Client Charter
Technology has changed how financial advice is prepared. It has not changed who is accountable for it. This charter sets out how we use technology, what we never use it for, and the standards you can hold us to.
Good KiwiSaver advice needs two things: accurate information, and someone who understands what your money is actually for. Software is very good at the first and incapable of the second.
So we use technology deliberately. It does the research, the arithmetic and the paperwork, which is where human beings make mistakes and lose time. It does not decide what you should do, and it never sits between you and your adviser.
This charter sits alongside our Disclosure Statement and Privacy Policy. It adds to those documents and does not replace either of them.
The adviser is responsible for the advice
Every recommendation you receive is made by Cameron Steele, a financial adviser (FSP1010212) providing advice under the Financial Advice Provider licence of Solid Steele Advice Limited (FSP1010211).
No calculator, quiz, comparison table or chat assistant on this website provides personalised financial advice. Those tools give general information and a place to start a conversation. They do not know your circumstances, and they are not a substitute for advice.
Where an automated tool or AI helps with research, a comparison or a first draft, the adviser reviews the output before any of it reaches you. Responsibility stays with the adviser and does not pass to a tool, a supplier or a product provider.
If you believe a recommendation was wrong, that is ours to answer for. Our complaints process and the free external dispute resolution scheme we belong to are set out in the Disclosure Statement.
Technology is used to improve accuracy and efficiency
We use technology where it makes the advice more accurate or gives you more of the adviser's attention. In practice that means:
- researching and comparing KiwiSaver providers and funds across the New Zealand market, including published fund data and independent reporting;
- modelling projections and scenarios, such as the KiwiSaver calculator on this website;
- online tools that help you think about your own situation before we meet, such as the KiwiSaver Health Check and the Knowledge Challenge;
- the website chat assistant, which answers general KiwiSaver questions and says in its opening message that it gives general information rather than personalised advice;
- secure online booking, forms, client records and file notes, so administration takes less of the time set aside for you.
The purpose is the same in every case: fewer manual errors, less time on paperwork, and more time spent on your circumstances. We judge a tool on whether it makes the advice better, not on whether it makes the practice faster.
A projection is not a promise. Every model on this website depends on the assumptions put into it, and real returns will differ. We will always tell you what a figure assumes before we let it influence a decision.
Your information is protected
We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020. Our Privacy Policy sets out in full what we collect, why we collect it, who we may disclose it to, and how you can access or correct it.
In summary:
- data held in our software is encrypted in transit and in storage, and is accessible only over secure network connections;
- we collect only the information we need to give you advice, and keep it only as long as it may lawfully be used;
- we disclose it only as described in the Privacy Policy, or with your consent, or where the law requires it;
- this website is served over an encrypted connection, and its forms are protected against automated abuse;
- we never sell your personal information.
Cameron Steele is our Privacy Officer. If you have a privacy concern, or you want to see or correct what we hold, email cam@solidsteeleadvice.co.nz and we will deal with it.
Human judgement and empathy remain central
You will always be dealing with a person. Your session is with Cam, not with a queue, a call centre or a form.
Data describes a balance. It does not describe a new baby, a redundancy, a health scare, an anxious parent, or a first home that matters more to you than a fraction of a percent in fees. Those are the things that most often change a recommendation, and they only come out in conversation.
So we commit to the following:
- we will listen before we recommend, and we will ask about the things a spreadsheet cannot see;
- we will explain a recommendation in plain language, and tell you the reasoning behind it. If it does not make sense, ask, and we will explain it again;
- we will tell you when the right answer is to stay exactly where you are. A recommendation to change is never automatic;
- we will tell you when a question falls outside KiwiSaver, and point you to someone better placed to answer it;
- you are never under any obligation to act on our advice.
Holding us to this charter
A charter is only worth anything if you can use it. If you think we have fallen short of any commitment on this page, tell us and we will put it right.
- Phone: 022 657 8665
- Email: cam@solidsteeleadvice.co.nz
If you would rather raise it formally, our complaints process and the external dispute resolution scheme are set out in the Disclosure Statement. That service is free to you and independent of us.