Investment Philosophy

Traditional risk profiling

When you go to see a traditional financial planner, one of the first things you’ll do will be to complete a risk profile.

This is a series of questions which identify and measure an investor’s attitude to risk. It assesses risk tolerance, to determine the level of risk the person is comfortable with.

Traditional risk profiling can funnel you towards a psychologically common outcome. We believe this type of risk profiling can push people into an asset allocation that may not be appropriate for their time of life.

Circumstance and attitude

Circumstance and attitude

Our approach is very different.

Investment recommendations are important, but getting your asset allocation correct is critical. We use a methodology that analyses your current circumstances which helps us arrive at an asset allocation. From there we discuss your attitude to risk and adjust the asset allocation so you can sleep at night.

We discuss the characteristics of this portfolio and make sure you are comfortable with them. The result is you have a portfolio you understand and is purpose built, aligned and in context with your goals.

Portfolios built to last

Portfolios built to last

We create investment portfolios that are robust enough to withstand market volatility while still delivering income.

We do this by separating a client’s portfolio into three investment buckets.

  • The cash bucket holds 12 months’ income.
  • The fixed-interest bucket holds two to four years income in low-risk assets.
  • The growth investment bucket holds the five-year-plus growth portfolio. This is where we hold capital investments that are subject to market volatility.

Income is moved from the fixed-income and growth buckets to continually top up the cash bucket. When markets are good, profits are taken from the growth bucket to top up the cash bucket further. If markets experience a downturn, the risk is quarantined in the long-term bucket.

Protect your future

Protect your future

Our innovative and unique investment strategy consistently delivers great long-term outcomes because you are building a portfolio that is relevant for your time of life, based on your current circumstance … and adjusted for your attitude to risk.

So for a retiree this strategy means that:

  • Cash flow is delivered WHEN you need it so you can live life today. Our clients know that if there was an economic downturn they would have three to four years of cash available, allowing them to sleep more easily at night, knowing they will not have to sell any investments in a weak market to fund their lifestyle.

And for those who are younger and focused on building wealth, this strategy means that:

  • You have a portfolio geared to growth, to serve you well long-term.
At First Financial we prefer:

At First Financial we prefer:

  • Assets that produce significant stable income streams, over those where returns primarily come from capital gains
  • Investing in large cap equities to give you a more stable cash flow, similar returns and a more transparent experience than in managed funds
  • Mainstream assets that are transparent and easily understood
  • Liquid assets that are easily accessible

Client Testimonial


“Chris was just able to put everything in a very simplistic way. He put together this fantastic plan for us… but he didn’t rush us. We took it away … thought about it and came back. He was comfortable for us to take our time.

I could never ever have managed the way that First Financial have done it for us. It’s just been fantastic, and it’s taken all the worry out of it for us.

I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life worrying about money.”

Vicki and Rod Olsen

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If you want to retire life ready