Farming and Rural Industries

Rural and farming communities produce some of Australia’s hardest workers and the expectation, from an investment point of view, is the majority are very conservative when it comes to risk.

At RFS advice we recognise that far from being risk averse, many of our farmers are risk takers. As one St George cotton grower was quick to point out to us, his family throws a million dollars on the ground every year and hopes it will rain.

This does not mean they want to take the same sort of risk with their ‘off-farm’ investments. For many of our farming clients they are relying on us to generate wealth and income that can support them in poor years and build wealth away from the farm that can create the quality retirement lifestyle they have earned.

Most farms are family run businesses and this is great for controlling costs but problematic when parties need to retire. Selling the family property may be an option but quite often a number of family members and long term employees rely on the farm for their livelihood. These family members and employees may not have the ability or desire to take on large debts to pay out the senior owners.

Additionally there may be complexity with some family members being far more involved with the day to day running of the farm than others and any financial liquidity event can create conflict.

• Our advisers understand the complications of farming life and work closely with our clients to build assets in parallel with the farm. In good years, a portion of the profits need to be invested in things other than the farm and as with all things, it takes discipline.
• By building an alternative asset pool, a retiring couple does not need to trigger an asset sale. This can mean they still receive income based on their retained equity in the farm and also have their non-farm assets to generate tax effective cashflow.

The other concern is of course health and working a farm is no easy matter.

• Both estate and retirement planning need to be considered well before they are necessary as sometimes these decisions are forced upon you. Our team recognise this and will work with you to build contingencies into your strategy.

If retirement requires the sale of the farm then our role is to help you protect and grow the asset you have built over many years. We find that our clients are very good at running their farm or businesses but it is their primary retirement asset. When they sell that asset they have real fears that they could destroy all that hard work through poor investment decisions.

Part of our job is to reduce that fear through education and offering totally transparent solutions managed by professional managers in investment houses you will recognise. Quality managers investing in quality assets.

RFS is privately owned and has specialised in investment advice for over seventeen years. While we have created a large amount of wealth for our clients, we are very cognizant of the need to build in downside protection in our portfolios. Investment Markets, just like agricultural markets, have their ups and downs and how you manage the tough years is a big determinant on how you perform in good years.

Your adviser will be degree qualified with three of our four advisers holding Masters in Financial Planning. They will have a minimum of six to ten years financial services experience (our most experienced has been advising since 1998) and they will be supported by a well credentialed and trained team.

Additionally RFS has invested heavily in its technology to ensure excellent internet and online support so we can regularly conduct reviews, even for the geographically challenged.

Your investments are held in your, or your entities name, and you have viewing access 24/7 as we are very aware the working day might not be the best time for you to review your portfolios.

RFS also works with a number of insurers that specialise in the farming sector. This is relatively dynamic as insurers enter and leave the market and a review of your existing arrangements can sometimes see a substantial reduction in costs.

The First Step

Talk to us about what you would like to achieve and the specific issues that relate to you and your family. We are the experts in our field and our award winning business can help you build the assets that will support you, both now and in a future retirement.