When it comes to getting help with your finances, one question pops up more than almost any other:
Is a financial adviser actually worth paying for?
It’s a fair question — and a smart one. Because when you invest in financial advice, you want to know it will deliver clarity, value and long-term benefit. You’re not just paying for a plan. You’re paying for better decisions, peace of mind, confidence in your future, and ideally, better outcomes.
Let’s be upfront: great advice isn’t cheap. But when done well, it can be one of the best investments you’ll ever make.
Like many things in life, you tend to get what you pay for. And when it comes to financial advice, the cost of poor guidance — or no guidance at all — can be significant.
Quick summary: What to expect from this article
This article will help you:
- Understand how financial advisers add value — beyond just dollars
- Learn what kind of people benefit most from advice
- Explore the different types of value (financial, emotional, behavioural, strategic)
- Discover how the right advice can help you avoid mistakes, make smarter decisions, and achieve more
- Understand the 7 core ways great advice improves your life
Let’s dive in.
Why people ask this question in the first place
Hiring a financial adviser usually comes at a life moment — a career high, a looming retirement, an inheritance, a property sale, or just a sense that you’ve got a lot going on and want more structure.
So it’s natural to ask:
“Do I really need this? Can I do it myself? Will it be worth it?”
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. And the ROI of advice can never be perfectly measured — just like you can’t measure the ROI of having a great mum.
You’ll never know exactly what would have happened if you’d gone it alone. But we’ve seen enough real-world outcomes to know that the right advice can be truly life-changing.
1. What kind of ways do advisers provide value?
At Verse, we believe the value of advice comes to life in seven core ways:
- Feel confident
- Be in control of your finances
- Capitalise on your hard work
- Know whether you’re on track
- Achieve goals sooner
- Sidestep costly mistakes
- Create more wealth and freedom to choose the life you want
These benefits can’t always be captured on a spreadsheet — but they shape everything from your financial future to your peace of mind.
2. What ways do advisers clearly make you money?
Tax strategies
Good advisers reduce your tax burden through smarter structures, timing, and strategy. That includes:
- Using concessional contributions and carry-forward rules
- Structuring assets through trusts, super, bonds or companies
- Minimising CGT through timing and small business concessions
- Creating tax-free pension streams in retirement
- Managing taxable components in super to reduce or eliminate death tax
Investment management
Most people lack the knowledge or discipline to manage investments well — especially when markets get volatile. Advisers help you:
- Use evidence-based strategies
- Set realistic expectations
- Build emotional discipline
- Avoid short-term traps and speculation
Saving more money
High income doesn’t always mean high savings. A great adviser helps you:
- Automate saving with clear structures for lifestyle, bills, mortgage, travel and goals
- Make intentional spending decisions
- Balance enjoyment now with progress later
And no, not every adviser is a scrooge. Often, we teach people how to spend better.
Business and asset structuring
For business owners or investors, structure is everything. Great advice ensures you:
- Maximise capital gains reliefs
- Avoid duplication or overexposure
- Align personal and business strategies
- Coordinate advice across your team (especially your accountant)
Government entitlements
From Age Pension to rebates and tax offsets, strategic advice helps you access entitlements you might otherwise miss — worth thousands annually.
3. Avoiding mistakes: The bumper bar analogy
Financial progress isn’t just about hitting home runs — it’s about avoiding the big mistakes.
A great adviser is like a set of bumper bars in ten-pin bowling. You’re not guaranteed strikes, but you’ll more consistently knock pins down — and avoid the gutter balls.
Because a few poor decisions, made at the wrong time, can really ruin your score.
Advice helps you sidestep:
- Paying unnecessary tax
- Over-exposing yourself to risky investments
- Buying poor quality property
- Investing emotionally in volatile markets
- Missing key deadlines or caps
- Overspending or under-saving
- Staying in a dead-end business too long
- Structuring assets poorly
One big mistake can cost more than years of advice ever would.
4. Because plans never go to plan
As Morgan Housel wrote:
“The most important part of every plan is planning on your plan not going according to plan.”
That’s where great advice shines.
Life throws curveballs. Markets wobble. Laws change. Priorities shift. Advice helps you adapt, course-correct and stay calm when others panic.
With ongoing advice, you:
- Adjust when life changes
- Make smart choices in uncertain times
- Course-correct early, not too late
The value builds over time — not through one big decision, but a series of smart ones, made consistently.
5. What’s the role of a great financial adviser?
At Verse, we see financial advice as a vehicle for better living — not just better numbers.
Here’s what we help our clients do:
- Make intentional choices — based on your values and intentions
- Build your wealth faster than you can alone
- Improve your overall financial wellbeing
- Guide you through investment markets
- Identify blind spots and avoid costly mistakes
- Understand the impact of your choices on your financial future
- Manage changes in legislation and the economic environment
- Provide knowledge, perspective, and good judgement
It’s this blend of technical insight, life perspective, and partnership that makes advice so powerful.
6. Who benefits most from financial advice?
Almost anyone can benefit — but some get far more value than others. Based on our experience, those who benefit most include:
- Pre-retirees and retirees who want clarity and confidence
- High-income professionals seeking structure and purpose
- Business owners managing complexity and transitions
- Families navigating inheritance, lump sums or major changes
If you’re dealing with bigger life questions — advice gives you a better framework for better answers.
7. Choose carefully
Financial advice isn’t all created equal. Don’t focus on getting the cheapest — focus on getting the right adviser.
Look for someone who:
- Takes time to deeply understand you
- Offers personalised, strategic guidance — not product pitches
- Has happy clients and glowing reviews
- Speaks in plain English
- Doesn’t pretend to be a stock-picker
And most importantly, someone who helps you make better decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and feel more confident about your financial life.
Final thoughts
There’s no formula to calculate the exact ROI of great financial advice.
But if you want to:
- Avoid costly mistakes
- Create more freedom and choice
- Make smarter, more intentional decisions
- Build wealth and confidence faster than you can alone
…then the right advice might just be one of the best investments you ever make.
Want to chat?
We’d love to help you explore it.
At Verse, we provide deeply personal financial advice to people who want more from their money — and more from life.
Whether you’re a business owner, a professional, a couple planning retirement, or someone navigating change, we’ll help you understand your options and make confident decisions.
