I read with interest in a recent article from Sunday Times on 11 May 2014 - “Beauty quests that end in tears”[1] and “The dark side to the pursuit of perfection”[2]. The articles were on the obsession with plastic surgery in South Korea and how a number of Singaporeans who traveled to the country only to come back with a botched face.
As I read those articles, I thought I was reading about the sad state of affairs in Singapore relating to the financial advisory! Here are some similarities between botched plastic surgery and botched financial plan:
| On Botched plastic surgery (quotations based on the above ST articles) | On Singapore's botched financial industry |
|---|---|
| "Double eyelid surgery here, for instance, usually costs $6,000. In Korea, it can be done for $3,000." | On the surface, the consultation fee for financial advice $0. But in reality it actually cost your entire HDB flat. |
| "But those who fly over should keep some things in mind - such as the hard-sell tactics." | According to Monetary Authority of Singapores mystery shoppers survey, financial advisers are famous for hard selling products that are not suitable. |
| "Sometimes I ask patients about the consultation they had, and they tell me things like: 'There was no discussion because he couldn't speak English, so I just left it to him'." | There is also a language barrier between a typical financial adviser and the prospect. The prospect only wants to get free gifts while the financial adviser is thinking about how much commission he can earn. |
| "The Korean doctor removed fat from her abdomen and transferred it to her forehead, without her permission." | The financial adviser transfers the clients wealth to himself without permission by getting clients into a loan unknowingly. |
| "Fixing a botched [plastic surgery] procedure can be more costly than the original operation. " "And not everything can be fixed. They come to us and we have to tell them the damage is permanent" | Majority of the botched financial plan (or lack of it) cannot be fixed (more of this later). |
[1] http://yourhealth.asiaone.com/content/beauty-quests-end-tears
[2] http://yourhealth.asiaone.com/content/dark-side-pursuit-perfection
Like this article? Subscribe to my newsletter below for more.
What do you think? Leave a comment.