Financial Adviser Serving Fitzroy North
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for Fitzroy North households, covering superannuation, retirement planning, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
Our office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, north of Fitzroy North. We can meet you at home, by secure video, or at our Bundoora office. Your first consultation is free.
- Retirement-focused advice
- Home, secure video or office appointments
- First consultation free
- No obligation
How we help Fitzroy North clients
Retirement planning is different from the financial decisions you make while you are working.
For Fitzroy North households approaching retirement, we bring your superannuation, investments, spending, insurance and potential Age Pension entitlement into a single plan — and show you what it actually supports.
- Retirement-focused adviceWe specialise in helping people in their fifties and sixties move from building wealth to living on it.
- Based in Bundoora, serving Fitzroy NorthOur office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, about twenty-five minutes' drive north of Fitzroy North. We meet clients at home or by secure video across Fitzroy North, Clifton Hill, Carlton North and Northcote.
- Clear, evidence-based adviceWe explain the reasoning behind our recommendations, model different scenarios and show you the numbers before you make major decisions.
What changes when you retire
Three things reverse at retirement. None are obvious while you are still earning.
Almost all the financial advice you meet across a working life is about building up: contribute regularly, stay invested, ignore the noise. It is sound advice, and it stops being enough the day you start drawing money out.
Markets falling early on
While you are contributing, a fall can even help — you buy in at lower prices.
Once you are withdrawing, money taken out during a downturn never participates in the recovery.
The tax position changes
Through your working life the concessions are on the way in.
In retirement the focus shifts toward how income is generated and how withdrawals are structured.
Your assets get counted
Everything you hold becomes relevant to what the government will and will not pay you.
The family home is generally exempt, though homeowners and non-homeowners face different thresholds.
Fitzroy North: professionals, terraces and couples without children
Fitzroy North is a suburb of professionals. At the 2021 Census, half of working residents were professionals, against one in four statewide, and six in ten adults have a university degree. More than usual work in law, universities and state government.
Half of all families are couples without children, against under four in ten across Victoria. One in three households is a person living alone.
Almost half of homes are terraces or townhouses, and almost half are rented. Rents and mortgage repayments are well above the state average.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
If you don’t have children
Without children, the default rules may not send your super and estate where you want. A binding nomination and an up-to-date will can. Moneysmart explains the options on its who gets your super page.
You may also want to plan for your own care later, without relying on family. That means saving for help at home or aged care. Details on help at home are on the Department of Health site.
Without the costs of raising children, some couples here can stop work earlier. We test whether that is realistic for you.
What Fitzroy North households worry about
These come up again and again at this stage. None of them require you to have anything sorted out beforehand.
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We don't have kids. Who gets everything when we're gone?
Whoever you choose — but you need to set it up. Super follows your fund's rules and any nomination, not just your will. Moneysmart explains it on its who gets your super page.
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Could we stop work at 60?
Possibly. We work out what you would spend, what your super and savings can pay, and how long that lasts — including in poor market years.
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We rent a terrace and love the area. Can we retire renting here?
It can work, but rent here is high and keeps going. We build your actual rent into the plan, so you know what it takes.
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Who looks after us if we need care later?
We plan for it now: money for help at home or aged care, and who can make decisions for you if you can't.
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I have super in three or four places and no idea which is any good.
We check the fees, performance, holdings and insurance in each one, and only combine them where it genuinely helps. Find every account in your name through myGov.
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I don't know who to trust. Everyone seems to be selling something.
Fair. What you can check: our licence on the ASIC register, a fee in writing before any work begins, and no product recommended in a first meeting.
What we do
What we advise on
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for people in their fifties and sixties across Melbourne, covering superannuation, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
The practice is built around one transition — the shift from building wealth to living on it. That is a different problem from the one you have been solving for thirty years, and it is the only problem we work on.
Superannuation & retirement planning
What you hold, what it costs, and whether it supports the retirement you have in mind
Investment Advice
Portfolios built from your withdrawal timetable rather than a risk questionnaire
Life Insurance Advice
What still needs protecting now, and whether cover belongs inside super or outside it
Cash flow & budgeting
What you actually spend, which is what every retirement projection rests on
Hear From Our Clients
"My husband and I have been with Plan My Wealth since our retirement and have found all those we have had dealings with to be professional and friendly. They make us feel welcome and take the time to explain what we see as complex processes to make it easy to understand and follow. Great team."
"Highly recommend Manny, he was very knowledgeable and took time to explain everything so I could understand, he made me feel like a valued client rather than just a number."
"Working with Manny has been an excellent experience. He's professional, friendly, and takes the time to make complex financial matters easy to understand. His guidance has given me real confidence in managing my finances. I highly recommend him to anyone looking to take control of their financial future."
Financial advice for Fitzroy north
If you are approaching retirement and are unsure whether your current arrangements will provide the retirement you want, the first step is understanding where you stand. No cost. No obligation. Just an honest conversation about your position and whether advice could be useful.
Fitzroy North is about twenty-five minutes from our Bundoora office.
Areas we serve near Fitzroy North
Fitzroy North sits in the City of Yarra, south of our Bundoora office. We work across it and every suburb around it.
You do not have to travel to us
Wherever you are in Melbourne's north, we can meet three ways.
At your home
We can come to you. For many people approaching retirement it is the simplest option, particularly when the paperwork is already there.
By secure video
Everything runs through cloud-based systems, so a video meeting covers the same planning and modelling as an in-person one.
At the Bundoora office
The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, with parking on site. There if you want it, never required.
Not seeing your suburb? See every area we serve.
Questions answered
Frequently
Asked Questions
Questions Fitzroy North households ask most often, and a few about how we work. If yours is not here, ask us — the answer usually takes a minute.
Are you actually based in Fitzroy North?
No. Our office is at The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, Bundoora — north of Fitzroy North, about twenty-five minutes away. We can meet at your home, by secure video, or at the office.
We would rather say that plainly than imply otherwise.
Do I have to travel to your Bundoora office?
No. We can meet at your home in Fitzroy North, by secure video, or at the office — whichever suits you.
We have no children. What happens to our super when we die?
It is paid according to your fund's rules and any nomination you have made. It does not automatically follow your will. Moneysmart explains the types of nomination on its who gets your super page.
We check your nominations and work with your lawyer so your will and super line up.
Can we retire early, at 60 or before?
You can generally reach your super from 60 once you retire. Stopping before then usually means living on savings outside super for a while.
We model the years before and after 60, so you can see whether an early finish is realistic.
How do we plan for care later, without family to help?
By setting money aside and making the decisions now. Help at home is government-funded, with a contribution based on your income and assets. Details are on the Department of Health site.
We also look at who can make decisions for you if you can't, alongside your lawyer.
We rent. Can we keep renting in retirement?
Yes, but the rent keeps going, so you usually need more saved than a homeowner. You may also be able to get Rent Assistance with the Age Pension. Details are on the Services Australia site.
We build your actual rent into the plan.
Should we buy, or keep renting and invest?
It depends on prices, your income and how long you will work. Buying late means a mortgage that has to be cleared by retirement.
We compare both with your own numbers.
Does it matter for the Age Pension that we don't own a home?
Yes. Non-homeowners are assessed against a higher asset limit than homeowners. Current thresholds are published by Services Australia.
We build that into your plan from the start.
Do you work with people in Northcote, Clifton Hill, Carlton North and Brunswick East?
What happens after I get in touch?
We will get back to you within one business day to arrange a time. The first meeting runs about an hour and can take place at your home, at the office, or by video.
If advice would be useful, we send you a written scope and a fixed fee afterwards. Nothing to sign on the day.
What does financial advice cost?
The first meeting is free and carries no obligation. If advice would be useful, we send you a written scope of work and a fixed fee afterwards, and you decide whether to proceed.
Fees are set by the complexity of the work rather than the size of your balance. Our fee arrangements are set out in our Financial Services Guide.
I have several old super accounts. Should I combine them?
Not automatically. Combining accounts can remove duplicate fees and simplify your finances, but closing an account can also cancel insurance held inside it.
We assess each fund first and check the insurance before recommending whether anything should move. You can see every account in your name through myGov.
How do I confirm an adviser is properly licensed?
Search the ASIC Financial Advisers Register by name or authorised representative number. It shows qualifications, licensee and advice history, and it is free to use.
Manny Tran's authorised representative number is 423115.