A little Background Information About My Past so you can better understand who am I, and who are you potentially gonna work with for the rest of your life.
My dad passed away when I was 10 years old in an unforeseen Car Accident.
Being brought up in a family where, both my parents were not financially educated, my family and I were not prepared for this circumstance at all. As a result, we lost our home, constantly found ourselves moving from one flat to another, long story cut short, it took my family more than 15 years to overcome this ONE single misfortune. In this whole teenage to adulthood journey, I moved a total of 4 times. Downgrading our family lifestyle from a 5-rm HDB flat to even a single room rental flat. Experienced changing school, meeting 3 different step-fathers and no sense of belonging everywhere I go.
Hence, as someone who have experience losing the sole breadwinner in the family, as someone who have to constantly worry about money of daily meals, school fees, and surviving, I sincerely know what it is like to experience the consequence of improper or inadequate financial planning.
In conclusion, I took this life experience into my own hands that creates this burning desire for me to help more people to be Financially educated and to be financially able to at least have a CHOICE to make a decision for a better life ahead.
With that, I choose to join the Financial Advisory Industry so that I can impact lives in my small little great ways that at the same time, have the right license and right knowledge and methods to do so as representative in a regulated industry by MAS.
This can provide my clients, and the people that I crossed path with that I am someone who is license to provide proper advisory to guide you into making the most informed decision to change your life to be a better one.
Rest Assured, that with my personal life experience, this is one reason why I do not believe in transactional relationship( which means just forcing people to buy products/do business with me).
WHAT KIND OF AGENT AM I STRIVING TO BECOME?
My Personal experience of agents that service me until Today.
Personally, I have two agents from two different company.
I got my very 1st agent/policy, when I was in Secondary school as I was a National Rock-Climber. Hence, my sports was considered high-risk and is prone to injury. Thus, I needed to get myself insured. So as a young teenager, i didn't know much about financial planning back then, do not know where can I find proper advisory, so I just went online to search for one. An agent contacted me shortly and met me downstair my house coffee shop and proposed 2 accidental injury policy for me to choose.
He just summarised the cost difference between the two product and told me to choose whichever is the most comfortable for me, so I did. As I did not know what kind of questions to ask, since I do not know what I do not know right? With that, I got my 1st policy. So since then until now, this agent has never once, do a review with me, educate me in financial planning even as I grew older, never once wish me happy birthday on my birthday, nor text and follow up with me yearly to check in on me.
When I joined this industry, out of curiosity, I asked him, Why haven't he do the above mentioned service to me before? He replied that it was just personal practice and he was not just treating me this way, it was to all of his clients. But he also said that, he will however, when contacted, he will respond.
Thus, now that I'm in this industry, I learned to slowly grow to become someone who I wanted to be treated like, not to be someone who is like my own advisor since I didn't like to be treated that way.
In summary, the Advisor that I am striving and learning to become, is someone who you can talk to as a friend. Someone who (1) makes people feel comfortable talking to in and out of work related to my profession. (2) Someone who is accountable and Responsible as to be able to be there when I need help or advice, (3) someone who offers transparency to share all pros and cons that I need to allow me to make informed decisions. Lastly, Someone who is (4) humble and constantly seek for growth in this imperfect world.
This is the kind of advisor I'm putting conscious awareness to work to become. I'm not perfect and I will never be because there is no way I can satisfy everyone in my life or in my business. What I can do within my means and moral ethics, I will to my best ability. I think a product should never be sold, but to be properly prescribe.
