Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Is it necessary to have an adviser?

Friday, February 08, 2008

Is it necessary to have an adviser?

Dear Mr. Tan,
Is it necessary for me to have an adviser? Can I buy the right product on my own?

REPLY
You have two options:

1. Find a good and trustworthy adviser.
2. Be your own adviser, ie "Do-it-yourself".

If you choose to be your own adviser, you need to be educated about the investment and insurance market. You can read the FAQs in my website and the articles from Dr. Money.

You can choose the simple products, such as:
1. Term insurance
2. Diversified, low cost funds
3. Personal accident insurance

Here are some useful links:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/
http://www.tankinlian.com/drmoney/
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/savings.html
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/choice.html

You can get an insurance quotation on your own, by calling the insurance company directly.
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/termd.html
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/motord.html

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: You need specialised knowledge to DIY.
Example; if you have been a fund manager your area of expertise is investment. You know investing more than the agents. But when it comes to other areas you will be hopeless and you need an adviser.
Generally,people need advisers to help. An adviser is someone who has specialised knowledge of a subject.
This is the most difficult to identify. An insurance agent has no specialised knowledge at all. He is given a 3 month course to know how to sell products to you. You cannot trust your finances in the hands of this type of people. A good competent adviser is one who has tertiary knowledge of the subject plus years of expereince, honest and ethical.; February 08, 2008 11:59 AM
Anonymous said...: Can understand your dilemma. DIY requires knowledge of the subject;engaging an adviser may end up engaging a insurance salesman. Between the two options DIY is preferable. But before you do that read up to get some basic knowledge. At least if it goes wrong it won't be much.If you get an insurance agent it is doomed from the start because you are not going to get anywhere near where you are going. Maybe you will be lost.You will be left wondering what hits you.
Another recommendation is to come here, Mr. Tan's blog, and get morsels of info on what you wish to know. Maybe you write directly to Mr. Tan's if he doesn't mind, for free.
Be warned, never, never engage your adviser from the roadside , malls or mrt because you will never get one. You can get only salesmen and women whose only interest is to sell and make money out of you.; February 09, 2008 4:25 PM
Anonymous said...: If you are worried about engaging a wrong adviser, visit www.fpas.org.sg to find out more .The web provides all the names of advisers who have attained and certified as competent in financial planning.Besides competency, the advisers have to have experience,continuing education and and abide by the code of ethics.
You can register as consumer to gain access to information.; February 10, 2008 6:04 PM
Anonymous said...: Well, on one hand you need someone's expertise in handling finances and planning, on the other hand, it is your imperative to understand and learn as this is important.
Consulting financial matters with finacial advisors is a good start towards better money management.
I must say that with today's information pervasiveness, one can learn such subject knowledge much easier that decades ago.; February 10, 2008 10:54 PM