In recent times, there have been a sudden increase in number of financial institutions that provide financial advice. I am not just referring to the quantity but the type of financial institutions that have increased. Here is a summary. If I am missed out any, feel free to add to the comment box below. Bancassurance. This refers to banks selling insurance. Normally banks only sell insurance … [Read more...]
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These articles are about ethics and market conduct of financial advisers
Why all my clients are angels from heaven?
My wife asked me how long I’ve been doing financial planning. I told her it is coming to 11 years. Goodness, 11 years! This is my longest job! Over the 11 years, I have seen clients from all walks of life. Some clients are angels from heaven while some clients are from hell. But with experience comes wisdom in choosing my clients so that I will avoid accidently getting clients from hell. As a … [Read more...]
A client who spent $27,000 a year on insurances
There was an article Does it pay to stick to a big name in insurance? (Straits Times 30 Dec 2016) which asked the question whether should consumers buy from larger insurance companies in hope of getting better returns. I felt that the question is a wrong question. Insurance is meant to protect and not meant as an investment. Unfortunately, majority of the policies sold were not meant to protect … [Read more...]
Complains against banks & life insurers surged; how to avoid becoming a victim
Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre Ltd or FiDREC for short has reported an increase in complains against financial institutions. Complains against banks were up by a whopping 48%; for life insurers, the complains were up by 31%. Complains against licensed financial advisory firms and insurance intermediaries was down slightly by 5%. Source: FiDREC annual report 2015/2016 and FiDREC … [Read more...]
My adventure with FinTech, Robo-Adviser and story
Recently MAS announces that it will allow full suite of life insurance products to be offered online without advice. Moreover, regulations will be updated to include robo-advisers (Source: MAS opens door to full suite of life products online, and much more in fintech). Just last Sunday, the Straits Times announced that the launched of an insurance ‘robo-adviser’ which later I found out was not … [Read more...]
Swiss Cheese Model approach to financial advice
I was at expo the other day looking to buy household appliances when I discovered that the number of insurance and financial adviser salespersons were more than household appliances salespersons! These agents tried to sell me all sort of products from saving plans to Aviva Mycare. I survived the ordeal as I told everyone who approached me that I am a financial adviser. My wife got harassed … [Read more...]
The Commando Financial Adviser – fast closing and fast disappearing act
A lady came to my office to find out more about the financial planning service I offer. She shared with me her ordeal with her agent and gave me the full go-ahead to share her story on this blog. She said she bought the AIA Family First Protect in November 2015. But she said she has little idea of what it was. The agent was also highly pressurizing and she was pressured to sign up for the … [Read more...]
Swiber Holdings defaulted bonds, a commentary on how the system works
The Swiber Holdings is another lemon product sold to Accredited Investors. Here is another article on lemons. As everybody already know by now that Swiber Holdings bonds have defaulted. It seems a lot of people bought its bonds. Who are these individuals? These individuals are rich people known as ‘accredited investors’. According to the Straits Times report, “Swiber saga DBS says bond sales … [Read more...]
MAS found lapses in the sales of financial products
Supervisors oversight is not up to mark in a number of FA firms. I attended the 15th Annual Conference of the Association of Financial Advisers (Singapore). The keynote address was Ms Merlyn Ee, Executive Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore. According to her: Mystery shopper exercises found some financial advisers did not ask for all information on the financial situation of … [Read more...]
Problems when UK banned commissions
UK banned financial advisers from taking commissions from 31 December 2012. After more than 3 years, the regulator has to revisit the changes made because of the following problems: First problem: The supply of UK advisers dropped The supply of UK advisers dropped from slightly above 40,000 in 2011 to slightly above 30,000 in October 2014. This means the supply of financial advisers decreased. … [Read more...]
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