We are dedicated to improving the financial literacy
and education of all Australians.

 
 

TOOLS TO REVIEW YOUR PORTFOLIO AND BUILD AN INVESTMENT STRATEGY

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COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTS

At the beginning of every relationship, we request that you complete a detailed questionnaire in order to ensure we understand what you are looking for and are in a position to assist you. We have provided both a short and long-form questionnaire below:

 

DISCLOSURE DOCUMENTS

From time to time we publish White Papers and E-books on specific subjects from the background to our investment philosophy to why shares are a better investment in property. Our most recent papers are available below:

 
 
 

Frequently asked questions.

 
 

Who is Wattle Partners?

Wattle Partners is a financial advice and investment firm, focused solely on retirement. With a combined 40 years of experience, led by Jamie Nemtsas and Drew Meredith, Wattle focuses on guiding families and individuals through the most important period of their lives.

 

Why did you start Wattle Partners?

Wattle Partners has a long history, dating back to 1971 through Austin Donnelly’s original financial planning firm, Donnelly Money Management. Holding financial advice license number one in Queensland. The business has evolved in the years since, having been founded in 2010, but both Jamie and Drew have worked together since 2005. The business was started to provide a source of education and transparent financial and investment advice to the millions of Australians that can gain value from it. Specifically, Wattle Partners is unashamedly focused on providing advice solely on those nearing or in retirement, with our experience offering a unique understanding of the emotional, financial and investment issues that must be considered.

 

Why are you different?

Put simply, retirement. We live and breathe everything about retirement. Having advised hundreds of families over the year we are attuned and in the privileged position to understand both the financial, emotional and investment considerations that are most important in retirement. Most of our core principles are what you would expect of a professional, we are transparent, detailed, rigourous and most of all never receive a hidden fee. Every engagement with clients is on a fixed fee, ongoing, basis meaning there are never any surprises. We are differentiated by the fact that we know who we are, retirement specialists, and have extensive experience on all matters of investment,. 

 

What do you do?

Wattle Partners provides advice to those currently retired or in the process of transitioning and planning for retirement. Our team of advisers have experience across superannuation, investments, borrowing, entity structuring, personal insurance and estate planning. Wattle Partners also provides ongoing services including the management of investment and superannuation portfolios including all administration, paperwork, implementation and reporting required to meet your obligations as a taxpayer and trustee.

 

Who owns the assets if I invest with Wattle Partners?

When you invest with Wattle Partners you will always retain ownership of your assets. We cannot and will not ever trade on your assets without your authority.

 

Do you recommend SMSFs?

Yes, we recommend SMSFs and a large portion of our clients utilise them as their preferred superannuation account. They offer full transparency, more control and come at a fixed annual cost. According to the corporate regulator, the cost of SMSF’s is actually falling rather than rising and can be cost competitive for balances as low as $250,000. The use of an SMSF, however, is determined by your individual circumstances, objectives and the characteristics you value.

 

Who are you owned by? 

Wattle Partners is 100% owned by Drew Meredith and Jamie Nemtsas who work in and operate the business. There is no external ownership nor shareholders who are not part of the advisory team.

 

Do you recommend platforms? 

Yes, Wattle Partners does recommend platforms when deemed appropriate for each individual client. Technology is an important part of the financial advice process as it allows for more efficient delivery and implementation of advice. Platforms can offer an additional layer of security, cost savings, flexibility, and the ability to reduce delays in the advisory and implementation process which can add significant value. We constantly review the platforms available in the market based on cost, flexibility and performance and have no commission arrangements with any provider. For the purposes of efficiency, and given our ability to negotiate, we have a preferred platform at any given time.

 

Do you invest directly?

We are product agnostic. That means we will consider any investment or structure on its merits. The result is that client portfolios are tailored to their experience, preferences and risk profile. Broadly, this means they could include ASX-listed shares, exchange traded funds, managed funds and trusts. We believe both active and index-tracking strategies have a role to play within portfolios, and will simply seek to recommend the product which best represent the exposure we wsh to achieve.  

 

Do you use managed funds?

Yes, we believe managed funds offers investors exposure to a broader range of investment ideas and professional management. These include both index-tracking passive strategies and actively managed funds.  Unfortunately, there remains a significant amount of misunderstanding around managed funds, their transparency and liquidity. We understand that we cannot be the best at everything we do and seek to partner with those who are leaders in their own fields.  We understand that some markets can be inefficient and investors will always make emotional decisions, which provides opportunities for consistent outperformance over the long-term. Managed funds offer access to entire teams of well trained professionals, who are incentivised to make the best investment decisions and spend their entire career analysing them, rather than simply a few hours each week. Most importantly, we use our scale and scope to negogiate fee discounts to the benefit of our clients.

 

Do you receive commissions based on what you recommend?

No, we do not receive commissions based on recommendations that we make.

           

Are you certified?

Our senior advisers all hold the highest designation in the financial advice industry, that of Certified Financial Planner and several are also SMSF Specialists. All representatives must have a Bachelor degree in a related specialty, have completed a post-graduate diploma and passed the Financial Adviser exam before they are authorised to provide advice. Jamie and Drew are both SMSF Specialist Advisors and members of the SMSF Association. Jamie, Drew, Fatuma Akalo and Renato Manias, are also ‘qualfied tax relevant providers’ meaning that are authorised to provide advice on tax matters that relate to the financial advice they provide.

 

How much are your fees?

Our fees are determined by the level of advice and ongoing service required. As a result, our firm works solely on a fixed fee basis, through which we provide a guaranteed minimum level of service for a fixed annual fee. These fees are seperated into tranches which are determined by the complexity of ongoing advice required, number of entities, number of external products and the type of investments preferred by each client. Our minimum ongoing fee is $15,000 excluding GST per annum, generally billed quarterly.

           

How are you paid?

Every employee of Wattle Partners receives an agreed salary and discretionary bonus. The bonus incentive is paid based on the achievement of various Key Performance Indicators.

 

Who will I be advised by?

As a client of Wattle Partners, you will receive the full support of our advisory and administration teams. You will have a primary senior adviser, being Jamie Nemtsas (00100050), Drew Meredith (001001056), Fatuma Akalo (00383374) or Renato Manias (001266025). To ensure continuity of your service and relationship you will also receive the support from one or several of our client support team members including Sharni Percival, Annette Buultjens, Rachana San and Stefan Gallo.

 

Why Wattle?

Because we know who we are. With a combined four decades of experience, Jamie and Drew identified a lack of specialisation within the financial advice industry. Retirement is supposed to be the best time of anyone’s life but too often becomes a period of stress and uncertainty, particularly around finances and investment. At Wattle Partners, we offer something truly different; advice focused solely on those in or nearing retirement. Too often financial advisers seek to be everything to everyone, rather than focusing on those areas that match their skillset and experience, or more importantly where they can add the most value. Much like medical professionals, the team at Wattle are laser-focused on both the investment and emotional impacts of retirement, which are significantly different than at every other stage of one’s life. At Wattle Partners, you know what you get, and more importantly, you gain access to the experience of advising hundreds of retired families over the years.

 

Do you do your own research?

Yes, Wattle Partners has its own Investment Committee. The sole focus of the Investment Committee is on determining the most appropriate asset allocation and selection of investments for you. The Investment Committee also includes principals from Atchison Consultants, an asset consulting firm that Jamie and Drew also own. This group provides consulting advice to large superannuation funds, non-profits on regulatory and investment requirements, while also guiding the investments of other major financial advisory firms. We also invest a substantial amount of capital in subscribing to various investment research providers including Bloomberg, Reuters, Morgan’s, Morningstar, Lonsec, Bell Potter, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. In a typical week our investment team will meet with 5 to 10 different managers, economists, syndicates or conferences to ensure we remain informed and aware of all opportunities available at any given time.

 

Where do your ideas come from?

Our ideas come from a diverse range of sources including meetings with company managements, investment managers, institutions, research reports, trade conferences and our clients. We have an enviable network of contacts throughout the global investment and family office industry, afforded by our association with The Inside Network and The Principal’s Community, which are networks of leading financial advisers.

 

How do I become a client?

We aim to make the process as straightforward as possible. On contacting Wattle Partners you will receive an email detailing this process in more detail, along with providing a copy of our Financial Services Guide and Privacy Policy, both important legal documents. We will then contact you for an initial discussion to determine if we are each the right fit for each other, at which point we will ask you to complete a confidential fact finding questionnaire. Upon receipt, we will arrange a more formal meeting to discuss your objectives in receiving financial advice, and subsequent provide a quotation for a statement of advice or SOA. The minimum cost of this SOA is $5,500 including GST. Within this SOA you will receive a proposal for our ongoing, comprehensive, private client services.

 

What should I expect? 

As a client of Wattle Partners, you should expect a tailored and highly responsive relationship. The advice you receive will be supported by detailed reasoning about its appropriateness for you and your family ensuring you have an educated and informative experience. In terms of investments, we seek to partner with the best managers and investment experts in the world to deliver consistent returns regardless of the market environment, with a particular focus on resilience. You should not expect daily phone calls or regular trading on your portfolio, we are long-term investors who understand that true returns are only achieved through sustained exposure to investment markets and asset allocation. All we ask of you is to be responsive when we are in contact with you.

How do I invest with Wattle Partners?

Depending on the level of service required, clients can choose the level of involvement they desire. Some clients wish to have an active role in decisions being made such as asset allocation, while others prefer to outsource investment decisions to our in-house advisory team. This service is tailored towards clients that do not have a strong knowledge of investment markets, portfolio construction, experience with investing, or simply lack the time to manage their financial affairs effectively.