Good advice is a must
Steve has worked in financial planning for 30 years and founded the independent financial planning firm Wealth on Track in Adelaide in 2009. He does not receive commission for any of the products he recommends. wealthontrack.com.au
Wilfrid, you need a good adviser. Look for one who is not linked (via their licence) to a fund manager; look for someone who has excellent qualifications; and look for someone who has reviews from actual clients. This combination is actually quite rare.
You withdrew your money from Defence Super when you retired. Was this something that was recommended by your adviser at the bank? If you had a defined benefit fund, you may have been better off leaving it there. This may have been a guaranteed payment for life. If so, you may have a cause for action against the bank. The process would involve complaining to the bank first. If you are not happy with the result, you could then take it up with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (a brand new organisation).
The portfolio you have been given is typical of several that I have seen from unhappy clients of other advisers. That is, it has many different fund managers, in your case 11.
Some advisers (not me) see their value as picking multiple fund managers (or even individual stocks) for you. The sheer number means that some will go wrong over time.
In your case that was the futures fund. There is no good theoretical evidence that I am aware of to support investing in futures – assuming that is the purpose of the fund.
I note that you have an excessive amount of your money (13.6%) in cash. I understand that there is a class action against your provider for underpaying on cash – consider joining it.
How much risk should you take as a 77-year-old? We know you have a significant share portfolio, so that may be an indicator of some appetite for riskier assets. A good adviser will have a detailed discussion with you about risk, possibly using a questionnaire to rate your appetite for it.
You have too many assets to be getting Centrelink benefits so changing funds should not matter. As you are in pension phase there should be no concerns with capital gains tax if you make investment changes as the pension phase of super is tax free. Your new adviser may even decide to use your current “platform” (FirstChoice Wholesale Pension) if they deem it appropriate and the investments they need are on it.
Also there is no problem going from a retail fund to an industry fund, or vice versa. You would need to allow for selling costs on the funds but they should be minor in the scheme of things. You could crosscheck this with Colonial and your tax adviser or contact the industry fund.
As it happens, the manager that I have been recommending to my clients recently is not on your current platform.
The main thing is to find a good adviser who can give you advice tailored to your situation.