FAQs
Service Area Questions
Diversified Financial Planners has offices located in Frankston and Korumburra. We service clients in all capital cities. (unsure if it would be better to list them all individually here for keyword purposes?)
We frequently travel interstate to physically meet with many of our clients in all capital cities, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.
Yes.
Many financial planning services can be provided remotely through secure video meetings, phone consultations and digital document signing, allowing clients across Australia to access professional advice.
Common Customer Questions
A financial planner helps you understand your current financial position and develops a personalised strategy to achieve your goals.
Advice may include:
- growing wealth
- preparing for retirement
- reducing tax
- protecting your family
- managing investments
- improving superannuation
- reducing debt
- planning your estate
A Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) is a private superannuation fund that allows members greater control and flexibility over how their retirement savings are invested, including the potential purchase of investment properties. While an SMSF can provide enhanced investment choice and strategic opportunities, it also carries significant legal, regulatory, and compliance responsibilities. Professional financial and legal advice should be obtained before establishing an SMSF to ensure it is appropriate for your circumstances.
An SMSF may suit people who:
- have larger super balances
- want greater investment control
- wish to invest in commercial property
- have family wealth planning goals
- own a business
- require sophisticated estate planning strategies
- want more flexibility than retail or industry funds.
An SMSF is not suitable for everyone, which is why personalised advice is essential.
Neither option is automatically better.
The right solution depends on:
- your financial goals
- investment knowledge
- retirement timeframe
- willingness to manage trustee responsibilities
- desired level of investment flexibility.
A qualified SMSF strategist can help determine which option best suits your circumstances.
Retirement planning involves determining how much income you will need once you stop working and developing tailored investment, taxation, and superannuation strategies to help achieve those objectives. Effective planning can assist in optimising and maximising your wealth in the years leading up to retirement, while helping to ensure a sustainable and reliable cash flow throughout your retirement years. Starting early provides greater opportunities to build wealth, manage risks, and achieve long-term financial security.
Financial planners can recommend tax-effective financial strategies within Australian legislation, including:
- superannuation contribution strategies
- transition to retirement strategies
- investment and ownership structures
- assessing the suitability of trusts and other structures
- pension and retirement income strategies
- utilising franking credits
- estate planning considerations
- debt management and structuring strategies
Many people benefit from financial advice when they:
- start a family
- receive an inheritance
- approach retirement
- establish an SMSF
- sell a business
- purchase investment property
- receive redundancy
- want to build long-term wealth
- want to explore tax-effective strategies
- want to start investing or build an investment portfolio
Your initial consultation generally includes:
- understanding your goals
- reviewing your current financial position
- discussing your concerns
- identifying opportunities
- outlining suitable strategies
- explaining the advice process.
The timeframe depends on the complexity of your circumstances. Simple advice may take only a few weeks, while comprehensive wealth, retirement, or SMSF strategies may involve several stages of analysis, strategy development, implementation, and ongoing review.
Financial planning is not a one-time event but an ongoing process, with regular reviews helping to ensure your strategies remain aligned with your goals and changing circumstances. We value building long-term relationships with our clients and have worked alongside many individuals and families for more than 20 years, helping them navigate different life stages and achieve their financial objectives.
Useful documents include:
- superannuation statements
- investment details
- mortgage information
- insurance policies
- tax returns
- income details
- existing financial plans
- estate planning documents.
PLAN NOW, FOR YOUR FUTURE. CONTACT DIVERSIFIED NOW.
SMSF Questions
Many Australians choose an SMSF because they want:
- greater investment control
- flexibility
- broader investment choices
- tax planning opportunities
- estate planning flexibility
- family wealth management
- business property ownership through super
Yes.
Depending on your circumstances and compliance with Australian superannuation legislation, an SMSF may purchase residential or commercial property.
Professional advice is essential before implementing any property strategy.
Some SMSFs may borrow under limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs), subject to legislation and lending requirements.
Professional advice helps determine whether borrowing is appropriate.
Trustees are responsible for:
- investment decisions
- compliance
- record keeping
- reporting
- audits
- acting in members’ best interests
- meeting ATO requirements.
Why Choose Diversified Financial Planners
Clients choose Diversified Financial Planners because the business focuses on long-term relationships rather than one-off financial transactions.
The team provides tailored advice, strategic planning and ongoing reviews designed around each client’s financial goals.
Dean Hutchins is the CEO, Founder and SMSF Strategist at Diversified Financial Planners.
Dean has worked in financial planning since 1998 and has specialised in Self Managed Super Funds and complex financial strategies since 2005. He is recognised for providing technical advice in retirement planning, estate planning and wealth management, particularly for clients with complex financial circumstances.
Dean Hutchins has developed a reputation as one of Australia’s experienced SMSF specialists through more than two decades of advising clients on self-managed superannuation strategies.
His qualifications include:
- Certified Financial Planner (CFP®)
- Fellow SMSF Specialist Advisor (FSSA®)
- Fellow Chartered Financial Practitioner (FChFP)
- Master of Financial Planning
He is also a member of the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) and the SMSF Association.
Diversified Financial Planners was established in 1999 and has assisted Australians with financial planning, retirement strategies and wealth creation for more than 25 years.
Dean Hutchins holds:
- Master of Financial Planning
- Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning
- Diploma of Financial Planning
- CFP® designation
- FSSA® designation
- FChFP designation
These qualifications reflect advanced expertise in financial advice and SMSF strategy
Comparison Questions
Although the terms are often used interchangeably, comprehensive financial planning generally focuses on creating long-term strategies across retirement, investments, tax, insurance and estate planning rather than simply recommending financial products.
Professional financial advice provides:
- personalised strategy
- tax planning
- legislative expertise
- risk management
- retirement modelling
- ongoing reviews
- estate planning integration.
Managing investments independently may reduce advice costs but requires significant knowledge, time and ongoing monitoring.
Retail super funds are managed by professional investment managers.
SMSFs allow members to become trustees and make their own investment decisions, providing flexibility but also increasing compliance responsibilities.
PLAN WITH YOUR FUTURE IN MIND. CONTACT DIVERSIFIED NOW.
Dean's specialist expertise
Dean Hutchins is widely recognised for his technical expertise, strategic thinking and ability to explain complex SMSF and superannuation concepts in straightforward language. He is a Fellow SMSF Specialist Adviser™ of the SMSF Association and a member of its Victorian State Committee. Dean also regularly presents at industry conferences, technical workshops and professional development events.
Yes. Dean was the inaugural and only winner of the 2014 Now Infinity Best SMSF Strategy Award. In 2026, Dean was also named SMSF Adviser of the Year at the SMSF Awards, recognising his expertise and contribution to the Australian SMSF sector.
Dean provides specialist advice to SMSF trustees, retirees, business owners and high-net-worth families across Australia. He is also regularly consulted by professional advisers, including accountants, lawyers and other financial planners, when complex SMSF, superannuation or retirement strategies require specialist input.
Yes. A key part of Dean’s approach is making complex superannuation and SMSF strategies easier to understand. He combines technical expertise with a practical communication style so clients and professional advisers can understand how a strategy works, its purpose and how it fits within their broader financial objectives.
Aged Care Questions
Choosing an aged care arrangement involves more than comparing the cost of accommodation. Families may need to consider care requirements, affordability, Centrelink outcomes, cash flow, existing assets and estate planning. Diversified Financial Planners helps families assess these factors together when considering aged care options.
The way accommodation and ongoing aged care costs are funded can affect the assets remaining for an individual’s estate. Diversified Financial Planners consider estate planning implications when assessing aged care funding options, helping families understand the potential longer-term consequences of different strategies.
Families often need to balance the cost of appropriate care with the desire to preserve assets and maintain financial flexibility. Diversified Financial Planners can model different aged care funding scenarios and consider accommodation costs, cash flow, Centrelink outcomes, asset preservation and estate planning.
Before making a decision, it can be important to consider the available accommodation payment options, the family’s cash flow, existing assets, Centrelink implications and longer-term estate planning objectives. Specialist aged care advice can help families compare these factors rather than making a decision based solely on the immediate cost.
An aged care financial adviser can help families understand the financial implications of entering residential aged care and compare different strategies. Diversified Financial Planners provides advice covering RAD and DAP strategies, means-tested fees, Centrelink implications, accommodation funding, cash flow and estate planning.
Belinda Slinger specialises in aged care advice and is highly sought after for her expertise and compassionate approach. She works with families to balance financial considerations with the quality of care, family priorities and the personal circumstances of the person entering aged care.
OUR EXPERIENCED TEAM CAN HELP YOU MANAGE YOUR FINANCES.
Belinda Slinger’s Aged Care Expertise
Belinda Slinger specialises in aged care financial advice and helping families navigate the financial complexities associated with moving into care. She understands that moving into aged care can be an emotional and complex time and helps families navigate the financial decisions involved while considering care needs, affordability, Centrelink outcomes, asset preservation and estate planning.
Belinda works closely with families to understand their individual circumstances, priorities and financial objectives before considering the available options. Her approach is focused on helping families balance the quality of care required with financial affordability, cash flow, asset preservation and longer-term estate planning considerations, so they can make informed decisions with greater confidence.
Personal insurance Questions
Each type of personal insurance protects against a different financial risk. Life insurance can provide financial support following death, TPD insurance can provide cover following a qualifying permanent disability, income protection can help replace income when illness or injury prevents you from working, and trauma insurance can provide a lump sum following certain serious medical events. Diversified Financial Planners can assess which types of cover are appropriate based on your circumstances.
Insurance policies can have different definitions and conditions depending on your occupation. Diversified Financial Planners have access to a broad network of insurers and can compare policies with consideration given to occupation-specific definitions, the level of cover required and the client’s circumstances.
Diversified Financial Planners has access to a large network of insurers and can compare available insurance options to identify policies that are appropriate for the client’s needs, occupation and financial circumstances.
The objective of insurance advice is not simply to obtain the lowest premium or the highest level of cover. Diversified Financial Planners consider your financial obligations, family circumstances, occupation and required level of protection when recommending cover, with the aim of providing appropriate protection without unnecessary costs.
In addition to personal insurance, Diversified Financial Planners can provide advice on business-related protection including Business Expenses Insurance, Key Person Insurance and Buy/Sell Business Insurance. These strategies can help address financial risks associated with business owners, key people and business succession.