just to share another recent email query:
dear patrick,
in your post, 9th afa congress on july 29th, you listed 28 member companies under the association of financial advisers, singapore. does this mean that all 28 member companies are licensed independent financial advisers?
thank you.
ms tan
my comments:
to recap, these are the 28 member companies under the afa as mentioned by ms tan in my blog of july 29th, 2010:
currently, we have a total of 28 member companies comprising of 25 ordinary members and 3 associate members.
our ordinary members in random order:
1. convergys benefits pte ltd
2. cornerstone planners pte ltd
3. daglen pte ltd
4. elpis financial pte ltd
5. financial alliance pte ltd
6. fin-exis advisory pte ltd
7. first principal financial pte ltd
8. foundation life planners pte ltd
9. frontier wealth management pte ltd
10. global millennium financial services pte ltd
11. gs wealth pte ltd
12. ipac financial planning singapore pte ltd
13. ipg financial services pte ltd
14. ipp financial advisers pte ltd
15. jpara solutions pte ltd
16. life planning associates pte ltd
17. maa financial planners pte ltd
18. metropolitan broking services pte ltd
19. new independent pte ltd
20. professional investment advisory services pte ltd
21. promiseland independent pte ltd
22. ray alliance financial advisers pte ltd
23. singcapital pte ltd
24. the henley group pte ltd
25. wynnes financial advisers pte ltd
and our associate members:
1. pan resources pte ltd
2. pana harrison (asia) pte ltd
3. phillip securities pte ltd
the simple answer is no, not every member company under the afa are licensed independent financial advisers.
that is why in the financial industry, it can be pretty confusing to the consumer on who is who, exempt or non-exempt fa, licensed or non-licensed fa? ifa or non-ifa? and the complexity is compounded with varying titles adopted by financial advisers like financial consultant, wealth consultant, financial services consultant, wealth manager, wealth planner, financial planner, and so on and so forth.
and take for example, a licensed financial adviser may not necessarily be an independent financial adviser although every single ifa have to apply and obtain a license from the monetary authority of singapore which is valid for a maximum period of 3 years. thereafter, a fresh application has to be submitted to the monetary authority of singapore for vetting and approval of a license.
but no worries though. just adopt this as a general guide, in determining whether your financial adviser is an ifa or non-ifa, you just have to go through these simple steps:
first, ask your financial adviser and the answer should be a relatively straightforward one being yes, i'm an independent financial adviser or no, i'm not an independent financial adviser. do not accept answers like my advise is independent, my company is operating independently of our parent company, etc. if the answer is affirmative;
next, ask what is the basis of advice/recommendation/s? if it is just reasonable basis, then the person that u have engaged is definitely not an independent financial adviser because an ifa must provide fair and objective basis in his dealings with u.
and last but not least, request that all documentations must confirm his/her standing as an independent financial adviser. |
