Financial Services GuideFinancial Services Guide
Heron Advisor Pty Limited
ACN 115 313 552
Corporate Authorised Representative
The Heron Partnership Pty Limited
ACN 100 196 272
AFS Licence No. 252538
This guide is designed to define how Heron Advisor operates and complies with the Corporations Act in relation to the financial services we provide.
It is issued by Heron Advisor under the express authority of The Heron Partnership Pty Limited.
This guide contains important information about:
Heron Advisor provides superannuation data, research, assessments and ratings of superannuation funds. We do not provide personal financial advice. Our services are principally provided to financial institutions/product issuers, financial planning dealer groups, financial planners, employers, superannuation fund trustee boards and individuals through this web site at advisor.heronpartners.com.au.
Heron Advisor services are only provided through the Heron Advisor web site. We do not accept instructions to provide any other advisory services directly to individuals.
As a Corporate Authorised Representative, Heron Advisor is authorised to provide general financial product advice for retirement savings accounts and superannuation. We do not provide personal financial advice to individuals. The product ratings have been produced without taking into account any individual's financial needs, circumstances and objectives. To the extent that the product ratings may constitute financial product advice, they are general financial product advice only, and any person should, before acting on such advice, assess the appropriateness of the advice having regard to their own financial situation and consult a licensed financial adviser before making any changes to their financial affairs.
Your financial planner will provide you with a SOA when providing you with advice. In addition to providing the advice, the SOA will contain the basis on which the advice has been provided, information about fees, commissions or other associations or relationships which may influence the advice provided. If as part of the SOA your financial planner makes a recommendation that you acquire a particular financial product/s you will also be provided with a Product Disclosure Statement/s, which contains information about the particular product/s to assist you, make an informed decision about acquiring that particular product/s.
Financial institutions/product issuers, financial planning dealer groups, financial planners and employers subscribe to the on-line assessment and ratings services provided by Heron Advisor Pty Limited (ACN 115 313 552). Fees for this service are by subscription and charged based on the type and volume of services required. In some circumstances, we might be engaged and paid by a third party (such as a financial planner) to provide advice to its clients.
Advisory fees, for services provided by The Heron Partnership are charged either on the basis of a set retainer or an hourly time cost rate.
Neither The Heron Partnership nor Heron Advisor receive any commissions whatsoever, in respect to the services provided by either company.
Heron Advisor does not receive any remuneration other than subscription fees.
We have professional indemnity insurance in place which covers us for errors and omissions. This insurance meets the requirements of the Corporations Act and covers the services we provide. These arrangements cover claims related to the conduct of representatives and employees who no longer represent The Heron Partnership (but did at the time of the relevant conduct).
The comparative product ratings are undertaken by The Heron Partnership's consultants and are based on analysis of information such as product disclosure statements provided by third parties, as well as general market knowledge.
The analysis and information upon which the product ratings are based is considered to be accurate at the time a particular product is rated by us. However, to the extent that the product ratings are based on such third party information, we give no guarantee or warranty and make no representation as to the accuracy or correctness of the third party information and accept no responsibility for any inaccuracy or incompleteness in the third party information provided to it. We make no guarantee or warranty in relation to the investment component or rate of return of any product that it rates.
Heron Advisor Pty Limited and The Heron Partnership Pty Limited has no debt or equity associations with financial institutions/product issuers. However, one of the services provided by an associated company, The Heron Partnership Pty Limited, is to provide advice to financial institutions/product issuers about products, services and the superannuation market on a fee for service basis. The provision of this advice is adhoc and does not influence the ratings and assessments made through Heron Advisor.
If you have any complaints or concerns about the services provide by Heron Advisor please contact our Managing Director as follows:
The Heron Partnership Pty Limited
Level 4, Austral House, 115 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Telephone 03 9254 4900
We endeavor to resolve a complaint within 20 days of receipt of advice about the complaint.
If the complaint can’t be resolved to your satisfaction you have the right to refer the matter to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), as follows:
Australian Financial Complaints Authority
GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001
Telephone: 1800 931 678 (free call)
Website: www.afca.org.au
Email: info@afca.org.au
The Heron Partnership’s AFCA membership number is 11895.
ASIC also has a free call information line which you may wish to use to obtain information about your rights. They can be contacted on 1300 300 630.
Please refer to this document for your future reference and any future dealings with Heron Advisor.
Please contact us on (03) 9670 4300 if you have any questions about the content of this guide or the services provided by Heron Advisor.
This Financial Services Guide was last updated in November 2018.