Advising in ALP heartland

Situated across the road from the electoral headquarters of Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham in the Sydney suburb of Ingleburn, the office of Austax Accountants and Financial Planners is about as far removed from the glossy bravado of big city planning offices as you can get.

But for Austax financial planner Stephen Varhegyi, working in the traditionally working-class suburbs is a refreshing return to grassroots planning and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ingleburn is located in the heart of the electorate of Werriwa, an area spanning 168 square kilometres in Sydney’s outer west.

And on the eve of the Federal election, Varhegyi says financial literacy is a barrow the politicians ought to be pushing.

“We see people coming through the door and they’ve got next to nothing in terms of assets or they have a $20,000 Clubsport Commodore they bought four years ago for $60,000, and that is their idea of investment,” Varhegyi says.

He says a joint effort on the part of industry and Government is the best way to bolster literacy levels.

Saving for retirement, or lack thereof, is another burning issue for Varhegyi. He sees the end results of it every day and challenges the two leaders to address the issue rather than leaving the onus on the people.

“Because, after all, it’s really not a thing they are interested in,” he says.

Leaving his comfortable role with a city-based boutique operation to join the group two-and-a-half years ago, Varhegyi describes his move as a “baptism of fire”, but says it gave him a good opportunity to develop himself as a planner.

“I’ve worked in the credit union industry, I have a background in Commonwealth and state super, and also spent time with the National Australia Bank and NRMA in an advisory capacity,” Varhegyi says.

However, he says he dislikes big institutions because of the battle with red tape.

The Austax business operates both as an accountancy practice and a financial planning business through an association with Count Financial. It’s multi-faceted, but that’s because it has to be.

And don’t even think about paraplanning staff — or tea ladies. In Ingleburn, they don’t exist.

“You find in a small office you have to do a lot of the things yourself — you might duck out and make a client a cup of coffee because we don’t have secretarial staff, and sometimes you do your own photocopying,” Varhegyi says.

“Having dealt with people in more affluent areas who can be a bit snobby, here there is a higher level of interaction — these people really do listen to your advice,” he says.

But is there a downside to working as a financial planner in a traditionally working-class area?

“The lack of good restaurants! There’s one restaurant we take people to, but it’s nothing really flash,” he laughs.

So does soft dollar transcend the city limits?

“I think in all the time I’ve been here I’ve had two fund managers take me out for a sandwich, and on one occasion I paid,” Varhegyi says.