Fei Kong - Financial Adviser

One lunch, three stages of the adviser journey.

I try to catch up with my adviser Pod, JZ, James and Cerelia, each quarter to recognise the progress they’re making.

This time was a special one. JZ has officially become an Authorised Representative and is starting his journey as a Financial Adviser, while James has commenced his Professional Year and taken an important first step towards becoming an adviser. Cerelia continues to build her skills, knowledge and confidence as she works towards the next stage of her journey.

It’s great seeing different stages of development happening within one team.

And naturally, we celebrated with McDonald’s. Nothing fancy, just good food and a good conversation about what’s ahead.

As someone who leads The Adviser Academy, these are the moments I really enjoy. Seeing people learn, grow and reach these milestones makes it all worthwhile.

A really proud moment seeing JZ officially become a Financial Adviser.

I’ve watched him put in the work throughout his Professional Year, learning, taking on feedback and building the confidence that comes with experience.

There’s still plenty ahead, but this is a big milestone and one that deserves to be celebrated.

Congratulations, JZ. You’ve worked hard for this and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.

Last call from me.

Voting for the 2026 FS Power50 closes Thursday September 3rd at 5pm.

If voting has been sitting somewhere on your to-do list, here’s your reminder.

It only takes about 30 seconds, and while you’re there you can also support Steve Sloane - Financial Adviser , Josh Lee - Financial Adviser and Billy Norman - Financial Adviser :

https://www.financialstandard.com.au/fspower50

I’ve loved seeing so many people get behind the four of us over the past couple of weeks.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to vote.

Another great opportunity to join SBS Chinese to discuss an important change affecting SMSF investors in Australia:

SMSF property lending has changed. What does it mean for those who already own property, and is it still worth considering?

One of the biggest risks I see is people becoming too focused on the property itself:

📈 How much has it appreciated?
🏠 How much can I borrow?
💰 What rental income will it generate?

But from a retirement planning perspective, I believe we need to start with a different question:

What role is this property actually going to play in my retirement plan?

A successful SMSF property strategy isn't simply about property growth. We also need to consider cash flow, debt and holding costs, diversification, liquidity and whether the strategy aligns with broader retirement goals.

One of the key messages I shared during the interview was, being asset rich doesn't necessarily mean being cash-flow rich.

A property may be worth $2 million, but if most of your retirement wealth is tied up in one illiquid asset, that can create challenges when you actually need to fund your lifestyle.

Ultimately, good retirement planning isn't about finding the “best” asset.

It's about building the right mix of assets, income and liquidity to give you choices when you retire.

Thank you to SBS Chinese and Cindy Xie for inviting me back and for continuing to make financial topics more accessible to the Chinese-Australian community.

Always a pleasure to share practical perspectives on superannuation, investing and retirement planning.

Listen here: https://www.sbs.com.au/language/chinese/zh-hans/podcast-episode/smsf-property-rules-have-changed-what-happens-if-you-already-own-one-is-it-still-worth-buying/ax6dqjbdd

SMSF买房变了 已经买的怎么办？现在还值得买吗？ SMSF买房规则发生变化，已经买了房的人、准备买房的人，可能都需要重新算一笔账。澳洲证监会（ASIC）注册财务规划师从普通家庭的角度分享看法。欢迎点击链接收听，并在SBS中文社交媒体平台留言。