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Peter Combs

I grew up in Victoria and spent my early years exploring life close to home, but my love for travel soon took me around Australia. I found a special connection with Darwin for a few years, and later, after the birth of my daughter, my family and I made the move to Hobart.

It was in Hobart that my journey in finance began. I started out as a Finance & Insurance Manager at a car yard, which gave me a solid foundation, and eventually transitioned into personal lending. That path led me to a role as a Home Finance Specialist in banking, where I discovered how much I enjoy helping people navigate their own finance journeys — whether it’s buying a first home or planning their next move.

Even while living in Hobart, Cairns had always captured our hearts. From the tropical climate to the Great Barrier Reef, Port Douglas, and lush rainforests, every visit left us dreaming of one day calling it home. After careful planning, we finally took the leap and sold our home to make that dream a reality. Now, living in Cairns, we’re embracing the tropical lifestyle we’d always imagined — and loving every minute of it.

our-team

0413 321 513

136 Mulgrave Road, Cairns, QLD 4870

What Our Clients Have To Say

Morene Rumble helped my partner and I get our finances in order with a personal loan to start saving for a house. I would highly recommend Morene to everyone, she’s very easy to talk to, friendly and makes you feel very comfortable with any situation.

Coryn Drane, Bentley Park

We have been using John since we bought our first house in 2008 and taken sound advice from him in all our finance dealing ever since; which has included, opening a business, building our second house and now purchasing an investment property. We trust the advice given to us and not understanding the finance world hugely rely on the knowledge given to us in making decisions. We thank Verena very much with her patience throughout each deal and her simple way of explaining the overwhelming fluff that the banks put on paper. Johns stickmen and drawings helped us immensely 🙂 We really feel like we have actually made some good friends when dealing with Astute.

Scott, Cairns

We were recommended from friends to see Fei Chan to discuss buying investment property. He was very polite, friendly, sincere and honest. But most importantly, he has made it clearer for us on how to build our property portfolio for a better future. For that, I too highly recommend his service to others.

David Lo, Cairns

John and the team looked after us on many fronts from mortgage, superannuation and even life insurance. We even compared rates on our new vehicle lease and Astute came through better than any bank.

These guys definitely have the XFactor

Colin Gilbert, Cairns

My husband and I went to Astute today, firstly met with Shae at the front reception and had a chat with her. It was lovely to chat with such a friendly happy lady who made us feel welcome.

We went upstairs and met with John Watts for some financial advice. We have known John Watts for over 10 years now, and truly admire his honesty and ‘no beating around the bush business eiquette’. We would highly recommend anyone requiring financial advice and/or a financial bank loan to not look any further than that of the ASTUTE team. J Thanks Astute….

Kymmie Corbell, Cairns

Being newbies to town & the housing market, it was reassuring to have the guidance of Liam from Astute. We felt like one of his family by the extent of his efforts. His honesty, calming persona, knowledge & ability to explain the scary & unknown house buying process in our ‘speak’ was invaluable. Not to mention the fantastic custom home loan we have secured. I would highly recommend, and already have recommended, his services. Thank you again Liam and the Astute Team.

Raine and Scott, Cairns

I was very impressed with the quality of service and support. Jasmin really went beyond to ensure my equipment loan went as smooth and quickly as possible which took a great deal of stress out of setting up my new business. I would highly recommend Astute’s EF team Donnie, Morene and Jasmin for any car or equipment loans.

Matthew, Edmonton