“Overall, I’m incredibly happy with my decision to make the switch, and to anyone considering changing advisors, I would say ‘just do it!’. Your financial future deserves you spending a few hours with an alternate advisor. And remember, where possible, they’ll work around your schedule. Call the team and set up an appointment to find out how they can help you. It costs you nothing to have a conversation – but it can cost you a bucket load to not make the call!”
To schedule an obligation free appointment with one of our expert financial planners at Rising Tide Financial Services to find out what we can do for you, contact us on
03 370 330 287 today.