Robert Koschel - Managing Director, Sedley Koschel Financial Group & My Wealth Garden

How did you start down this career path?

As a child, I was very driven by the thought of being in business and making money to buy the things I wanted in life (at that time a motorbike and a car).

As a teenager, I was fortunate to grow up on acreage and I spent a lot of my time growing vegetables so I could sell them on the side of the road each weekend. I used that money to pay for school lunches. As I got older I pestered my father to let me use his lawn mower to mow local owners' properties. After a while I hired my brother and my cousin to do larger jobs for some older locals.

I attended both a primary public school and a private school in my senior years. I noticed the difference between those two schools (I mean the difference in what the kids had and the families that attended). I knew then that I wanted to become more than what my past was.

After finishing year 12, I wanted to be around finance and helping people to make money so I enrolled and completed a Bachelor of Business at QUT majoring in Accounting. I worked for a few Chartered Accounting and Tax Firms in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Along the way I developed a passion for SMSF advice and administration and Investment.

I was fortunate to meet a financial planner who asked me to get licensed so I could provide complying SMSF and investment advice to a large client base of Investors and trustees of SMSFs.

I later met an accountant who established his firm in 1973 on the Gold Coast and who didn't know much about personal financial planning. He took a chance on letting me introduce financial planning to his large client base as part of a joint venture.

The clients of the accounting firm loved the additional service and realised how it complemented the Accounting and tax services on offer and added best interest advice on a holistic basis.

The firm grew to 4 partners and over 40 staff. Since then the firm has changed, however some of the original clients still remain.

We now offer a truly holistic advice service. We have been a finalist in the IFA financial Advice awards three years out of the last four for holistic advice firm of the year!

What inspires you in your role/industry? Why?

I love helping our clients achieve their personal and financial goals. I am a very pragmatic person and live, sleep and breathe financial advice.

I also like heading up Sedley Koschel Financial Group and look forward to growing My Wealth Garden (our independent AFSL) and operating it to best practice. I like seeing members of the whole team develop and mature into excellent advisers and client service officers as well.

What's your approach to customer service that separates you from the rest?

One of our core values is “Exceptional Customer Service”. Everything we do is about delighting the client, that's why we have a 5 Star Google rating!

We are constantly looking to work with like minded customers and clients who embrace our core values

How do you innovate and stay ahead of industry trends?

Innovation is another core value and we are constantly implementing new systems and processes to reflect this value.

For instance, we offer our clients a truly online option to have an advice document prepared using the My Wealth Garden client portal and user friendly website with a live chat on standby to help with advice questions.

What is the toughest challenge you've faced in your role? How did you overcome it?

The toughest challenge was going through the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). We learnt a lot about what type of investments lose money when liquidity dries up in capital markets.

It was devastating for a lot of clients who lost money. One positive however was the lessons that we learned.

I’d say we are arguably some of the most experienced and professional financial planners in the industry. That's a big call but I don't believe some of the new firms or younger advisers know what can happen when the investment tide goes out!

What are some of your goals for the next 5 years?

In the next five years we want to grow My Wealth Garden into a class leading advice firm Nationally.

We don't want to be the biggest, we want to be the best at providing holistic advice for wonderful clients who love what we do!

Learn more by clicking the links below:

www.sedleykoschel.com.au and www.mywealthgarden.com.au