In June we held our annual client function at the NGV with a private viewing of the Winter Masterpiece exhibition which was Van Gogh. In case you were unable to attend this years session we have provided the presentation delivered by Rob and Hayden on the night covering APC, the economic outlook and the performance of the Classic portfolio series. Please see the video below;

https://youtu.be/LOpbXebNUlo

As a client of APC, you will know APC is a conflict free advice firm.  This means we do not accept commissions from third party product and service providers and where we do, we return these commissions to our clients 100%. 

Recently we passed a significant milestone of returning more than $500,000 of cumulative commissions to our clients!

In practical terms this means our clients pay 20% – 30% less for their insurance premiums and over many years this represents thousands of dollars in savings.  It can also mean the return of thousands of dollars in commission if we help a client implement a new debt facility.  You may recently have seen in the media  the consumer representative, ‘Choice’ advocating for the removal of commission payments from Mortgage Brokers.

Clients of APC have been enjoying these benefits for years.  However they have crucially benefited from the knowledge that the motivation of our advice is not a third party commission payment but rather has simply been the belief that our recommendation is the most efficient way to achieve a desired strategic outcome that is ultimately in the best interests of our clients.

There are few advice firms that operate in this way.  APC has and continues to grow mainly from our clients referring family and friends.   If you know someone who you believe can benefit from our conflict free advice and personal service, we would greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak with them.

Carol Tawfik

Recently, Australian Private Capital expanded our team with Carol Tawfik joining us as a Senior Financial Adviser.  Carol holds a Bachelor of Business and is also a  CFP (Certified Financial Planner) having some 15 years experience in providing highly personalised advice to her clients. Carol is a warm and engaging professional whom our clients will enjoy working with and will value her insights and assistance.

Carol is married to Robert, an IT entrepreneur and they have a beautiful little daughter, Alexa.

APC warmly welcomes Carol to our team.

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Simon Ereaut and Luke Price

It is with great pride we acknowledge that our Practice Manager, Simon Ereaut and our Para Planning Team Leader, Luke Price have successfully attained the qualification of Certified Financial Planner or CFP.

The CFP qualification is the highest educational qualification attainable for a Financial Adviser in Australia and is recognised around the world in Financial Planning. Undertaking the study program while working full time takes significant dedication and is a testament to their work ethic.

Australian Private Capital is arguably in the unique position where most of our team (5 out of the current 8 team members) are CFPs.  A significant achievement for our small advisory firm indeed and something we are very proud of!

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Calypso Waddell

We also acknowledge one of our Para Planners Calypso Waddell, has recently successfully completed her Diploma of Financial Planning.  Joining Hiro Matsumura, Calypso’s achievement means that our Para Planning team are all qualified Financial Advisers who continue to ably assist your formal advice team of Robert, Hayden and Carol.

Our clients should take great comfort in the knowledge that their interests are being considered and represented by a dedicated, highly qualified team of professionals.  APC’s culture fosters collaboration and the sharing of ideas, which aspires to deliver the best strategies and solutions for our clients.

As you know APC is the principal partner for the Melbourne Business School’s Dean’s Leaders Forum for 2017.

The Melbourne Business School Dean’s Leaders Forum explores what makes great leaders and encourages those aspiring to lead people and organisations to change perspectives on what leadership is and can be.
It was our pleasure to attend the school recently to hear Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company speak.

Pictured from left to right: Stormtrooper, Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Jim Frederickson, Kirsten Galliott, Alex Christou, Robert Sarafov and Stormtrooper.

If you would like to watch Kylie’s talk, please follow this link.  It is a very entertaining and enlightening talk about one of the most iconic brands in the world.  I am sure you will enjoy it and find it of great interest.

Australian Private Capital is proud to announce our principal partnership of the Dean’s Leaders Forum for 2017.   APC has had a long association with the Melbourne Business School spanning three decades. Along our journey we have sponsored the APC Leadership Breakfast series, the Personal Wealth Management series, presented to alumni on investment principles and have been corporate sponsors of the annual Women and Management dinner.

Our past and continuing involvement with the MBS is based on our strong belief that society as a whole greatly benefits from having well run, innovative business enterprises.  This does not happen by chance but requires insightful, dedicated and inspirational leadership.  The work that the MBS undertakes in assisting professionals to become future leaders cannot be underestimated in its importance both to the individuals themselves but also to society generally.

Melbourne Business School Dean Professor Zeger Degraeve says the Forum series, now in its fourth year, has been popular for the School’s diverse student and alumni community.

“Melbourne Business School has been progressing and developing individuals, organisations and knowledge for more than 60 years. Underpinning our mission to be global leaders through the creation, application and dissemination of business and economics knowledge are our strong ties to the Australian and international business community.

Over the past three decades, Australian Private Capital has contributed to the success of Melbourne Business School, by supporting our School to deliver a world class business education experience. I am delighted that this relationship will enter a new chapter in 2017, with Australian Private Capital joining us as the Principal Partner for the Dean’s Leaders Forum series.”

MBS Director of Corporate Relations –  Alex Christou, MBS Dean – Zeger Degraeve, and Australian Private Capital Directors Robert Sarafov and Hayden Windsor

 

Australian Private Capital is very much looking forward to hearing from members of Australia’s business leadership elite, as they share their stories, experience and wisdom.  The entire APC team is excited to be a part of this important series.

With the promotion of both Simon Ereaut (Practice Manager) and Luke Price (Para Planning Team Leader) there came a need to fill their previous roles.  After an extensive search APC is very pleased to announce the appointment of both Calypso Waddell and Hiro Matsumura to the Para Planning Team under Luke’s guidance.

Calypso comes to APC from a small financial planning company where she worked as a Para Planner.  She wished to move to an advice firm which operates with a high degree of integrity and personal client service.  I’m sure you will agree Calypso has made the right choice! 

Hiro also gained industry experience as a Para Planner with a small financial planning company and in his spare time has tutored in Japanese.

Whilst both Calypso and Hiro have adapted seamlessly to the ‘APC Way’ they both bring their own personalities to their roles and add to the enjoyable APC work place. 

We welcome them both to our team and would encourage you to do the same when next you are in our offices.

Simon Ereaut

Simon joined APC in April of 2012.  At that time his main role was as a Para Planner, supporting the advice team.  He soon transitioned to the Para Planning Team Leader role as that part of our business grew during that time.

Over the last few years, Simon has taken on further responsibilities, particularly in the management and development of our key IT software system Xplan and some compliance management of our Australian Financial Services License (AFSL). 

Leading up to the retirement of Michael and Marie last August, there was a need to ensure that the Practice Management function of our business continued to be fulfilled.  This had been a role most admirably delivered by Marie over many years.  Big shoes to fill!!

We commenced a program early in 2016 to ‘hand over’ the Practice Management role in stages from Marie to Simon during a six month period and to allow Simon an opportunity to ‘ease into’ it.

We are very happy to say that Simon has done well in this challenging endeavour and are delighted to confirm his appointment as Australian Private Capital’s Practice Manager, effective from January 2017.

Luke Price

Luke joined APC in November of 2012 as a Para Planner, joining the team and reporting to Simon, who at the time was our Para Planning Team Leader.

Straight from the beginning, Luke was very keen to learn all aspects of his new role and fitted into the ‘APC way’ very quickly. Over the last four years Luke has also contributed valuable suggestions to how we could further enhance our client’s experience.  As the Para Planning team grew, Luke lead by example and has always been willing to assist other members of the APC team.

It is this quality above all that made the decision to promote Luke to Para Planning Team Leader an easy one and we are delighted to confirm his appointment effective from January 2017.

Congratulations

Both Simon and Luke epitomize APC’s ‘Client First’ philosophy.   They both will do anything they can to assist a client, they are courteous and respectful to their peers and help to make our offices a joy to work at, which we believe is a major contributor to delivering great service.

We would encourage you, when you next see or speak with either Simon or Luke, to congratulate them on their recent achievements.

They are well deserved.

The most important asset we have to achieve our financial goals is our ability to earn money. If we are unable to work and generate an income, not only would our financial goals be unachievable, our ability to meet everyday costs could be in jeopardy.

Having our Personal Protection Insurances in place is critical in ensuring that our families can continue to be financially secure in the event that we may be unable to work or pass away. Australian Private Capital regularly prepares a Personal Protection Gap Analysis for every client recommending comprehensive cover for financial protection and peace of mind.

Here is a recent story of one of our clients:

……………………………………………………

Just over two years ago, I was surfing with a few friends.

As we headed out to the break in the transfer boat, one of my friends noticed a mole on my right shoulder blade and suggested that I get my brother (who is a surgeon) to take a look at it.

My brother took a biopsy on the Thursday and on the Friday morning whilst at work he called me and asked the time that I had breakfast that morning. He wanted me to have surgery that day.

The surgery to remove what turned out to be a very aggressive melanoma went well and I have made a full recovery but I probably owe my life to my very observant mate and that particular surfing session.

It was during the course of our next Regular Planning Meeting with APC that I mentioned my experience with the melanoma. Luke Price from APC said he thought that I might be eligible to claim on my existing Trauma and Income Protection insurance covers.

It turned out Luke was absolutely right and my claim resulted in an insurance payout soon after.

APC was excellent during this time as they liaised with the insurance provider and I had only a limited involvement in the process. Ultimately the insurance claim payment was deposited in our bank account quite quickly.

Whereas the melanoma brought about an anxious and quite stressful period in our lives, the insurance payout provided added financial security to our family. It was reassuring knowing that the financial side of our lives was taken care of during this period.

It was APC that recommended that we both implement adequate insurance covers in the first place and for this we are now grateful.

As for the Regular Planning Meetings, we appreciate the APC process even more now.  The systematic review of our financial position, including insurance, every six months or so means that we are confident of our financial future.  A regular check of freckles/moles is also a good idea!

Thank you to all our Clients who took the time to complete our online 2016 Annual Client Survey. The results help us plan for future initiatives that help maintain and improve our service to you.

The Results:

We are extremely pleased with the 2016 results which were again well ahead of our national averages. It is important to remember that only the better financial planning practices around Australia participate in this survey.

APC achieved top quartile ratings in 8 of the 9 Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and did not underperform the national benchmark in any of these areas.

 

Category	APC Score	National Benchmark	Variance
Understanding	4.52	4.27	.25
Business Relationship	4.62	4.46	.16
Financial Knowledge	4.64	4.33	.31
Range of Financial Services	4.37	4.11	.26
Implementation of Solutions	4.48	4.17	.31
Professionalism of Business Practice	4.83	4.38	.45
Standard of Support Staff	4.80	4.35	.45
Financial Review Process	4.56	3.94	.62
Communication	4.52	4.07	.45
Total	4.59	4.19	.40

 

Where to from here?      

APC has been working on a project over the past year that will enable clients to log on and update their Needs Analysis (personal and financial data) online prior to their Review via our APC Website.

It would also allow clients to access their Advice, Review and other Compliance documents online, at anytime, anywhere in the world.

Currently we are testing this process with some Off-shore clients and we expect to extend it to all clients later in the year.

APC will be surveying some of our younger clients to better understand and meet their product and service requirements. We intend to identify how we can improve our service to this specific and growing demographic.

The following is an abbreviation of the opening comments given by Michael to clients at the National Gallery of Victoria on 2 August. …………………………

I’m glad you’re all here because I need to address a rumour going around that I’m going to retire in four weeks’ time. Let me tell all of you the truth that I don’t expect to ever retire. I also don’t expect to arrive in the office on 1 September expecting my desk to still be my desk and everything as it was for the last THIRTY years. For a start, Marie wouldn’t let it. I’ve promised her an easier life and she has a certain way of making sure that what I promise her happens.

What I mean is something different. The word “retirement” does not sit well with me. It conjures up images of me shuffling in slippers waiting for the end. You and I know, I’m not that type of person. What is true is that I’m retiring from work as I’ve known it – the regular round of 9am to 5pm, 5 days a week and beyond. In the same way that we have planned for all of you, we have also planned for Marie and me. Yes, I am retiring from the day to day operations of APC but not from life. I fully intend to go on living.

So from next month, I’ll be starting a new chapter. It will be different but there’ll be much of this one that I’ll carry forward with me. The people I’ve met, the experiences we’ve shared – these are things I’ll remember and cherish. I set up APC in order to make a difference to the lives of those I had the good fortune to have as clients. We have people here tonight who have been clients for almost thirty years of our journey. We have many in attendance tonight who have been clients for over twenty years. There are people here tonight who have known me from my school days and my early working life. To all of you I would like to say thank you for being such an important part of my life’s journey.

I will also never forget the team and the teamwork at APC, and the ups and downs of a thirty year journey. When I began APC there was no real internet, nor websites. There was little automation. What we did over the years, we did together. Without our collective energies, enthusiasm, and will to find new and better solutions, none of the innovations we now take for granted could have happened. To our team: thank-you. I’ve enjoyed being with you and I’m proud of what we’ve done. I know you’ll go on creating, experimenting and moving forward. You can be sure I’ll be eager to follow the changes.

There’s truth in the idiom, ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ and we’ve proved it – together. And just for the record, I repeat again, I am not retiring. I’ll be working with just as much energy as ever but on the things I’ve put on hold over the years. There’ll be more time for Marie, our family and our friends, and of course travel…I call that living. I became a grandfather for the first time two weeks ago. This really is the beginning of a new stage of life.

With respect to the future of APC, Rob Sarafov will become a majority shareholder and Hayden Windsor will take up the balance of the APC shareholding. And yes, I will continue to invest my funds in the Classic 100 portfolio. So in conclusion, this is not goodbye, just a change of direction. Thank you all for the richness you have afforded me on my journey.