what we do.

Seeking financial advice is a very personal experience. We take great care in getting to know your unique circumstances and understanding your needs, your values, and your dreams for the future.

We listen carefully to truly understand. 

You may be approaching a turning point in your life for which you are somewhat uncertain.  Either way, we are a guide for you and the ones you love, for a lifetime.

If you need a label to get you started … our services can include:

wealth management & financial planning.

This is the flagship service of our firm. We are first and foremost financial planners with an interest in more than your money. Who are you and what do you want from life?

We do not shrink from providing leadership where it is needed or asked for. We have a wealth of experience and a wide range of qualifications to satisfy the most discerning client and provide the highest standards of expert advice.

Wealth management and financial planning leads on to the question of “How should I manage my investments?

fee-only investment advice.

We employ a smart way of investing based on evidence collected over 70 years of studying a reliable approach to investing money in an unpredictable world. 

We don't use forecasts, we use the evidence to make a diagnosis, and the evidence tells us: 

  • Diversify your investment to manage the risks. We spread risk locally and internationally, across all the reliable investment sectors. Why? Because investment markets are relatively efficient at incorporating all the available information into prices. 
  • Risk and return are related in a very clever way. If one wishes more return, one must take more risk. It is as simple as that and our job is to help you choose the appropriate level of risk for your needs and temperament. What you must be careful about is that the converse is not necessarily true; if one takes on more risk for its own sake, one does not necessarily get more return. That is the nature of risk.
  • That there is good risk, and there is bad risk. Ideally one wants lots of the good stuff and none of the bad stuff. Good risk comes from being fully diversified in what would otherwise be risky company shares. Bad risk comes from investing in a single company no matter how ‘blue chip’ it may be, or investing in a sector that has no proven track record, or investing based on a forecast of the future that is unreliable, as most short-term forecasts are.
  • To keep investment costs low. Costs matter and lowering investment costs are the only way to increase expected returns without taking on more risk.

phwealth has been licenced by the Financial Markets Authority to operate a Discretionary Investment Management Service (DIMS) which means that we have demonstrated the capability in our systems and processes to operate our business at a high level.

retirement preparation.

Are you close, or already there:
Would you value a forward-looking estimation of how long your wealth is going to last you and how much you can spend today without running out of money?

  • We have the ‘go-go’ years when you might want to splash out a bit,
  • We have the ‘go-slow’ years when things take a bit longer to pan out. We do not spend as much in these years as we used to,
  • Lastly we have the ‘no-go’ years when spending is at its lowest, except for health care, which may be at a peak.

Are you starting out: 
Maybe you are starting out in your money-making career and KiwiSaver is the dominant part of your retirement plan. You may wish to add a 'side-car' savings fund to your KiwiSaver, an investment portfolio with the flexibility to access your funds whenever you need to. 

A well-crafted personal financial plan will align your kiwisaver, savings, risk protection and debt reduction strategies, so you will hit your long term targets, even though your actual retirement may still be decades away. 

second opinion service.

phwealth offers a second-opinion service to confirm whether you are on the right path, or whether there are areas for improvement:  

You may be concerned about:

  • Your Goals – have they been addressed to your satisfaction?
  • Returns – are your returns about right?
  • Fees – are they reasonable?
  • Service – is it responsive?
  • Reviews – do you have annual check-ups with your adviser? 
  • Investments – how well are your investments diversified?
  • Risk –do you know how much risk you currently have?
  • Independent funds - or your adviser’s ‘in-house’ product? 

We take you through an enjoyable and revealing discovery process to get a clear perspective on where you are now and where you would like to get to. We will examine any of the gaps that need to be filled and, if you are in good shape with your current providers, we’ll let you know. We will provide you with a brief report on our findings.