MONEY TALKS

NERVOUS ABOUT CHATTING TO A FINANCIAL ADVISER FOR THE FIRST TIME? WE FIND OUT WHAT IS INVOLVED. BY ELLA WALKER

- BY ELLA WALKER

THE thought of laying bare the state of our finances to a financial adviser is enough to bring many of us out in a cold sweat.

But there’s really no need to worry, says Matthew Beck, a chartered financial planner at Smith & Pinching. This isn’t school, you’re not going to be told off for your past money-making decisions.

‘‘It’s not about having a teacher-student mentality where you’re grading someone on what they’ve done so far,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s about coaching them in terms of how they think about money, how they think about investing, how they might think about structuring their financial plan going forward.’’

It sounds a lot like therapy, and Matthew adds: ‘’A lot of the conversations I’ll have with clients are about their families, marriages, divorces, worries they have for grandchildren, how they’re preparing for their children’s futures.

‘‘It covers such a wide base beyond just financials, because money in itself is meaningless if it doesn’t have some purpose. So it’s our job to understand the purpose for different clients’ money.’’

Considering speaking to a financial adviser? Here are a few things to be aware of...

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