Health and wealth go hand-in-hand

AUSTRALIANS trust their doctors with intimate physical and mental health details and now wealth experts want similar for financial advisers.

Leading Advice managing director Katrina Haskew believes mental, physical and lifestyle factors are integral to a successful financial strategy.

“New clients often think we’re only there to discuss how many zeros they have in their bank accounts,” Ms Haskew said. “They become surprised when we ask the last time they visited the dentist, or (about) their mental health.”

Ms Haskew believes health dictates which financial strategies are achievable.

“There’s no point formulating an aggressive expansion strategy for a business owner who is burnt out, not sleeping and slowly developing a heart condition,” she said, adding that health also affects insurance options.

“If you value providing for family above all else, you will want income protection,” she said. “If you enjoy bungee jumping, life insurance is a must.”

A longer life requires a bigger nest egg, so understanding pre-existing diseases, conditions and other factors helps set targets and avoid high costs associated with some health aspects.

“Being physically and mentally healthy often equates to healthier finances,” Ms Haskew said, adding that quitting smoking could save thousands each year, as well as reducing insurance premiums, and less spent on medication.

Hannah Moreno was building her PR business Third Hemisphere, when she separated from her husband. The personal blow affected her focus.

“I had started seeing a financial planner and spent our first few months cancelling appointments,” Ms Moreno said. “When I finally returned his calls, I told him the truth. The separation had left me completely exhausted and I was fantasising about throwing in the towel with the business. I had no energy left over to care about building my wealth.” The planner had heard it all before. “Far from being put off, he simply changed our immediate planning goals from a ‘growth’ strategy to ‘survival’,” Ms Moreno said. “He calculated I could comfortably pay bills if I halved newer clients’ retainers for three months, and did half the work... It kept the business afloat.”

Two years later, Ms Moreno is in a better headspace.

“We’ve switched back to ‘growth’ mode, have begun an aggressive expansion strategy and are finalising an exciting strategic partnership,” she said. “So even though that initial conversation felt personal and raw at the time, it was a complete financial lifesaver in the end.”