Last Updated: September 8, 2026
What Does Fee-for-Service Financial Planning Actually Mean?
Fee-for-service financial planning means you pay your financial adviser directly for the advice and services they provide. Rather than relying primarily on commissions or product-provider payments, the adviser agrees with you on the scope of work and the fees that apply before advice is provided.
At Veyron Wealth Group, we believe financial advice should start with your circumstances, your goals and what you want to achieve, rather than starting with a financial product.
Our role is to understand your complete financial position and then develop strategies designed around your objectives. This can include cash-flow management, debt reduction, superannuation, investments, personal insurance, retirement planning and, where appropriate, UK pension transfers.
The result is a different conversation.
Instead of simply asking:
“What financial product should I buy?”
we start with:
“What do I want my money to achieve, and what is the most appropriate strategy to help me get there?”
That distinction is at the heart of fee-for-service financial advice.
How Does Fee-for-Service Advice Work?
The cost of financial advice can vary depending on the complexity of your circumstances and the scope of advice required.
Depending on your needs, fees may include:
| Fee structure | How it works | When it may be appropriate |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed advice fee | An agreed fee for a defined piece of advice | A specific strategy or comprehensive financial plan |
| Implementation fee | A fee for putting agreed strategies into place | Where advice requires substantial implementation work |
| Ongoing service fee | An agreed fee for continuing advice and reviews | Clients who want an ongoing financial planning relationship |
| Fixed-term advice | An agreed fee for advice over a defined period | Clients who want support without an indefinite arrangement |
| Percentage-based fee | A fee calculated by reference to funds under advice or management | May be appropriate in some investment and wealth-management arrangements |
At Veyron, fees are discussed and agreed with you before we provide advice. The actual fee depends on your circumstances, objectives, the complexity of your situation and the scope of advice required. Veyron’s current Financial Services Guide provides for advice and implementation fees and ongoing or fixed-term service fees, with the actual fee agreed before advice is provided.
The important point is transparency: you should understand what you are paying, what services you will receive and how your adviser is remunerated.
The Benefits of Fee-for-Service Financial Advice
1. Transparency About What You Are Paying For
One of the key advantages of a fee-for-service model is that the cost of advice can be discussed openly with you.
Rather than wondering how your adviser is being paid, you can ask:
- What advice am I receiving?
- What work is involved?
- What will it cost?
- What ongoing services will I receive?
- How often will my financial plan be reviewed?
- Are there any other fees, commissions or benefits associated with the advice?
At Veyron, fees are agreed before advice is provided, and the applicable fees and remuneration arrangements are disclosed as part of the advice process.
2. Advice Starts With Your Goals — Not a Product
Good financial planning is about much more than selecting investments.
Your financial circumstances are interconnected.
For example:
- your household cash flow can affect how much you can invest;
- debt can affect your ability to build wealth;
- superannuation can influence your retirement strategy;
- insurance can protect the financial plan if something goes wrong;
- investment decisions can affect your ability to achieve your longer-term goals;
- tax considerations can influence the most appropriate strategy.
This is why Veyron takes a holistic approach to financial planning.
Our financial planning process is built around six stages:
Define → Gather → Analyse → Develop → Implement → Evolve
This means we first understand where you are, identify where you want to go, analyse the gap and develop strategies to help you move towards your objectives. Your plan can then be reviewed and adapted as your circumstances change.
3. Advice Can Extend Beyond Investments
Financial advice is sometimes associated solely with investments. In reality, a comprehensive financial plan can encompass many areas of your financial life.
Depending on your circumstances, Veyron can assist with:
Cash Flow Management
Understanding what is coming into your household, what is going out and how surplus cash flow can be used more effectively.
Debt Management
Determining whether debt should be reduced, restructured or strategically used as part of your broader financial plan.
Superannuation
Reviewing the structure, investment strategy and suitability of your superannuation arrangements, including consolidation where appropriate.
Investment Advice
Developing an investment strategy based on your objectives, timeframe, risk tolerance and broader financial circumstances.
Retirement Planning
Determining how your assets, superannuation and income streams can work together to help you achieve the retirement lifestyle you want.
Personal Insurance
Reviewing whether your existing life, TPD, income protection and other personal insurance arrangements remain appropriate for your circumstances.
UK Pension Transfers
For eligible clients, considering whether transferring a UK pension to Australia may be appropriate and helping navigate the complexities involved.
These areas are all reflected in Veyron’s current service offering.
Fee-for-Service Does Not Mean “Free From Conflicts”
It is important to be precise about what fee-for-service means.
Paying an adviser directly does not automatically make an adviser better, more independent or free from every potential conflict of interest.
The quality of advice depends on the adviser’s:
- experience;
- qualifications;
- professional standards;
- research and investment process;
- understanding of your circumstances;
- transparency around fees and relationships; and
- commitment to acting in your best interests.
Fee-for-service is therefore best viewed as a remuneration model, rather than a guarantee of advice quality.
At Veyron, we believe the remuneration arrangement should be transparent and clearly understood before you proceed.
How Financial Advisers Are Regulated in Australia
Financial advice in Australia operates within a comprehensive regulatory framework.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) regulates financial advisers and financial services businesses. Advisers providing personal financial advice are subject to obligations concerning matters such as acting in the client’s best interests, appropriate advice, disclosure and remuneration.
There are also restrictions on conflicted remuneration.
Importantly, however, the rules are not as simple as saying that all financial adviser commissions are illegal.
Certain commissions remain permitted in particular circumstances, including some insurance arrangements. This is why it is important to understand exactly how an adviser and their business are remunerated.
For clients considering an adviser, the better question is not simply:
“Are you fee-only?”
Instead ask:
“How are you paid, what other benefits or payments can you receive, and what exactly am I paying for?”
What Is a Statement of Advice?
When personal financial advice is provided, you may receive a Statement of Advice (SoA) or another appropriate advice document depending on the nature of the advice.
A Statement of Advice generally explains the personal advice being provided and the basis for the recommendations.
Depending on the advice, it can include:
- your relevant objectives and circumstances;
- the strategies being recommended;
- the financial products involved;
- the reasons for the recommendations;
- relevant alternatives and risks;
- fees and costs;
- remuneration and relevant relationships; and
- other information required under the applicable regulatory framework.
A quality SoA should reflect your circumstances, rather than simply being a generic document.
At Veyron, the advice process begins well before the SoA is prepared. We first seek to understand your financial position, objectives and priorities before developing recommendations.
What Are You Actually Paying a Financial Adviser For?
The value of financial advice is not simply the number of pages in an SoA.
A comprehensive advice process can involve considerable work, including:
- gathering and verifying financial information;
- understanding your personal and financial objectives;
- analysing your current financial arrangements;
- assessing superannuation and investment structures;
- modelling different strategies;
- considering cash flow and debt;
- assessing insurance requirements;
- researching appropriate strategies and products;
- considering tax implications;
- preparing the advice documentation;
- explaining the recommendations;
- implementing agreed strategies; and
- reviewing and adapting the plan over time.
The purpose is to turn a collection of financial decisions into a coordinated financial strategy.
Ongoing Financial Advice: Why It Matters
Your financial plan is not something that should necessarily be created once and then placed in a drawer.
Life changes.
You may:
- change employment;
- receive an inheritance;
- pay off a mortgage;
- sell or purchase property;
- receive a significant bonus;
- change your retirement plans;
- start or stop a business;
- receive an overseas pension;
- experience changes to your family circumstances; or
- approach retirement.
Markets, legislation, superannuation rules and taxation arrangements can also change.
Veyron’s ongoing service is designed around this concept.
Our role is to help you review, update and evolve your financial plan as your circumstances change. This ongoing relationship is a central part of Veyron’s approach to financial planning.
How to Review Your Existing Financial Arrangements
If you already have a financial adviser, it can be worthwhile understanding exactly what you are paying and what services you receive.
Start by gathering:
- your latest superannuation statements;
- investment statements;
- insurance policies;
- pension information;
- your current advice documents; and
- details of any ongoing advice fees.
Then ask your adviser:
How am I currently paying for advice?
What services are included in my ongoing fee?
Are there any commissions or other benefits being received?
What products or investments am I paying for?
When was my financial plan last comprehensively reviewed?
What would it cost if I wanted advice on a specific issue only?
This can help you understand whether your current advice arrangement remains appropriate.
Don’t Cancel Existing Arrangements Without Advice
If you discover that an existing insurance policy or investment arrangement involves commissions or other costs, that does not automatically mean you should cancel it.
Older policies can sometimes contain valuable features or benefits that may not be available if you replace them.
For example, replacing an existing insurance policy can involve:
- new underwriting;
- new exclusions;
- different premiums;
- different policy definitions; or
- the loss of valuable existing policy features.
Similarly, moving an investment or superannuation arrangement can have tax, investment, exit-cost or other consequences.
The right question is therefore not simply “Can I get this cheaper?”
It is:
“Is changing this arrangement in my best interests after considering all of the consequences?”
Are Financial Advice Fees Tax Deductible?
The tax treatment of financial advice fees depends on the nature and purpose of the advice.
Generally, a deduction may be available where an expense has a sufficient connection with earning or producing assessable income. However, personal financial advice is not automatically tax deductible simply because it relates to your finances.
For example, advice relating to income-producing investments may potentially have a different tax treatment from advice relating purely to personal budgeting or lifestyle decisions.
Where an advice fee covers several different services, it may also need to be apportioned between deductible and non-deductible components.
Superannuation advice requires particular care because the tax treatment can depend on who pays the fee, the type of advice and the circumstances in which the fee is incurred.
For these reasons, you should not assume that a financial advice fee is deductible. Your financial adviser can help identify the nature of the advice provided, but you should confirm the tax treatment with your accountant or registered tax adviser.
What Should You Ask Before Engaging a Financial Adviser?
Before engaging a financial adviser, consider asking:
About fees
- How do you charge for advice?
- Is the fee fixed, hourly, percentage-based or a combination?
- What will the initial advice cost?
- What does the fee include?
- Are there separate implementation fees?
- What will ongoing advice cost?
- Can I choose a fixed-term advice arrangement instead?
About remuneration
- Do you receive commissions?
- Do you receive any referral fees or other benefits?
- Are there any relationships with product providers that I should know about?
- How are these arrangements disclosed?
About the advice
- What areas of advice do you specialise in?
- Will you consider my existing financial arrangements?
- Will you consider alternatives to your recommendations?
- How will you determine what strategies are appropriate for me?
- How often will my financial plan be reviewed?
About the relationship
- Who will I deal with?
- How often will we meet?
- What happens if my circumstances change?
- Can I stop the ongoing service arrangement if I no longer require it?
The answers can tell you a great deal about how an adviser operates.
Why Choose Veyron Wealth Group?
At Veyron Wealth Group, we believe financial planning should be about more than choosing investments.
It should be about understanding your entire financial position and creating a practical strategy that helps you make better financial decisions.
Our approach considers the relationship between your:
Cash flow → Debt → Superannuation → Investments → Insurance → Retirement
The objective is to create a financial plan that is practical, understandable and capable of evolving as your circumstances change.
Our six-step process — Define, Gather, Analyse, Develop, Implement and Evolve — provides the framework for that relationship.
We work with individuals and families across a range of financial circumstances, including those building wealth, preparing for retirement, managing substantial superannuation balances and dealing with complex issues such as UK pensions.
Our initial consultation is free and without obligation, giving you the opportunity to discuss your circumstances, ask questions and understand how we may be able to help before deciding whether to proceed.
Fee-for-Service Financial Advice: A Better Way to Think About Financial Planning
Fee-for-service financial advice is ultimately about creating clarity around the relationship between the advice you receive, the services provided and the fees you pay.
But the real value of financial planning goes beyond the remuneration model.
Good financial advice should help you:
- understand where you are today;
- identify where you want to be;
- make better financial decisions;
- structure your finances more effectively;
- manage risk;
- build and protect wealth; and
- remain on track as your circumstances change.
At Veyron Wealth Group, our focus is on providing tailored financial advice designed around your circumstances and objectives — helping you make informed financial decisions today while building towards the future you want.
Take the First Step
If you would like to understand how a fee-for-service financial planning relationship could work for you, Veyron Wealth Group offers a free, no-obligation initial consultation.
During the consultation, we can discuss your current circumstances, your financial objectives and the areas where you believe you need help.
Book a Free Consultation with Veyron Wealth Group
The information contained in this article is general in nature and provided for information purposes only. Any references to investment returns, performance, asset classes or market conditions are not intended to constitute personal financial advice. While reasonable care has been taken in preparing this material, no liability is accepted by Veyron Wealth Group or Count, its related entities, agents or employees for any loss arising from reliance on this information. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and investment returns are not guaranteed. Clients need to assess the appropriateness of any information in light of their individual circumstances, consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statements (PDS) and other disclosure documents, and obtain personal financial advice prior to making any investment decision.
