Produced By: Ensombl
Financial advice often centers on numbers, spreadsheets, and returns on investment. Yet, at its core, it is about helping people lead fulfilling lives, harnessing the potential of their financial resources for security and growth, all while adhering to the highest ethical and professional standards. In this article—adapted from a podcast discussion between host James Wrigley and seasoned financial advisor Fran Hughes—we explore the evolving nature of financial advice, the concept of mini-retirements, and the essential role that professionalism and ethics play in guiding clients through their life journeys.
Throughout their conversation, James and Fran underscore that financial advice is not just about wealth accumulation; it is about empowering clients to shape the lives they desire. Their discussion highlights the importance of embracing new ways of thinking about retirement—particularly the idea of periodic mini-retirements—and underscores the ethical obligations that financial professionals must uphold. These insights serve as a valuable guide for advisors and clients alike, illuminating a holistic approach to wealth management that blends technical proficiency with empathy, transparency, and integrity.
Fran Hughes’s path to becoming a financial advisor is a testament to how deeply personal experiences can lay the groundwork for professional passion. Fran recounts that her very first “clients” were her parents, who owned a small deli and struggled to make ends meet. Observing her mother juggling childcare and her father working tirelessly in the shop, Fran—only fourteen at the time—brought out a simple spreadsheet to figure out the family’s cash flow, income, and expenses.
Much to her parents’ relief, those rudimentary calculations paved the way for a workable plan. Within 30 days, the family's finances began to stabilize, and within a year, they were on a much firmer footing. Looking back, Fran views this experience as the catalyst for her future career. It taught her that financial advice is about more than bank balances—it is about creating clarity, reducing stress, and enabling people to live meaningful lives.
Fran’s professional journey would span decades, guiding her through multiple business ventures that she both built and sold. Along the way, she earned industry recognition, including a spot on the Financial Standard’s list of top 50 most influential financial advisors. In conversation with James Wrigley—another respected figure in the financial planning industry with a thriving podcast, social media presence, and a passion for helping everyday Australians—Fran reflects on how the field has evolved, the ways in which she has grown, and what she foresees for the future of financial advice.
Fran began her career in an era before Australia’s compulsory superannuation system fully matured and before online educational content or social media were mainstays of everyday life. Early in her professional life, she relied on the legacy pillars of the industry—insurance sales, endowment policies, and more traditional retirement products. Over time, she witnessed the explosion of choice for consumers, from self-managed super funds to specialized financial strategies designed to address complex family and business circumstances.
According to Fran, the greatest shift in financial advice has not simply been the proliferation of technical products but an ever-increasing emphasis on client-centricity. Advisors have had to learn how to become better listeners, communicators, and strategists. Ethical practices—always important—have emerged as the central pillar of client-advisor relationships, especially following industry reviews and regulatory changes in Australia that have increased the scrutiny on advisor conduct. This enhanced focus on ethics manifests in stricter rules around commissions, transparency in fee structures, and elevated standards in how advisors must act in their clients’ best interests.
James Wrigley underscores that the role of a financial professional has steadily moved beyond mere number crunching. Clients today demand an ethical partner in their financial journey, someone who upholds professional standards and helps them navigate through myriad choices. Indeed, both James and Fran emphasize that with fewer advisors now registered in Australia, the responsibility grows ever larger for existing professionals to maintain the highest ethical standards and client-first approaches.
One of the more striking aspects of Fran’s journey is her repeated pattern of building a financial advisory business, growing it to maturity, and then selling it—only to return to the profession with fresh insights and renewed enthusiasm. While many might exit the industry entirely upon selling a firm, Fran has chosen each time to re-enter, citing her deep love of the work and her unwavering commitment to helping people.
She explains that the first sale of her advisory business coincided with a particular life stage. As her children grew older, she felt it was time not only to shift gears but also to walk the walk of retirement that she had long recommended to clients. Instead of continuing to run the business, she used that juncture to experience a break—a “mini-retirement”—and recalibrate her own goals.
When she returned to the profession, Fran brought with her the lessons learned from the first venture, enabling her to build a new business more efficiently. Distilling her mistakes into best practices, she realized that careful planning around succession, client base, and operations could compress 14 years’ worth of learning into five. She reiterates that entrepreneurship in financial planning demands consistent refinement of business models, a deepening of ethical awareness, and a willingness to adapt the service offering as client needs evolve.
A cornerstone of Fran’s approach to financial planning—and her personal life—is the idea of mini-retirements: extended breaks from traditional work patterns that allow one to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor without waiting until the conventional retirement age. She has taken three such sabbaticals: one in her 30s, another in her 40s, and now her current one in her 50s. These sabbaticals were not random escapes from reality; they were planned events, underpinned by robust financial strategies that ensured her income and long-term wealth would not be compromised.
Many clients struggle with the notion of leaving work, even temporarily. Questions loom: How will my finances hold up? Will my career stagnate? Fran’s answer is to incorporate mini-retirements into one’s broader financial plan, using a disciplined approach to saving and investing. This method reflects one of the profession’s key ethical responsibilities: helping clients align their finances with their genuine life goals, not the other way around.
James Wrigley noted that taking mini-retirements can be especially beneficial when children are still young, offering families the chance to create lasting memories. Indeed, Fran cites examples of her clients who saved diligently so that they could live in Italy for a year, or travel around Australia with their kids. Such experiences enriched these families’ lives in immeasurable ways—without derailing their long-term financial security.
The mini-retirement model acknowledges that there is more to retirement than building wealth for the latter part of life. It recognizes that individuals can benefit profoundly from periodic breaks, from exploring new horizons and building stronger relationships in the present. By weaving these breaks into a comprehensive financial plan, advisors can honor their duty to serve their clients’ best interests—helping them achieve not just a secure future, but a rewarding present.
Throughout their conversation, James and Fran reiterate the importance of professionalism and ethics. For Fran, the hallmark of ethical financial advice is taking a genuine interest in clients’ lives and aspirations, rather than pursuing a one-size-fits-all strategy or focusing solely on product sales. Ethical advisors avoid conflicts of interest, maintain transparency in their dealings, and emphasize the client’s best interest—principles that form the backbone of many industry codes of conduct.
One of the most practical elements Fran shares during the podcast is her four-step approach to structuring retirement or extended time away from full-time work. These steps work seamlessly with standard retirement planning, giving individuals a framework that fosters ongoing purpose and engagement:
Fran’s enthusiasm for mini-retirements and purposeful planning is not mere theory; it is grounded in client success stories. One such example involves a couple, Claire and David, who longed to live in Italy for 12 months. With a young daughter approaching school age, they had a small window of opportunity for this life-changing adventure. Fran helped them build a clear savings and investment roadmap, ensuring that their absence from work for that year would not erode their longer-term financial security. When they returned, they brought back invaluable memories and a fresh perspective, without a detrimental effect on their retirement funds or future earning potential.
In another scenario, Fran recalls a family that wanted to tour Australia in a caravan for an entire year. Rather than dismiss the idea as financially unwise, Fran helped them identify their cash flow requirements, reduce expenses, and structure their finances in a way that would accommodate the break. This approach demanded a keen ethical commitment: rather than forcibly steering clients toward maximum investment returns, she honored their desire for a once-in-a-lifetime family experience.
These examples remind us that financial advice extends into life design. The advisor’s task is to show people how to align their funds with the life they wish to live, always ensuring the plan is transparent, robust, and ethical.
When asked about the next steps in her career, Fran reveals a vision for an evolving form of financial advice that she terms “coaching for family stewards.” Her focus will likely move beyond hands-on portfolio management toward a more holistic coaching role, guiding families with significant assets who are concerned about intergenerational wealth transfer. In this model, the advisor acts as a facilitator and mentor, helping families articulate values, clarify succession plans, and ensure that ethical, equitable distributions are in place for future generations.
Ethically, this shift places emphasis on transparency, fairness, and long-term thinking. Family stewardship often involves complex emotional and interpersonal dynamics, where parents, children, and sometimes grandchildren have different interests and expectations. A truly ethical advisor understands how crucial it is to navigate such situations with empathy, impartiality, and a profound sense of responsibility.
Moreover, this future-oriented perspective dovetails with the changes in the broader financial planning profession. Regulators and the public alike demand that advisors demonstrate rigorous professional standards—educational requirements, a higher bar for ethical conduct, and a commitment to ongoing learning. This environment creates opportunities for advisors to specialize as coaches, facilitators, or consultants, putting the family’s or individual’s best interest squarely at the center of the relationship.
Fran Hughes and James Wrigley’s dialogue offers a refreshing look at financial advice as a catalyst for more fulfilling lifestyles, rather than a narrow pursuit of wealth accumulation. Their discussion underscores that professionalism and ethics are the bedrock of this client-centric approach. By aligning technical expertise with a genuine interest in clients’ aspirations, advisors can deliver advice that is transparent, tailored, and transformative.
In an era when fewer advisors are available to serve a growing pool of clients, the call for top-tier professionalism has never been clearer. Advisors must operate with integrity, ensuring that every recommendation serves clients’ best interests, honors their values, and accommodates their personal and familial dreams. Similarly, clients are encouraged to reflect deeply on what they truly want out of life—be it extended travel, a mini-retirement to reset priorities, or a purposeful shift into volunteer or community work.
Fran’s experiences illustrate that retirement need not be postponed until one’s 60s or 70s. Taking structured sabbaticals or mini-retirements throughout life can be financially achievable, deeply enriching, and altogether life-changing. With the right professional guidance—grounded in ethics, empathy, and expertise—individuals can design a life plan that includes both prudent investments for the future and space for present-day experiences.
Finally, the emphasis on family stewardship points to a broader evolution in the industry: a move beyond advice that merely secures personal wealth to advice that addresses family legacy, intergenerational wealth transfers, and philanthropic goals. This approach reflects the highest ideals of the profession: that wealth management, done ethically, can uplift not only individuals but entire families and communities.
As Fran Hughes steps into yet another mini-retirement, pursuing speaking engagements, writing her book, and exploring new ways to help families, she leads by example—demonstrating that it is entirely possible to prioritize learning, community, and family while remaining financially secure. For James Wrigley and countless others in the industry, her career offers valuable lessons on innovation, resilience, and dedication to serving clients ethically.
In summation, the modern retirement is not just about maximizing superannuation and waiting for the day you get the proverbial gold watch. It is an evolving concept that can incorporate periodic breaks, integrated family planning, and a strong ethical foundation that places clients’ wellbeing above all else. Advisors, in their commitment to professional excellence and moral responsibility, hold the power to guide clients toward these fulfilling paths. By harnessing tools such as mini-retirements, comprehensive learning, and a focus on health and family, professionals and clients alike can redefine the meaning and practice of financial well-being—and, in so doing, shape richer, more resonant life stories.
Accreditation Points Allocation:
0.10 Technical Competence
0.10 Client Care and Practice
0.10 Regulatory Compliance and Consumer Protection
0.10 Professionalism and Ethics
0.40 Total CPD Points