Jump to content

Self financial advising and Unloan


DrDougster

Recommended Posts

I'm generally a fan of educating myself and doing things if I can - from all our visa applications to the retic. However, I've always been a little reluctant to manage my own money and do my tax since moving to Aus. There are a lot of things that you grow up knowing in countries and I was pretty aware that I knew/know nothing about the tax system here. Today I got money from the tax office, that had been moved from my super, to pay a recalculated tax bill and a div293. 

However, with the advance of online access, I am wondering if using Unloan rather than a "best rate" that an adviser or personal banker would actually save me quite a bit of cash. I don't think the CommBank private banker is actually going to be able to match the Unloan (powered by CommBank) rate.

Has anyone had any experience with Unloan?

If I did move it to Unloan, I am tempted to move all the banking across to Ubank. Or, do we move it all to Macquarie...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DrDougster said:

I am wondering if using Unloan rather than a "best rate" that an adviser or personal banker would actually save me quite a bit of cash. I don't think the CommBank private banker is actually going to be able to match the Unloan (powered by CommBank) rate

Don't be so sure.  Unless things have changed a lot, the Commbank private bankers have substantial freedom to match rates.  Get a written quote from Unloan, present it to Commbank and see what they say. 

Having said that, I would never take mortgage advice from a financial adviser or a mortgage broker:  the financial adviser because they're an expert on investments, not mortgages;  the mortgage broker because they usually represent only a short list of banks who pay them commission, and ignoring other banks who may offer a better deal.

You'd be best advised to do your own research.   Canstar.com.au is the best place to start.  Note you can set the filters for your specific circumstances.  Also note the top results are usually paid advertising, (marked 'promoted') so don't get sidetracked by those. 

Also look at Moneymag.com.au.   Their annual awards are very well regarded, so if a mortgage provider has won recently, that's a positive sign.  

Both those sites offer ratings on bank accounts, too.   My own view is that the Big 4 banks (ANZ, NAB, Commbank and Westpac) are complacent and don't deserve my business.  All of them have treated their customers disgracefully in the past, as highlighted by the Royal Commission, and rumour has it that, now the dust has settled, they are back to their old tricks again. 

We have our everyday bank account with HSBC, because we get 2% cashback with every card purchase under $100.   Our savings are with Rabobank and AMP which currently have the best interest rates.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

Don't be so sure.  Unless things have changed a lot, the Commbank private bankers have substantial freedom to match rates.  Get a written quote from Unloan, present it to Commbank and see what they say. 

Having said that, I would never take mortgage advice from a financial adviser or a mortgage broker:  the financial adviser because they're an expert on investments, not mortgages;  the mortgage broker because they usually represent only a short list of banks who pay them commission, and ignoring other banks who may offer a better deal.

You'd be best advised to do your own research.   Canstar.com.au is the best place to start.  Note you can set the filters for your specific circumstances.  Also note the top results are usually paid advertising, (marked 'promoted') so don't get sidetracked by those. 

Also look at Moneymag.com.au.   Their annual awards are very well regarded, so if a mortgage provider has won recently, that's a positive sign.  

Both those sites offer ratings on bank accounts, too.   My own view is that the Big 4 banks (ANZ, NAB, Commbank and Westpac) are complacent and don't deserve my business.  All of them have treated their customers disgracefully in the past, as highlighted by the Royal Commission, and rumour has it that, now the dust has settled, they are back to their old tricks again. 

We have our everyday bank account with HSBC, because we get 2% cashback with every card purchase under $100.   Our savings are with Rabobank and AMP which currently have the best interest rates.

Agree with all of the above bar the last sentence given that UBank currently pay 5.5% interest on savings as long as you deposit $200/month - and it isn't a teaser rate that annoyingly drops to a lower rate after a few months. Our home loan (which we obtained directly) is also with them, and we were on 1.75% for 3 years. I could've locked in 2.25% for 5 years but didn't seen the huge hike in interest rates coming at the time (schoolboy error on my part). When that ended earlier this year it reverted back to a variable rate of 6.2%, so I phoned then up UBank and asked whether they could do better given that I've been with them for many years (since 2011), and wouldn't want to take my business elsewhere. They dropped it to 6% on the spot, which I can't really argue with.

This isn't intended to be an advert for UBank but over the years I've had an excellent experience with them, and on the couple of occasions they've made changes which have annoyed me it's been mainly down to policy, which they have either reversed or mitigated afterwards. They are quick to notice when their customer base is dissatisfied and act accordingly. Prior to being with UBank I was with the Commonwealth who now seem like a dinosaur by comparison. Still charging for services that have been free with other banks for years. I think the only reason the Big 4 can still survive is down to Australians innate resistance to change.

So in short, it's UBank all the way for me, both for loans and savings. The 2% cashback with every card purchase under $100 does sounds good though - do you have to pay a monthly fee for that HSBC account, Marisa?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, InnerVoice said:

The 2% cashback with every card purchase under $100 does sounds good though - do you have to pay a monthly fee for that HSBC account, Marisa?

That's the catch.  You have to pay $2,000 a month into the account.  However that's not a problem for anyone who's getting a salary paid into it. 

I hadn't noticed Ubank had gone up.  Over the last few years we've shuffled our savings accounts between Ubank, AMP and Rabo depending who's got the highest interest (sometimes one is better, sometimes the other).  

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Until recently UBank were paying 5.5% on up to $250k, but now it's up to $100k, and 5% from $100k to $250k (not that it concerns me too much).

Since my fixed rate ended I've applied all my available savings to my mortgage because it has a redraw facility, so I can still get the cash back if I should need it.

https://www.ubank.com.au/banking/savings-account

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 31/10/2024 at 13:11, Marisawright said:

Don't be so sure.  Unless things have changed a lot, the Commbank private bankers have substantial freedom to match rates.  Get a written quote from Unloan, present it to Commbank and see what they say. 

Having said that, I would never take mortgage advice from a financial adviser or a mortgage broker:  the financial adviser because they're an expert on investments, not mortgages;  the mortgage broker because they usually represent only a short list of banks who pay them commission, and ignoring other banks who may offer a better deal.

You'd be best advised to do your own research.   Canstar.com.au is the best place to start.  Note you can set the filters for your specific circumstances.  Also note the top results are usually paid advertising, (marked 'promoted') so don't get sidetracked by those. 

Also look at Moneymag.com.au.   Their annual awards are very well regarded, so if a mortgage provider has won recently, that's a positive sign.  

Both those sites offer ratings on bank accounts, too.   My own view is that the Big 4 banks (ANZ, NAB, Commbank and Westpac) are complacent and don't deserve my business.  All of them have treated their customers disgracefully in the past, as highlighted by the Royal Commission, and rumour has it that, now the dust has settled, they are back to their old tricks again. 

We have our everyday bank account with HSBC, because we get 2% cashback with every card purchase under $100.   Our savings are with Rabobank and AMP which currently have the best interest rates.

Any decent financial adviser or broker discloses any affiliations and can often get better rates in spite of their cut. Also, most links through Canstar give Canstar a kickback if you push go on an application. However, I think UnLoan looks like the UBank/Revolut option where everything is cut back to functionality rather than paying brokers or salaries.

Macquarie look pretty close to the numbers too.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DrDougster said:

Any decent financial adviser or broker discloses any affiliations and can often get better rates in spite of their cut.

Like I said, I worked in both the insurance and mortgage industries, so I've seen how it works. Insurance and mortgage brokers rely on people believing they can find a better deal.  The reality behind the scenes is different!    It's called "the lazy tax".

The difference between the kickbacks Canstar gets and the kickbacks for insurance and mortgage brokers is that insurance and mortgage brokers get 'trailing commissions', i.e. they don't get just one commission payment, they go on collecting for years as long as you still hold the mortgage/policy -- and of course, those commissions are hidden in your premiums or mortgage. 

The lazy tax also applies to insurance renewals and bank interest.  Institutions know that once you're a customer, it's a lot easier to just renew your policy, or leave your money where it is, than move to another bank.   That's why insurance companies get away with hiking the premiums for existing customers, and banks don't raise their standard interest rates, while offering honeymoon rates to new customers -- and strangely, most existing customers don't complain.

Financial advisers are different.  In Australia, it's illegal for them to work on a commission basis.  The only exception is insurance policies. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Like I said, I worked in both the insurance and mortgage industries, so I've seen how it works. Insurance and mortgage brokers rely on people believing they can find a better deal.  The reality behind the scenes is different!    It's called "the lazy tax".

The difference between the kickbacks Canstar gets and the kickbacks for insurance and mortgage brokers is that insurance and mortgage brokers get 'trailing commissions', i.e. they don't get just one commission payment, they go on collecting for years as long as you still hold the mortgage/policy -- and of course, those commissions are hidden in your premiums or mortgage. 

The lazy tax also applies to insurance renewals and bank interest.  Institutions know that once you're a customer, it's a lot easier to just renew your policy, or leave your money where it is, than move to another bank.   That's why insurance companies get away with hiking the premiums for existing customers, and banks don't raise their standard interest rates, while offering honeymoon rates to new customers -- and strangely, most existing customers don't complain.

Financial advisers are different.  In Australia, it's illegal for them to work on a commission basis.  The only exception is insurance policies. 

The reality is that, if you read the paperwork, trail commissions aren't hidden, they are declared. And, brokers can often get better rates than individuals.

Agreed though, status quo bias can be expensive. That was the point of the original question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, DrDougster said:

brokers can often get better rates than individuals.

Has that been your experience and how often have you found this to be true?  

Like I said, I worked in both industries.  Brokers generally have access to the same rates as individuals.   Where they may get a better rate is if they are a good negotiator and are able to hammer out a discount.  Not all brokers are motivated enough to make that effort. 

https://www.moneymag.com.au/mortgage-brokers-are-they-worth-it-or-should-you-go-it-alone

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting discussion, but I am not sure really this has much to do with Financial Advice/Financial Advisers/Planners.

Interest rates on cash accounts is not really financial advice, more a banking service if you are trying to get a "best rate" matched or beaten.

If I have a prospective client contact me about getting them a high interest rate on cash/savings I would not take the case on, it would be a waste of their money engaging me in my eyes and I would refer them to a number of comparison sites.

This would be after quantifying with them their plans for the money (because of course if they do not require it in the short term then investing the money into other assets classes with higher potential returns may be appropriate and I'd have that conversation).  

In relation to rates on mortgages/home loans that is one part of a Mortgage Brokers role but most Brokers in my experience will not sell their service on getting the best rate moreso getting the job done with a great service/outcome (having considered their goals and objectives and ensuring the structure of the loan/s are correct as well as brokering the deal on their clients behalf particularly if the deal is not vanilla.

Financial Planning/Advice is worlds apart from finding a high interest rate on savings (as the title of the post suggests.....just saying 🙂 ).

All the best Andy

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Andrew from Vista Financial said:

Interesting discussion, but I am not sure really this has much to do with Financial Advice/Financial Advisers/Planners.

Interest rates on cash accounts is not really financial advice, more a banking service if you are trying to get a "best rate" matched or beaten.

If I have a prospective client contact me about getting them a high interest rate on cash/savings I would not take the case on, it would be a waste of their money engaging me in my eyes and I would refer them to a number of comparison sites.

This would be after quantifying with them their plans for the money (because of course if they do not require it in the short term then investing the money into other assets classes with higher potential returns may be appropriate and I'd have that conversation).  

In relation to rates on mortgages/home loans that is one part of a Mortgage Brokers role but most Brokers in my experience will not sell their service on getting the best rate moreso getting the job done with a great service/outcome (having considered their goals and objectives and ensuring the structure of the loan/s are correct as well as brokering the deal on their clients behalf particularly if the deal is not vanilla.

Financial Planning/Advice is worlds apart from finding a high interest rate on savings (as the title of the post suggests.....just saying 🙂 ).

All the best Andy

I could not agree more with you Andrew! From many years of experience, many clients are often guilty of asking the right questions.

I have some clients (not British by the way) who told me they are very proud of themselves that they have pro-actively hunted down the best interest rates for their hard earned cash. Claiming their hard work hunting down great rates has earned them an extra $100,000 over 4 years. In the meantime their inertia re buying a home and reluctance to embrace alternative strategies has probably cost them well over a million. Some (many) people simply either do not ask the right question of the right people!

On the mortgage broker front, personally, I have no dramas at all in the broker earning a commission as she is pro-active and reviews our loan every year and will agitate with our lender for a better deal if she believes she can get us a better deal. The banks themselves, never do that. At the end of the day, there are lazy operators out there and there are those who will hustle. You just need to track them down. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Steve Elliott said:

At the end of the day, there are lazy operators out there and there are those who will hustle. You just need to track them down. 

Agreed.  My experience in the banking and mortgage industry has made me jaded, as I encountered many more lazy operators than hustlers. The great difficulty for an outsider is, how on earth do you work out which is which?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Andrew from Vista Financial said:

Interesting discussion, but I am not sure really this has much to do with Financial Advice/Financial Advisers/Planners.

Interest rates on cash accounts is not really financial advice...

So true.  This subject came up on another thread, where someone was saying they needed "financial advice" on moving to Australia.  Their main concern was whether to sell their investment property.   It didn't sound as though they had much else in the way of investments. We had a debate on whether they needed a financial adviser or a tax adviser or both, and I don't think we came to a conclusion.

Edited by Marisawright
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, Marisawright said:

So true.  This subject came up on another thread, where someone was saying they needed "financial advice" on moving to Australia.  Their main concern was whether to sell their investment property.   It didn't sound as though they had much else in the way of investments. We had a debate on whether they needed a financial adviser or a tax adviser or both, and I don't think we came to a conclusion.

The answer is almost certainly both. I am a financial adviser and specialise very much on the investment side of things. If a client is seeking bigger picture "wholistic" financial advice, I bring in other specialists who are experts in their respective fields. international tax, real estate buyers agents, accountants, mortgage brokers. These are all people who I have known for many years and in whom I have the confidence they will do an excellent job and always put client's interests ahead of theirs. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, Steve Elliott said:

The answer is almost certainly both. I am a financial adviser and specialise very much on the investment side of things. If a client is seeking bigger picture "wholistic" financial advice, I bring in other specialists who are experts in their respective fields. international tax, real estate buyers agents, accountants, mortgage brokers. These are all people who I have known for many years and in whom I have the confidence they will do an excellent job and always put client's interests ahead of theirs. 

It sounds like the fees for this exercise could be quite considerable.  Would it really be worth it for someone who doesn't have a high net worth?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 07/11/2024 at 04:38, Andrew from Vista Financial said:

Interesting discussion, but I am not sure really this has much to do with Financial Advice/Financial Advisers/Planners.

Interest rates on cash accounts is not really financial advice, more a banking service if you are trying to get a "best rate" matched or beaten.

If I have a prospective client contact me about getting them a high interest rate on cash/savings I would not take the case on, it would be a waste of their money engaging me in my eyes and I would refer them to a number of comparison sites.

This would be after quantifying with them their plans for the money (because of course if they do not require it in the short term then investing the money into other assets classes with higher potential returns may be appropriate and I'd have that conversation).  

In relation to rates on mortgages/home loans that is one part of a Mortgage Brokers role but most Brokers in my experience will not sell their service on getting the best rate moreso getting the job done with a great service/outcome (having considered their goals and objectives and ensuring the structure of the loan/s are correct as well as brokering the deal on their clients behalf particularly if the deal is not vanilla.

Financial Planning/Advice is worlds apart from finding a high interest rate on savings (as the title of the post suggests.....just saying 🙂 ).

All the best Andy

I'd disagree. The title of the post suggests an avenue of not taking on a financial adviser and just heading for every "best" deal on the internet.

For us, the value of a financial adviser lets us create a financial future including our house, our child's future, our retirement needs and planning for other family members. I don't have the bandwidth to consider the number of eventualities and potential options required to provide for security. Don't worry Andy, your value is recognised!

I did also explain that the mortgage was a singular thing on which a banker, not an adviser, was discussing with me at the time. I then suggested moving banking with no mention of investments etc.

Good politician answers though - all emotive stuff which disregards the question!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm but that's seeming to suggest there is still a connection between a Financial Adviser and a rate/best deal (on savings accounts) which is really not what Financial Advisers are engaged for.

So I think we will have to agree to disagee on that point.

As for your question about Unloan, I hadn't even heard of them until this thread 🙂

Best Andy

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/11/2024 at 19:19, DrDougster said:

I'd disagree. The title of the post suggests an avenue of not taking on a financial adviser and just heading for every "best" deal on the internet.

...but you were talking about (a) mortgage and (b) bank accounts.  No mention of investments.  Someone who has just a mortgage and bank accounts, isn't going to use a financial adviser in the first place. That's why I and Andrew felt the title wasn't relevant. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 13/11/2024 at 07:38, Andrew from Vista Financial said:

Hmmm but that's seeming to suggest there is still a connection between a Financial Adviser and a rate/best deal (on savings accounts) which is really not what Financial Advisers are engaged for.

So I think we will have to agree to disagee on that point.

As for your question about Unloan, I hadn't even heard of them until this thread 🙂

Best Andy

My financial adviser wouldn't let those things slip out of the remit of advice though. He's across it all.  If I had a crappy bank account he'd surely notice?

My question was about a specific product and rate. In the end I thought the CommBank 6.05% with offsets etc was the better move. And, people with shares and investments still receive advice on their mortgage from financial advisers. Mainly on the amount of equity that could be released, moved etc.

This is turning into the reason "stay off the forums" has overtaken "don't eat yellow snow" as the best advice in life...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, DrDougster said:

My financial adviser wouldn't let those things slip out of the remit of advice though. He's across it all.

Well, exactly.  So if you're paying him a fee for his advice already, why would you go off on your own to find the best bank rate?  He's not going to reduce his fee because of that, so what's your point?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Well, exactly.  So if you're paying him a fee for his advice already, why would you go off on your own to find the best bank rate?  He's not going to reduce his fee because of that, so what's your point?

Errr, because the rate would be lower. 

You can win the last word contest Marisa...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Ah, so you're saying the financial adviser wouldn't know about the lower rate -- or do you mean he wouldn't mention it, because it's not something he gets commission on?

Andrew hadn't heard of Unloan.

I would like to pay as few people as possible for optimally managing my finances. As per the title of the tread!

Construct another strawman if you wish...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...