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If you're an Australian professional approaching retirement, a date on the calendar won't tell you when work can become optional.
That answer starts with the life you want after work, what it may cost and how your current wealth could support it. Retirement modelling lets you compare choices about timing, income and financial structure before you make them. At Centaur, that modelling is followed by strategy, implementation and ongoing review, so the planning continues beyond the first set of numbers.
If you'd like to start working through when work could become optional, click the link to book an introductory call.
Australian professionals approaching retirement can have well-organised super, investments and property without having one clear retirement plan.
Tax decisions sit in that picture too, and looking at each part separately can hide how one choice affects another. Centaur brings them into the same retirement planning process, using modelling to build the shared picture before strategy, implementation and ongoing review follow.
For a look at Centaur's approach to joining those decisions up, click the link and arrange an introductory call.
For Australian professionals approaching retirement, putting a plan in place isn't the end of the work.
Markets move, and your spending needs or personal circumstances can change after retirement begins. Centaur's ongoing advice includes reviewing the plan at least annually, with another look when circumstances materially change. That keeps the strategy open to reconsideration instead of leaving it untouched once it has been implemented.
Click the link when you'd like to discuss what ongoing retirement advice can include and book an introductory call.
As an Australian professional approaching retirement, what would you want an ordinary weekday to look like once work becomes optional?
Your plans for travel, family support and everyday spending help define the income to model and the timing and financial structure to work through. Centaur starts with those life choices, then uses retirement modelling to turn them into a practical planning discussion.
To begin a conversation about the retirement you're planning for, arrange an introductory call by clicking the link.
If you're an Australian professional approaching retirement, helping family can leave you with two questions at once: what can I do for them, and what would it mean for my retirement?
An account balance can't answer that on its own. The decision sits beside your retirement income, super, tax structure and estate planning. Centaur can consider those parts together, keeping your own needs in the discussion before any money moves.
If you want to discuss that decision as part of your retirement plan, click the link to arrange an introductory call.
If you're a professional approaching retirement, you may be trying to work out when your super, investments, property and tax position could support the point when work becomes optional, along with the life you want after that.
Centaur Financial Services provides retirement planning and wealth advice for Australians making that transition. The work brings your financial position together, models different retirement choices, and helps you make decisions about income, super, investments, tax structure and estate planning with a clearer view of how they affect one another.
If that sounds relevant, complete the short form below this video and answer each question as accurately as you can. Depending on what you share, you may be invited to book a 15-minute phone or virtual consultation. The call has no obligation and is there to assess whether Centaur may be a suitable fit. Completing the form doesn't promise a personalised answer, advice, a recommendation or an invitation to proceed.
The years before retirement can carry more decisions than people expect. You may be weighing up extra super contributions, deciding what to do with an investment property, working out whether to reduce your hours, or considering how much support you can give your family. Each decision can affect the others, and a change that looks sensible on its own may need to be considered as part of your wider financial position.
Market falls are another concern. Nobody can promise a particular return or remove uncertainty from investing. Retirement planning can, however, give you a structured way to consider how much income you may need, where it could come from, and how different choices may affect your plans over time.
Centaur has focused on retirement and major wealth transitions since 2009 and says it has guided hundreds of clients. Its approach covers modelling, strategy development, implementation and ongoing review. Retirement decisions rarely end when a document is prepared. Your circumstances can change, financial rules can change, and your plans may need to be reviewed as life moves on.
You may already manage your own investments and wonder whether advice would add anything. The useful question is whether you also want professional help coordinating retirement income, super, tax, property, estate planning and the timing of work. If you only want someone to handle administration while you keep making every decision yourself, Centaur says it probably won't be the right fit.
You may also be cautious about product-led advice. Centaur describes its service as an ongoing advice relationship built around major retirement decisions, rather than a quick product recommendation or one-off transaction. A sensible next step is still to ask how the advice works, what may be recommended, and how any relationship would be structured before you agree to proceed.
And if fees are part of your decision, they should be discussed directly before you move forward. No fee figure is being suggested here. The introductory call carries no obligation, and you shouldn't proceed beyond it unless you understand the proposed service and its cost.
Centaur publishes clear fit signals. For professionals approaching retirement, a typical fit is someone around 5 to 10 years from retirement with household income of $250k or more. The firm also works with people managing a lump sum of $200k or more, family business owners with turnover of $1m or more, and retirees with $1m or more in assets outside the home.
Those figures are guides to fit, not promises of acceptance or results. If you're early in your career and mainly focused on budgeting or paying down debt, Centaur says it may not be the right adviser for you yet. The same applies if you're looking for a fast transaction, a hot tip or a single product recommendation.
For the right person, the value of retirement advice is having connected decisions rather than a collection of separate accounts and unanswered questions. Centaur's process looks at your current position and what you want life to look like, then develops advice that can be implemented and reviewed over time if both sides decide to continue.
The first step is the form directly below this video. Complete it and answer each question as accurately as you can. Depending on what you share, you may be invited to book a 15-minute phone or virtual consultation to assess fit. There's no obligation, and the form or call doesn't guarantee advice, a recommendation, a result or acceptance as a client.
Thanks for booking an introductory call with Centaur Financial Services.
You may be here because retirement is getting closer, or because you're trying to work out when work can become optional and whether your finances support the life you want. Whatever brought you here, the call gives you a place to explain what you're thinking about and see whether Centaur's retirement-specialist advice may be a fit.
The call runs for 15 minutes by phone or video. One of our advisers will ask about your broad situation, the decisions in front of you and what you'd like help with. Those 15 minutes are for an introduction and a broad assessment of fit. A personal recommendation requires more information and a proper advice process. The useful outcome is a clear view of whether it makes sense to keep talking and what a possible next step would involve. There's no obligation to continue.
We'll also send you a few short emails over the coming days. They'll cover common questions people have before speaking with the team, so don't be surprised when they arrive.
There are five short clips below this one as well. Choose the topics that match your questions. They explain what the call is for, how to ask about advice scope and fees, what ongoing review means, how to look at Centaur's experience, and what may happen next. If you've already watched the relevant clips, the adviser can spend more of the call understanding your situation instead of covering the basics.
Keep your main question nearby, along with a rough sense of the decisions you want to make. That's enough to begin. One of our advisers will take it from there, and we look forward to speaking with you.
The introductory call is a 15-minute phone or virtual consult with one of our advisers. It helps the team understand why you've reached out, what retirement decisions you're facing and whether Centaur's retirement-specialist advice may be relevant.
A complete financial review or personal recommendation needs more information than a brief outline of your finances, along with a properly agreed scope.
Use the call to explain the main question you want answered. From there, the team can tell you whether the question appears to fit Centaur's work and what you would need to understand before deciding on any further step. With no obligation attached to the call, you can ask direct questions and make up your own mind.
It's reasonable to ask what financial advice will cover and what it'll cost.
There isn't a published advice fee we can point you to here, so we won't invent a number or suggest that one fee applies to every situation. The work needed for a professional approaching retirement may be different from the work needed for a retiree, a business owner or someone managing a substantial lump sum.
Use the introductory call to ask how the team would define the advice scope for your situation, what information would be needed and how the relevant fees would be confirmed. You can also ask what's included, what sits outside the proposed work and whether ongoing advice is being discussed.
The 15-minute call has no obligation. Get the scope and fee information you need before deciding whether you want to proceed.
Retirement planning doesn't stand still once a strategy has been prepared. Your circumstances can change, bringing different financial decisions into focus.
The Centaur Way combines retirement modelling, strategy development, implementation and ongoing review. Centaur describes the retirement plan as being reviewed at least annually, or when circumstances materially change.
That doesn't mean every part of your plan changes at each review. It means there's a set time to look at what's changed, check whether the current strategy still fits and identify any new questions that need advice.
Ask one of our advisers what an ongoing arrangement would cover in your case, how reviews work and what fees apply. You should understand that clearly before agreeing to ongoing advice.
Start with facts you can check, then ask how they relate to the advice you need.
Centaur has operated since 2009 and says it has guided hundreds of clients through major financial transitions. The firm focuses on retirement-specialist advice and publishes fit signals for the people it typically helps, including professionals approaching retirement, retirees, business owners and people managing a substantial lump sum.
Centaur also publishes the Centaur Way, which connects retirement modelling, strategy development, implementation and ongoing review. Those details give you something more useful to assess than a broad claim about experience.
They don't predict your financial result or tell you whether the firm is automatically right for you. Ask who would advise you, how the Centaur Way would apply to your situation and what evidence you want to review before making a decision.
After the introductory call, one of our advisers can tell you whether your question appears to fit Centaur's retirement-specialist advice and what a possible next step would involve.
If it looks like a fit, the team can explain what further information would be needed, how the advice scope would be worked out and how the relevant fees would be confirmed. You can ask questions about the Centaur Way and any ongoing review before deciding whether you want to continue.
If it isn't a fit, the 15-minute phone or virtual consult doesn't create an obligation to proceed. No personal recommendation, financial result or ongoing service should be assumed from the introductory call.
The next step depends on your circumstances and the scope you agree to. One of our advisers will explain it, and the decision to continue remains yours.
Preview: What the 15-minute phone or virtual consult will cover.
Send timing: Day 0, immediately after booking
Your 15-minute call with Centaur is booked.
The call is a no-obligation phone or virtual consult. We use it to understand what has prompted you to seek advice, where you're up to with retirement and whether our team is the right fit to help.
Centaur provides retirement-focused financial advice for Australian professionals, business owners, retirees and people managing a substantial lump sum. Our advice can bring super, investments, tax structure and wider wealth decisions into one retirement plan.
You don't need to prepare a full financial history for this call. It helps to know the main decision you want to make. That might be when work can become optional, how much you expect to spend in retirement, what to do with a lump sum or how a business exit fits with your personal plans.
We have guided hundreds of clients through major financial transitions since 2009. The introductory call gives both sides a practical way to decide what should happen next.
Centaur Financial Services
Preview: A retirement plan needs a destination before it needs a structure.
Send timing: Day 1, 8:30 am
Retirement planning gets much clearer when you start with the choices you want your money to support.
For someone five to 10 years from retirement, the useful questions are often quite practical. Think about when you'd like work to become optional, what an ordinary month would look like, how often you'd travel, whether you want room to help family and whether you'd keep some work because you enjoy it.
Those answers give financial decisions a job to do. They help frame how super, investments, property and tax structure need to work together, and where more information is needed.
You don't need a polished answer before the call. A rough view is enough. Try finishing this sentence:
"Retirement would feel right if I could..."
Bring whatever comes to mind. It gives us a far more useful starting point than a list of account balances on its own.
Centaur Financial Services
Preview: How modelling, strategy, implementation and review connect.
Send timing: Day 1, 3:00 pm
The Centaur Way is a collaborative advice process for major retirement and wealth decisions.
We begin by understanding your position and the life you want your money to support. Retirement modelling then helps test the timing, spending and financial choices being considered.
From there, the work moves into strategy. That can involve retirement income, super, investments, tax structure, estate planning, aged care or business succession, depending on what's relevant to you.
Advice only becomes useful when you can act on it. Implementation turns agreed recommendations into practical steps. Ongoing review keeps the plan connected to changes in your circumstances, priorities and retirement plans.
You should understand each recommendation and why it belongs in your plan. Bring questions. Ask for plain explanations. Good advice should help you make clearer decisions about your own money.
Centaur Financial Services
Preview: Use these to find the gaps in your current retirement thinking.
Send timing: Day 2, 8:30 am
You can learn a lot about your retirement position by answering four questions.
When would you like work to become optional?
What would you expect to spend in an ordinary year, including travel and family support?
Which assets would fund that spending, and how are your super, investments and property connected?
What decisions still feel unresolved?
The value is in seeing where your answers are clear and where they're still rough. You might know the retirement date you want but have no sustainable spending view, or hold substantial investments without a shared plan for how they will support income. A business owner may know the likely exit path without knowing how sale proceeds would fit into personal retirement plans.
Write down short answers before the call, and leave any difficult question open. An unanswered question is useful information too.
Centaur Financial Services
Preview: A short list that can make the call more useful.
Send timing: Day 2, 3:00 pm
You don't need to assemble a formal file for the introductory call.
If they're easy to find, have a rough view of your super, investments, property, debts, household income and current spending. For business owners, it also helps to note the expected timing of any sale or succession decision. If you're investing an inheritance, redundancy payment or sale proceeds, note the amount and any decision already made about it.
Estimates are fine at this stage. The purpose of the 15-minute call is to understand your main decision and assess fit. Detailed information can come later if you decide to proceed.
It also helps to write down the one question you most want answered. For many people, it's some version of "Do I have enough?", "When can I retire?" or "How should these parts fit together?"
Keep that question in front of you when the call starts.
Centaur Financial Services
Preview: Questions to ask before you decide whether advice is right for you.
Send timing: Day 3, 8:30 am
Being wary of product-led financial advice is reasonable. You should be able to see what work is being recommended, how it relates to your retirement and what it asks of you.
Ask how the adviser would connect your super, investments, tax structure and wider financial position, then find out what happens after the initial strategy is prepared. You should also understand how recommendations are implemented and reviewed, and which costs would apply before agreeing to proceed.
If you already manage your own investments, look at whether every major decision is working from the same retirement plan.
Advice might help with one complex transition or provide ongoing support. Centaur might also be the wrong fit. The 15-minute no-obligation call is there to establish that before either side goes further.
Centaur Financial Services
Preview: The published signals that help both sides assess fit.
Send timing: Day 3, 12:00 pm
Centaur specialises in major retirement and wealth transitions.
The people we commonly help include professionals five to 10 years from retirement, retirees reviewing how their assets support income, family business owners planning an exit or succession, and people deciding how to invest a substantial lump sum.
Our published fit signals include household income of $250k+ for professionals approaching retirement, a lump sum of $200k+, business turnover of $1m+, or retirement assets of $1m+ outside the home.
Those figures are fit signals. They don't tell you what strategy is suitable, what retirement timing is realistic or whether advice will be worthwhile for your circumstances. The introductory call is used to understand the decision in front of you and assess whether Centaur can help.
If your situation doesn't fit neatly into one description, explain it in your own words. Major financial transitions rarely arrive in a tidy category.
Centaur Financial Services
Preview: Bring one decision, rough figures and the questions you want answered.
Send timing: Day 3, three hours before the call
Your 15-minute call with Centaur is coming up.
Have one decision in mind. It could be your retirement timing, sustainable spending, a business exit, family support or what to do with a substantial lump sum.
Keep rough figures nearby if they're easy to access. Super, investments, property, debts, household income and spending are useful starting points. Exact statements aren't required for this introductory call.
Bring your questions too. Ask about fit, the Centaur Way, what information would be needed next and any costs that would apply before you decide whether to proceed.
The call is by phone or video and carries no obligation. Its purpose is to understand your position, answer initial questions and decide whether a further advice process makes sense.
Speak soon,
Centaur Financial Services
Start with the retirement you want
Preview: A useful plan starts with the life your money needs to support.
Before working on retirement figures, describe the life you want those figures to support.
Start with an ordinary week. Where would you live? How much time would you spend travelling, helping family, working by choice or pursuing a personal project? Add the larger plans that may sit outside a normal week, such as home changes or extended trips.
Then put a rough cost beside each part. You don't need a perfect retirement budget. Enough detail will show which choices need regular income, which need a larger amount at a particular time and where you would want room to change your mind.
This gives your super, investments and other wealth a practical purpose. It also makes the planning questions clearer. Instead of asking whether a balance looks large enough on its own, you can ask what that balance may need to fund, when it may be needed and how much flexibility you want to keep.
Retirement planning becomes more useful when the life comes before the structure.
Kind regards,
Centaur Financial Services
Put connected decisions on one page
Preview: See how work, super, investments and tax decisions affect one another.
A change to your retirement date can affect your income, the timing of super withdrawals and how long your investments may need to support you.
The same is true of a property decision, a large family gift or the sale of a business. Each choice can change what needs to remain accessible and which tax or super rules need to be considered.
To see those links, take one page and write down the retirement decisions you expect to make over the next few years. Draw a line between any two decisions that affect the same money, timing or family priority.
The page won't give you personal advice, but it can expose a common planning problem: decisions that look sensible on their own may pull in different directions when combined.
Tax belongs in this review because structure and timing can affect the choices available to you. It shouldn't be treated as a promised saving. The useful question is how super, investments and tax considerations work together in your circumstances before anything is implemented.
Kind regards,
Centaur Financial Services
What ongoing review should actually cover
Preview: A plan needs annual reviews and attention after material changes.
Ongoing advice should give you a clear reason to review your retirement plan.
Centaur describes reviewing a plan at least annually, or when circumstances materially change. That means a review should return to the choices behind the plan, not begin with an assumption that a product or investment needs to change.
Has your intended retirement timing changed? Are your income needs or larger spending plans different? Have family support, succession, estate planning or aged care become more relevant? Does the work already implemented still match what you want your wealth to support?
Market movement is part of the discussion, but it doesn't automatically require action.
A useful review checks whether your current strategy still fits your life, then identifies any decision that deserves attention before the next scheduled review.
Kind regards,
Centaur Financial Services
Is Centaur built for your situation?
Preview: Centaur publishes practical signals to help you assess fit.
Before choosing an advice firm, it helps to know whether the team regularly works with people at a financial stage similar to yours.
Centaur publishes several typical fit signals. They include professionals who are five to ten years from retirement with household income of $250,000 or more, people managing a lump sum of at least $200,000, family business owners with turnover of $1 million or more, and retirees with at least $1 million in assets outside the home.
These figures are useful because they make the intended audience visible. They don't forecast a tax saving, investment return or retirement outcome.
Use the signals as an initial check. Then consider whether your main need matches the work Centaur describes: retirement planning and wealth advice through a major transition, followed by implementation and ongoing review where appropriate.
Kind regards,
Centaur Financial Services
How to judge a financial advice relationship
Preview: Clear explanations and a defined review process are worth checking.
A financial advice relationship should make important decisions easier to understand before you agree to them.
Ask how the adviser would connect your retirement timing, super, investments, tax structure and wider family priorities. Then find out what happens after a strategy is agreed, who handles the implementation and what would prompt a review between annual meetings.
Pay attention to the explanations. Can you follow why a recommendation is being considered? Is it clear which personal objective it supports? Do you know what remains uncertain and what could cause the advice to change?
Centaur describes its process as collaborative advice that combines retirement modelling, strategy development, implementation and ongoing review. That gives you a practical basis for assessing the relationship before you proceed.
If you would like to assess fit, Centaur offers a 15-minute phone or virtual consultation with no obligation. Use the time to bring one current retirement question and ask how the team would approach it. The purpose is to understand the process and decide whether the next step suits you.
Kind regards,
Centaur Financial Services
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