How holistic financial planning can add approximately 3.5% per year in structural value to your wealth.
It's one of the most common questions we hear — and it's a fair one. Whether asked directly or sitting underneath the conversation, most people considering financial advice want to understand: is it worth it?
Here's what we know from experience:
However, we are not completely in the dark. In 2024, Russell Investments released its 11th annual Value of an Adviser Study. The study estimated that holistic financial advice can add approximately 3.52% per year in value across four core areas.
"That figure is not about stock picking. It reflects behavioural discipline, tax efficiency, structural planning, and consistent portfolio management."
Behavioural Coaching
Wealth & Family Planning
Tax-Smart Investing
Rebalancing & Allocation
Important context:
The biggest contributor to adviser value is not investment selection — it is behaviour.
Investors consistently make costly timing mistakes:
Over a 20-year period, the Russell study showed the average investor significantly underperformed the broader market due to poor timing decisions. For families managing mortgages, school fees, property exposure, and career risk, one emotional decision during a downturn can be extremely expensive.
"Remaining disciplined often creates more value than chasing returns."
Financial advice extends well beyond investments. Russell estimates personalised wealth planning contributes approximately 1.13% per year above basic investment management.
This includes:
As income and assets grow, complexity increases. Investment management alone does not coordinate these moving parts. Holistic planning aligns wealth with life.
Taxes quietly reduce returns every year. Russell estimates tax-aware investing contributes approximately 0.68% per annum in value.
Tax drag can arise from:
At Wealth Designers Advisory, we take this further. We strongly dislike what could be described as "voluntary tax" — not failing to claim deductions, but structuring investments in ways that increase lifetime tax unnecessarily.
Most people focus on reducing tax this year. We believe the bigger opportunity is reducing tax over decades through strategies such as:
Asset allocation — how your money is divided between shares, property, bonds, and cash — largely determines both return potential and risk.
Rebalancing is the process of periodically adjusting that mix back to its intended target. For example, if your portfolio is designed to hold 60% shares and markets rise strongly, shares may grow to 70% or more. Your risk has increased, even though you did nothing.
Russell estimates systematic rebalancing adds approximately 0.28% per year, largely through better risk control. This is not about predicting markets — it is about maintaining alignment with your strategy and avoiding unintended risk drift.
If holistic advice adds approximately 3.5% per year in structural value, that is not about outperforming the stock market. It is about:
The value appears gradually. It compounds quietly. And it often becomes most visible during periods of stress or major life transitions.
At Wealth Designers Advisory, we are self-licensed and unconflicted. We'd love to understand your situation and show you how we can help.
Wealth Designers Advisory Pty Ltd (ABN 65 652 475 886, AFSL 562647). This website contains general information only and does not take into account your personal financial situation, objectives, or needs. Before acting on any information, you should consider its appropriateness having regard to your own circumstances. You should obtain and read the relevant Financial Services Guide (FSG) before making any decision. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Any advice is prepared in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the obligations set out in the Best Interests Duty provisions thereof.