Kay Aarons CFP® BEc DFP

Director & Financial Planner
Authorised Representative of Strategic Financial Solutions Pty Ltd

Kay is the Principal of Strategic Financial Solutions and a qualified financial planner with 20 years’ experience in the profession.

As the head of SFS, Kay’s role is to manage the business, including investment strategy and selection, and the expectations of our clients and compliance with ASIC rules. In addition to these responsibilities, Kay has a substantial day-to-day hands-on involvement with individual clients, helping them define their financial goals and delivering strategies to achieve them.

Kay holds a Bachelor of Economics and Politics from Monash University. She completed her Diploma of Financial Planning and achieved Certified Financial Planner status in 1996. Before this, Kay also spent many years owning and operating retail businesses.

Kay established Strategic Financial Solutions in 1995 and in December 2002, acquired the business of Investwell, a city based practice of similar size to SFS. The combined business is one of the largest single-office boutique financial planning groups in Melbourne. Six years on, successful integration of the businesses, and ongoing attention to customer satisfaction, has resulted in approximately 80% of Investwell’s clients remaining with Strategic Financial Solutions.

Kay’s long experience and accumulated expertise means that she is able to help a wide range of people; from turning around the financial fortunes of those who most need financial help to managing complex financial portfolios for capable professionals who don’t have the time to do it themselves.

Kay has helped to turn around the lives of many people who find themselves in desperate need of financial help. For example, a professional management consultant found his situation in a mess following the death of his wife. Debts had piled up and tax returns were not completed. Kay’s plan included a good diversity of investment assets and tax strategies to reduce company and personal debt and free up cash flow to fund super. Four years on, the client has $500K in super, the company debt is cleared, the accounts are in capable hands with a new accountant referred by Kay, and the business is growing strongly.

Kay also excels when managing the finances of those at the other end of the financial scale; capable professionals who simply don’t have the time to do this themselves. For example, a professional couple came to SFS in need of a financial plan to match their life plan, which included children. Following Kay’s advice, the couple has now completely paid out their home loan, has a significant investment portfolio, a private school education plan for their children, and effective tax planning that makes the most of their incomes and cashflow.

In her spare time, Kay enjoys fitness-related pursuits including gym, bike riding and football. She loves reading and is a well-known news junkie who will happily recount current events to any members of staff who will listen. Kay has two grown children and is hoping (not very subtly) for grandchildren one day.

Paul Jones CFP® BSc GradDipFP MBA

Financial Planner
Authorised Representative of Strategic Financial Solutions Pty Ltd

Paul is a Senior Financial Planner with Strategic Financial Solutions. His role is to help our clients define their financial goals and deliver the most appropriate strategies to achieve them.

Paul holds a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry and Biochemistry) from Melbourne University and an MBA from RMIT University and had a long career in the chemicals industry before changing direction to become a financial planner. Paul completed a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning through the Securities Institute of Australia in 2003 and obtained Certified Financial Planner status the following year. He joined SFS in April 2007 after working with Winchcombe Carson/Capstone Financial Planning in paraplanning and financial planning roles and two years establishing his own financial planning business within an accounting practice.

Paul’s role as a financial planner involves working with SFS clients to determine investment objectives and strategies and continually reviewing and improving these strategies to ensure they achieve the best results.

The value of Paul’s work can be seen in his ability to create innovative strategies to deliver surplus cash flow for clients, even in difficult financial circumstances. For example, a couple were primarily reliant on the wife’s income - though her husband earned a small wage - when she unexpectedly became ill. Her sick leave was quickly exhausted. As she had just turned 55, Paul suggested converting her superannuation into a pension and drawing income from it to supplement her husband’s wage and meet ongoing costs of living, including servicing debt.

In another case, Paul was able to help a high-earning couple to create wealth and reduce debt through an innovative investment strategy. The couple, who had a combined income of $250,000, also had a $250,000 mortgage. Instead of using their disposable income to directly pay off their loan, Paul suggested investing in shares with borrowed funds that created an interest expense. The interest expense led to a tax refund that the couple were able to use to reduce some of the principal on their home loan. The shares paid dividends, which were also used to pay down debt, and when the value of the shares increased on maturity the couple was able to pay out their home loan entirely.

Paul also helped a teacher, aged 54 and in possession of a defined benefit superannuation scheme, to minimise capital gains on her considerable share portfolio, worth about $200,000. The portfolio carried unrealised capital gains of around $100,000, which the teacher was able to reduce by salary-sacrificing 100% of her income into superannuation and progressively selling down her share portfolio.

In his spare time, Paul coaches a senior womens’ hockey club in Footscray. He also enjoys swimming, cycling and good food and wine.

Chris McGlinn BEc MBA DipFS(FP) MAICD SSA AFP

Financial Planner
Authorised Representative of Strategic Financial Solutions Pty Ltd

Chris is an Authorised Representative of Strategic Financial Solutions and Director of Soluzions Group Pty Ltd, a Corporate Authorised Representative of SFS. Chris joined SFS in May 2010. With particular specialist skills in self managed superannuation and business succession and exit planning, Chris’ role at SFS is to provide proactive strategic advice to existing clients as well as develop relationships with other professionals including lawyers, accountants and a network of business advisers such that SFS becomes their preferred partner when dealing with the financial planning needs of families with business interests.

Chris views a business or career as an investment, generally with a goal or purpose around providing a lifestyle throughout a lifetime and sometimes beyond. Chris helps his clients develop their plans and then works with them and their professional advisers to ensure they are implemented.

Recently Chris worked with a client and their accountant to understand the benefits and risks of borrowing to purchase an investment property through their superannuation fund. Working with lawyers skilled in estate planning, Chris has helped clients structure their affairs using superannuation in order to ensure those most important to them are taken care of and that this happens according to their wishes.

Having owned his own business and worked with accountants and business owners over a number of years Chris is able to assist business owners work through issues such as protecting their business from key person risk as well as their own succession – he recently helped the owners of a manufacturing business identify the important things which needed to be done to increase the value of their business over a 5-10 year period and as much as possible ensure that the business was able to deal with any changes in the partners circumstances – illness, marriage break ups or simply change of life priorities etc – along the way.

Chris holds a number of formal qualifications including a Bachelor of Economics, Master of Business Administration and Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning), and is a member (AFP) of the Financial Planning Association of Australia. Chris has been accredited by the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia Limited (SPAA) as a SMSF Specialist Advisor™, is an Accredited Associate of the Institute for Independent Business and Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Prior to joining the financial services industry, in 2005 Chris had a long career in the transport industry. Chris worked for 23 years with a major resources company in a range of senior management roles including roles in transport and logistics operations in Australia and New Zealand and heading the strategic planning function for the transport and logistics business group. In his spare time, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife, Karyl who runs her own reflexology business – Energetic Feet – and their son. He also enjoys creating something from nothing through woodwork, camping and cooking.