Thursday, December 24, 2009

Playing with fire

An elderly bank officer told me. He spent a few years as a wealth manager of a bank. He knew the risks of the financial products and were careful in explaining the risks to his clients.

These same products were given to young bank officers to sell to their clients. The young officers did not understand the products but they were bold in recommending them to their clients. They were driven by the commission that comes with the sales and were keen to meet the sales targets.

Why are these young people allowed to play with fire? We need a better way of regulating the sale of financial products. Surely, risky and complex products cannot be allowed to be sold by inexperienced people?

Imagine someone who takes a 3 week course in medicine who is then allowed to prescribe drugs!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you complain, the adviser would say they have no sales target, and their FIs support them.
In real life, if they cannot meet the sale target, they could loss their jobs.
But you can't rebut them if their FIs upport them in their claims.

Anonymous said...

Bank officers are nothing more than sales persons now. No difference from the sales person in the shoe section of a department store. In the past, bank offer job is well respected and they are very comfortable with basic pay and well taken care by the bank until retirement. Now they need to make commissions to make ends meet and risk losing their jobs if they do not make sale. Bank also cannot be trusted any more. They have no more moral authority like before. They are like any companies out there looking for profits.

Anonymous said...

Now we finally see why older workers are so undesirable as employees.

1. They know too much.
2. They question senior management's directions.

3. They don't do exactly as they are told.
4. They remember and know where all the past mistakes (of management) are hidden.

5. They cost more as employees (higher salaries and medical costs) than younger employees

6. They know and network with their friends (some of whom may be in senior positions), thereby possibly exposing management's dirty little mistakes.

7. Contrast this with younger and less experienced employees. They just go out and do as they are told. Cheap, inexperienced and ignorant. The perfect little digits.

Anonymous said...

Aren't the insurance agents doing the same thing?
Selling is about conning, confusing and cheating the customers into buying a useless product.
The problem is despite so much has been written about insurance agents the public continue to buy from them.
FISCA can make the difference by offering a service to give objective and independent advice.

Anonymous said...

"""Now we finally see why older workers are so undesirable as employees.""

No wonder nowsaday it is very difficult for people over 45 to continue with their employment.

Most of them are working part time.

But the garment can still boost that the employment among older workers is very high because they work part time or are self-employed.

Anonymous said...

Not surprising!

Imagine some people qualified as an Actuary by just passing 10 exams without any substantial experience and signing off product actuarial certificates and valuation documents.

Imagine some people without any relevant corporate experience who became CEOs of Telecom company and Government Investment Company.

Imagine and many more..........

Parka said...

Driven by commission is just one of the reasons.

The other reason is there's nothing to lose for these guys. This fire doesn't burn. Even if it does burn, it burns the company and not them (under Company Law).

Worst case scenario is losing their jobs.

Anonymous said...

Using an insurance agents is like walking into a heart clinic manned by a plumber who advises on drainage system.
All insurance agents are at best salesmen and women. They are not even qualified to advise on insurance let alone on investment. It is like putting a thief in charge of your bank account. Is it a wonder they are mdrt or tot agents?

Anonymous said...

""These same products were given to young bank officers to sell to their clients. The young officers did not understand the products but they were bold in recommending them to their clients. They were driven by the commission that comes with the sales and were keen to meet the sales targets."""

They are bold in selling these products because they have blind trust in the people higher up. They thought since their higher levels people ask them to sell, and set a target for them, the products must be good. It is their duty to push the products to make their superiors happy.

Who is to be blame??

Anonymous said...

If these agents have CONscience and qualified they would think twice before recommnending them to the old folks.Commission blinded them and they threw ethics out of the windows.

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