Quora Answer: How is the Singaporean Mindset towards Financial Advisors?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “How is the Singaporean mindset towards financial advisors?”

That really depends on their relationship with wealth, and background.  This is also dependent on prior experience with financial advisors.  There are thousands of financial advisors in Singapore, as a major finance hub.  There is a considerably smaller number who are actually competent in expansive aspects of the industry, such as structuring policies, addressing underwriting concerns, and fund management.

Professionals, and the relatively wealthy, are very demanding, and look for a good financial advisor just as they look for good bankers and accountants.  This goes beyond merely selling traditional insurance plans, but also involves policy portfolio management.

As the population becomes more financially educated, there will be greater demands on financial advisors, and greater expectations in levels of service.  The wealthier a person is, the greater their concern is with regards wealth preservation.  As medical costs increase, there is a greater awareness of the role of health, and whole life plans.

It is segments of the younger generation, or the very old, or those who have an estranged relationship with wealth who shun financial advisors.  Another group of Singaporeans who do not believe in financial advisory would be the religious conservatives of a certain doctrine, who consider insurance, and fund management, in general, to be a form of usury.