My Why
The Story
Why I joined the financial industry
Like anyone else, the transition from a full-time student into the working world caused a shift in mindset and focus. I was thinking about what to do with all those money.
Unfortunately, what they didn't teach in school was financial literacy. And I was utterly lost at what to do with my finances. And where to start.
It was 2015, and I was incredibly thankful for the progress of blogs, podcasts and the increased conversation on financial literacy. Topics on budgeting, cash flow, insurance and investments were invaluable. Blogs such as mrmoneymustache, Dollar and Sense, Seedly and cheerful.egg and podcasts such as Radical Personal Finance made a whole shift in my world when I think about finances moving forward.
However, the challenge was, making it happen.
The thing is, you don't know what you don't know. And having jumped into the deep end, losing 50% of my investment. I knew I couldn't go on this financial journey alone, and I needed to leverage someone who:
1) is an expert in personal finance
2) knows the shortcuts to it
3) can check on my blind spots
4) can help align my finances and life goals
However, the challenge was that the financial advisory industry compensation structure is based on commissions compared to consultations and giving good advice.
Thus, my journey to finding a good and decent financial advisor was like going on an adventure, finding a rare Pokémon in the concrete jungle of the Central Business District area in Singapore.
And low and behold, 90% of the advisors I met weren't interested in giving advice but just pitching products and going back to their scripts and sales concepts.
The need for financial giving actual advice was crucial, but there was none.
That's where I concluded that the industry needed change. And the change was only possible with the individual where we focus on holistic financial planning.
