Katherine &
About Retirement
About Katherine
Many things happened in my life that somehow led me to financial planning profession. One of the biggest would be migrating to Australia alone, with no money and no friends, while being very young and extremally naïve and easily trusting anyone who appeared to be pleasant. Only with time I understood that I was an easy target for being taken advantage of financially at the most crucial and difficult time of my life.
At some point, I knew I had to learn about money, and somehow that desire to understand how “money works” changed into this beautiful profession.
Over the years I have fallen in love with financial planning. It gives me a great deal of joy, excitement and appreciation when I see the outcome of my work, when I see my clients feeling secure about their future, when they know their dreams can be fulfilled and when I see a beautiful, trusting smile on their faces when we meet.
Most people think that a financial planner’s work is about money. And it is. My main duty is to improve my clients’ financial position with strategies that are often unknown to most people. But this service is so much more than just to improve income, save efficiently, improve investment returns, increase Age Pension payments, reduce Aged Care fees, improve tax position or any other financial issue.
I become part of my clients’ family, I get introduced to their problems and their pain and I am in a very fortunate position (sometimes) to be able to remove that pain and make their life, at least in the financial sense, that little bit easier.
It is actually quite amazing to see how appropriate planning can help to create a life of security, fulfilled dreams and joy. I am thrilled that through my work, knowledge and experience I can be part of this creation and a small part of my clients’ lives.
Each time I speak with people, I feel privileged and humbled when introduced to their emotional and financial stress. Sometimes this stress is great, other times very little, but from my perspective there is no difference, every person deserves high-quality care and high-standard advice. If I can make even the slightest improvement in another person’s life, I know I am on my path, and that’s what makes me happy.
If you wish to read professional information about me, feel free to read the attached Adviser Profile.
Outside of work, I love nature and landscape photography. I enjoy trekking in the mountains, and I am very passionate about looking after Victorian Alpine National Park to preserve its natural beauty for future generations.
Being part of nature, especially when hiking in the mountains alone, gives me the time to reflect, rejuvenate, it is my way of contemplation and meditation, which is very helpful when life becomes hectic, fast and more stressful back in Melbourne.
But outside of this personal benefit, there is another great outcome of my ongoing contact with nature. It makes one understand the issues we are being exposed to more and more often, issues that scare me when I think about my son, his family and his little daughter’s future. And I think of all young people that have the right to experience life just like you and me. I am talking about severe changes in our climate, that have been evident in Australia over the Christmas 2019/2020 and after. We have never experienced anything of such ferocity – fires, floods, storms – you name it, and it is not going to change or stop.
Unless we do something about it and awareness is a very first step to change.
From my professional position, I want to make everyone aware that each one of us can have bigger impact that you think. By including some of ethical, socially and environmentally aware investments within your portfolio, by investing a portion of your savings responsibly in well-managed ethical companies you can continue growing your nest-egg, while securing a better world for your children and your grandchildren.
Well, at least this is my plan. Read more about Ethical & Environment Investing
PS. Have you guessed which track I was going? Well….If you said the top one – the longest and the hardest, you already know me by now. So, I am am looking forward to meeting you in person then!
From ASIRE to About Retirement
New business name – The same quality & caring advice
I spent over 15 years working for different financial institutions, trust offices and boutique practice, but since 2014 I managed to build my own consultancy with passion, empathy and a sincere desire to assist, believing that everyone deserves a helping hand to fulfil their life dreams.
Originally named “ASIRE Financial Planning” with time progressed to specialised About Retirement consultancy business, assisting clients to reach their retirements goals.
Talking to a stranger about money and your future plans can be difficult; it is a similar experience to visiting a doctor when you are suddenly asked to disclose all your private information. It can be daunting and frightening. But it is very important that you feel comfortable talking to me about your private financial issues. It is also necessary for you to feel that I am the right person to help and assist you in building a long-term financial plan to reach your future goals.
So, to make things a little bit easier for you, there will be no cost to you for our first meeting – it is on me.
If we are both happy to proceed further, I will advise you of the next step and of any associated cost from that point on.
How Financial Planning works
First Contact
First meeting with no cost to you is for you to assess if your feel comfortable talking to me, and for me to know if I can help. You can ask any question and we will discuss your needs and goals and what advice you require.
Presentation of Your Plan
Our second (or third) meeting is designed to present to you the Statement of Advice, with detailed and very personalised recommendations of appropriate strategy. This is your time to ask all the questions.
Evaluating Your Position
This is the time of gathering detailed information about you, to identify your short & long-term goals, and all your financial data, which becomes the foundation for developing your personal plan.
Implementation of Advice
When you are happy with advice, we can proceed to the next step of implementing recommended strategy. This is the administrative time of signing all necessary documents and to process recommendations.
Preparing Your Plan
I will recommend strategies, products and services and all necessary calculations, in the form of a written financial plan – Statement of Advice (SoA), which I present to you during our follow-up meeting.
Monitoring of Your Plan
Plan preparation is only a start. It is essential to regularly review your plan when life happens. At that point we might need to make adjustments or allowances for any life-changes, so you always stay on track.
Our Business Partners
I sincerely invite you to work with me
Life can be hard, complex and hectic. If I can take away your worry about any financial problem, pain or insecurity you might have, please do not hesitate to contact me.
I take the time to fully understand your needs, goals and preferences before providing you with any recommendations.
Your financial plan is as unique as your life and circumstances, and I want to ensure that my advice will give you peace of mind and feeling of security, knowing that you are well prepared for the future.
Please see above what my clients are saying about me and the caring service they received and experienced over the years.
I am really looking forward to speaking with you very, very soon.
What my clients are saying
Katherine has been a lifesaver for my Husband and I. Having planned all our finances for our future and sorting through all our Centrelink problems that we have had.
I would highly recommend Katherine for any of your retirement planning.
Vicki & Ray Allen
Generally past experience of financial advice was to look at individual products rather than an overall best fit to my needs. When I first met Katherine her interest was in me rather than what she could sell, as a result I thought she would be ideal to introduce to my wife and have a general chat.
Katherine was able to identify some savings as much as weigh up our goals and individual differences with the result to build and tailor a plan for each of us, while explaining to us the differences and things to consider.
Since then she has also undertaken estate planning and ensured that the nuances of our situations are both covered and defined. Her liaison with the legal side and us ensured we were both happy and understood the jargon.
We happily recommend her in particular to those a bit disillusioned by this industry.
Kyle & Karen Joustra
Since 2002 we have entrusted our financial planning and that of a late parent to Katherine.
Her knowledge is sound and her advice is unpressured and tailored to our current and future needs.
Our peace of mind has only grown as has our trust in Katherine.
She is ethically beyond reproach.
Bev & Phil Gale
Katherine took over management of my superannuation fund in 2006. For me, the nickname I gave her back then of ‘Wonder Woman ‘ still stands!
I’m also happy to know her now as a friend, whom I can sincerely recommend to you.
Andrew Banks Wainwright
Since 2006 Katherine has overseen my husband Andrew ‘s superannuation portfolio with complete integrity.
We have also sought general financial advice from her over that time and know that we can trust her to give the best advice possible.
Initially our relationship with Katherine was at a purely business level but, over the years, we have come to know her as a trusted friend; who has my full recommendation.
Gale Wainwright
Katherine has been my personal financial advisor since 2010. It is the first time that I have had no anxieties around the way in which my affairs are handled. I am confident that my requests will be answered promptly and with skill.
There have been occasions when I’ve needed to make big demands on her skill and time, and she has found solutions in an easy cooperative way.
I appreciate the transparency in all our dealings, and am given regular updates and reports on my portfolio. We have no problems with communication and I feel supported.
I sense that Katherine really cares about her clients.
E. Long
My husband Ray and I have been Katherine’s clients for years and when she left the company, without any hesitation we stayed with her, she is a beautiful human being and we love her to bits and would trust her with our lives.
Ray has died and her help over that time was amazing. I don’t know what I would have done without her. I am old, so hopefully I will have her as my adviser for the rest of my days.
Holly Perry
Introducing Katherine – clever, caring, conscientious, capable and more.
How different from our previous financial advisor who prepared an unsuitable plan for our age group and was more interested in making money for themselves.
We were persuaded by a friend to change to Katherine, the best advice we were ever given.
Katherine is always there for you, she deals with your problems efficiently and promptly. You feel as though you are part of a family.
She visits you in your own home. What other financial advisor comes to visit you personally?
Most importantly she is trustworthy.
She constantly keeps up to date with all aspects of finance; market moves, seminars and Information provided by other fund managers.
If you are looking for a financial advisor we recommend you contact Katherine.
Joan & Mary
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago… but the 2nd best time is now”
Chinese proverb