Your adviser should be phoning you - here’s why

If your professionals have not been in touch with you since COVID-19 started, you should be reassessing your relationship.

The pandemic has forced us to reassess just about everything.

For investors the key question is whether you have the right team of professionals around you. This includes your accountant, lawyer, and financial planner.

In normal times, good and bad operators can easily blend into the pack, however in times of crisis, the good operators rise to the surface.

A record drop in sharemarkets coupled with the biggest government stimulus package and unprecedented loan abatement terms offered by lenders should have every financial planner, accountant and mortgage broker on the phone to each of their clients.

If there was ever a time to be jumping on the front foot and guiding clients, it is now.

What should your advisers be talking to you about?

Your financial planner should be discussing investing opportunities, reassessing risk in the portfolio. The unexpected moves over early release of superannuation and changes to minimum pension drawdowns need to be explored for anyone who might need such facilities.

Discussions should also be occurring around cash flow and where that will be sourced over the next 12 months given the cuts in employment, investment and superannuation incomes for thousands of Australians.

Banks and other major companies have deferred dividends, so expect super funds to produce lower income returns for the foreseeable future.

For investment property owners, it has been well documented around tenants ceasing rental payments and being protected from eviction.

It is a tough balancing act to commit cash and invest into a low sharemarket versus keeping large cash balances to cover expected expenses over the next 12 months or until the situation clears up.

Accountants should be discussing the tax opportunities offered by the increased working from home tax deductions this financial year.

For business owners, the JobKeeper program as well as other tax subsidies under the COVID-19 tax relief measures including the tax-free payments of up to $100,000 and accelerated depreciation deductions must be examined.

For SMSF clients, advisers should be highlighting potential issues such as rent abatement to SMSF property tenants and reviewing investment strategy documents given the changing investment environment, as well as making sure the trust deed is up to date with recent announcements such as reduction in pension minimums and early release of super.

In a similar vein, mortgage brokers should be contacting clients to discuss repayment deferrals for six months and having discussions around refinancing and fixing rates given mortgage rates are at record lows.

If your professionals have not been in touch with you since COVID-19 started, you should be reassessing your relationship.

There are plenty of firms out there who charge low fees and have a transactional based approach. In other words, low fuss and do what is needed to get the basic job done.

But if you signed up for a full service relationship but are feeling a bit left out at the moment, maybe it is time to ask yourself what exactly are you paying them for?

James Gerrard is the principal and director of Sydney financial planning firm FinancialAdvisor.com.au