A Cd That Plays The Tune You'll Love: Saving You Money
Sun Herald
Sunday June 19, 2005
AMP says its free Thinking Ahead CD-ROM will give you an equal relationship with a financial adviser.
Why would I want an equal relationship with an adviser?So you're not paying for time discovering things you could have found out for nothing or, worse, being flogged something that you later discover wasn't what you needed. AMP says seeing an adviser is like going to a dentist, so . . .Yuk! So will it give me an equal relationship?Yes. It has all the jargon covered and every area an adviser will talk about tax, super, mortgages and even things most avoid, such as property.Why do they avoid property?Because they don't get any commission if you buy a home or investment property.Oh. Did you say this what's-it is free?Yes. You just stick it in a computer and off it goes. It even has links to relevant websites such as the Tax Office.Well, there must be a catch. AMP must get a lot of mentions?It doesn't. There's no bias at all, except . . .I knew it!. . . there are lots of suggestions to see a financial adviser. But our whole system is built on them. Even the Australian Securities and Investments Commission pushes the virtues of advisers.So why is AMP giving it away then?I knew you'd ask, so I asked. "It's a leadership step; a recognition of us being a quality advice provider," said AMP Financial Planning's managing director Greg Kirk.Do you believe that?It's a good product so they know they'll get good publicity.If it's all on the disc, why would you need to go to an adviser?Because you don't know what you don't know.Please explain.I learnt a few things myself.That wouldn't be hard!Let me give you an example. If you're struggling with your debts, I always thought the logical thing was to pay off the one with the highest interest rate first. Not so, says AMP it's better to consolidate all debts into one lower rate loan, then attack it. Otherwise, you'll be forever trying to tackle the high rate ones and not getting anywhere.Hmm, that's a point.And there are technical things, too. Such as one benefit of making a contribution to your spouse's super, apart from the tax rebate, is that "withdrawals by your partner from that fund may be eligible for concessional tax treatment". There must be something for AMP in this, though. They'll have your address and details so can bombard you with guff.Just tick the box that says no junk mail. They do take your address so they can post it to you, but nothing else. Besides, there's a lot of useful information on this CD-ROM, including the fact that the average cost to see an adviser to find all this out is $200 an hour, if you get my drift.
© 2005 Sun Herald
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