Finley Best Practice
Want to know how to Get the Best Results from Finley? This guide outlines best practice use of Finley’s SOA console
Finley is designed to help advisers prepare high-quality, client-specific Statements of Advice by combining uploaded evidence with clear adviser instructions. Like any advice process, the quality of the output depends heavily on the quality of the brief.
The best results come when advisers treat Finley the same way they would brief a skilled paraplanner: provide the source documents, explain the client’s objectives, define the scope of advice, identify the intended recommendations, and call out anything that must be excluded.
Finley works best when it has both evidence and direction.
Uploaded documents provide the evidence base. Chat instructions provide the adviser’s intent
How Finley Uses Uploaded Files and Adviser Instructions
When documents are uploaded to the SOA console, Finley reviews them as supporting evidence. These files may include the Fact Find, ProductRex reports, meeting notes, file notes, insurance quotes, fee information, replacement analysis, projections, and other advice documents.
Finley uses uploaded files to identify:
Client and partner details
Objectives and priorities
Income, expenses, assets, liabilities, superannuation, pensions, insurance, and entities
Product information and research evidence
Fees and service agreement details
Insurance quote details
Scope clues and possible exclusions
Missing information and items needing adviser confirmation
The adviser’s chat message is then used as the instruction layer. This is where the adviser tells Finley what the SOA is actually intended to cover.
For example, the adviser might clarify:
Which advice areas are in scope
Which areas are out of scope
Which recommendation direction is intended
Which documents should be relied on for which purpose
Whether a file is background evidence only or should drive a recommendation
What the adviser wants Finley to draft, update, or avoid
This distinction matters. Uploaded files tell Finley what information exists. Adviser instructions tell Finley what to do with that information.
The Most Effective Way to Use Finley
The recommended workflow is:
Upload all relevant supporting documents.
Provide a clear SOA request in the chat.
Review Finley’s intake summary and readiness panel.
Correct any assumptions, missing information, or scope issues.
Generate or refine the SOA sections.
Review each section before confirming it.
Advisers should avoid relying on uploaded documents alone. A Fact Find and ProductRex report may contain useful data, but they do not always explain the adviser’s intended strategy, scope limitations, client preferences, or professional judgement.
The best SOA requests are short enough to be clear, but detailed enough to remove ambiguity.
What Makes a Strong Finley SOA Request?
A strong request usually includes:
The client’s name and advice purpose
The key objectives
The agreed scope of advice
The excluded advice areas
The intended recommendation direction
Product or strategy preferences
Important risks, limitations, or constraints
Fee details
Any instructions about tone, wording, or emphasis
For example, instead of writing:
Please prepare an SOA based on the uploaded files.
A better request would be:
Please prepare an SOA for Sophie Clarke. The advice is limited to investing her inheritance for a first-home deposit and reviewing her HostPlus super account. Use the Fact Find for client details and ProductRex for product research. Recommend retaining the inheritance in low-risk cash holdings and replacing HostPlus with HUB24. Exclude crypto advice, property selection, estate planning, and detailed tax advice.
That second request gives Finley much clearer boundaries.
Best Practice Principles
1. Upload the Right Documents First
Before starting the SOA request, upload all relevant files. This may include:
Fact Find
File notes
Meeting transcripts
ProductRex reports
Research documents
Insurance quotes
Replacement analysis
Fee notes
Projection outputs
Client emails or instructions
Existing product statements
The more complete and relevant the evidence, the better Finley can identify client-specific facts and avoid generic wording.
2. Tell Finley What Each Document Is For
If multiple documents are uploaded, explain their purpose.
For example:
Use the Fact Find for personal and financial data. Use ProductRex for product comparison evidence. Use the meeting notes for client objectives and preferences. Use the fee note for advice and implementation fees.
This helps Finley interpret the documents correctly.
3. Be Clear About Scope
Scope is one of the most important parts of the SOA request. Advisers should clearly state what is included and what is excluded.
For example:
In scope: superannuation rollover advice, investment portfolio recommendation, contribution strategy, and retirement income projections.
Out of scope: personal insurance, estate planning, Centrelink, aged care, direct share advice, and detailed tax advice.
Clear scope prevents Finley from drafting recommendations in the wrong section or adding advice areas that were not intended.
4. State the Recommendation Direction
Finley can extract evidence, but it should not have to guess the adviser’s professional recommendation.
Where the adviser already knows the intended strategy, say so.
For example:
The intended recommendation is to rollover the client’s existing superannuation from Fund A to Fund B, invest in the Balanced model portfolio, and commence salary sacrifice contributions of $500 per month.
This gives Finley a strong drafting anchor.
5. Identify Client Priorities and Constraints
Include any facts that affect suitability.
Examples:
Retirement timeframe
Deposit timeframe
Risk tolerance
Cashflow limits
Tax concerns
Debt repayment priorities
Ethical investment preferences
Preference for simplicity
Need for flexibility or liquidity
Concerns about fees
Desire to retain existing arrangements
These details help Finley produce more client-specific recommendations.
6. Correct Finley Early
After Finley produces the intake summary, review it before moving too far into drafting.
If something is wrong, correct it directly:
Correction: insurance is out of scope. Do not include insurance needs analysis or insurance recommendations.
Or:
Correction: the recommendation is to retain the existing super fund, not replace it. ProductRex is being used only to evidence that the current fund remains suitable.
Early corrections improve the whole SOA.
Best Practice Finley SOA Request Template
Advisers can copy and adapt the following template when starting an SOA.
Please prepare a Statement of Advice for:
Client name:
[Client name]
Partner name, if applicable:
[Partner name / Not applicable]
Purpose of advice:
[Briefly explain why the client is seeking advice]
Documents uploaded:
- [Document 1]: Use this for [purpose]
- [Document 2]: Use this for [purpose]
- [Document 3]: Use this for [purpose]
Client objectives:
- [Objective 1]
- [Objective 2]
- [Objective 3]
Advice scope - included:
- [Advice area 1]
- [Advice area 2]
- [Advice area 3]
Advice scope - excluded:
- [Excluded area 1]
- [Excluded area 2]
- [Excluded area 3]
Important client circumstances:
- [Age, employment, family situation, retirement timeframe, deposit goal, etc.]
- [Income/cashflow considerations]
- [Assets/liabilities relevant to the advice]
- [Risk profile or investment preferences]
- [Any tax, Centrelink, estate planning, insurance, or debt considerations]
Intended recommendation direction:
- [Recommendation 1]
- [Recommendation 2]
- [Recommendation 3]
Product or research instructions:
- [Use ProductRex/report for product comparison evidence]
- [Recommend / retain / replace / rollover / establish / consolidate]
- [Any specific product, platform, portfolio, or investment option instructions]
Strategy instructions:
- [Contribution strategy]
- [Retirement income strategy]
- [Cashflow or debt strategy]
- [Tax or CGT considerations]
- [Projection scenarios to include]
Insurance instructions, if relevant:
- [Insurance is in scope / out of scope]
- [Needs analysis required / quote illustration only / replacement advice required]
- [Policy ownership or funding instructions]
Fees:
- Advice preparation fee: [$]
- Implementation fee: [$]
- Ongoing / annual service fee: [$]
- Insurance commission details, if applicable: [Details]
Important exclusions or warnings to include:
- [Example: Detailed tax advice is not provided]
- [Example: Estate planning advice is limited to recommending referral to a solicitor]
- [Example: Property selection advice is excluded]
- [Example: Crypto advice is excluded]
Preferred tone or drafting instructions:
- Use client-facing SOA wording.
- Write recommendations as “we recommend you...”
- Avoid generic wording.
- Explain benefits, risks, consequences, and alternatives clearly.
- Do not mention internal tools such as ProductRex in client-facing wording unless appropriate.
Example SOA Request
Please prepare a Statement of Advice for Sophie Clarke.
Purpose of advice:
Sophie has received a $220,000 inheritance and wants advice on preserving it for a first-home deposit. She also wants her HostPlus super account reviewed.
Documents uploaded:
- Fact Find: Use this for personal and financial details.
- ProductRex report: Use this for product research and comparison evidence.
- Meeting notes: Use this for Sophie’s objectives, preferences, and scope instructions.
Client objectives:
- Preserve the $220,000 inheritance for a first-home deposit.
- Reach a target deposit of approximately $280,000 within 2 to 4 years.
- Avoid exposing short-term savings to unnecessary market risk.
- Review whether her HostPlus super account remains suitable.
- Consider whether FHSSS may assist, subject to specialist tax advice.
Advice scope - included:
- Cash and savings strategy for the inheritance.
- Superannuation product review.
- Product replacement analysis for HostPlus and HUB24.
- High-level discussion of FHSSS.
- Illustrative income protection quote.
Advice scope - excluded:
- Crypto advice.
- Property selection advice.
- Detailed tax advice.
- Estate planning.
- Full insurance needs analysis.
Important client circumstances:
- Sophie is single.
- She is saving for her first home.
- Her deposit timeframe is short to medium term.
- She wants to preserve capital and maintain liquidity.
- She has crypto assets, but these are explicitly excluded from advice.
Intended recommendation direction:
- Recommend holding the inheritance in secure cash-based savings for the first-home deposit.
- Recommend replacing HostPlus with HUB24 based on the ProductRex research.
- Mention FHSSS as a potential strategy but recommend specialist tax advice before implementation.
- Include the income protection quote as illustrative only.
Fees:
- Advice preparation fee: $2,750.
- Implementation fee: $550.
Important warnings:
- We are not providing crypto advice.
- We are not providing property selection advice.
- FHSSS has tax and eligibility complexity and should be confirmed with a registered tax adviser.