Financial Planning Association Singapore - May 2020 Magazine Edition

MAY 2020

FINANCIAL PLANNING

18 Singapore Budget 2020 12 Sustainable Investing The New Lens 6 Having a Robust Financial Plan

Contents

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3 4 5 6 8 10 12 14 18 23 24 26 28 30 32 33 34 35

President's Message Chief Editor's Message

EDITORIAL BOARD CHAIR Ms Lisa Lee, CFP®

CFP 50th Anniversary

CHIEF EDITOR Ms Yash Mishra, CFP®

FPSB Growth 2019 Having A Robust Financial Plan What Are Cryptocurrencies And Why It Matters Does Gold Have A Place In Your Clients’ Financial Portfolio?

Sustainable Investing — ­­ The New Lens The Importance of Systematic Asset Allocation and Diversification Singapore Budget 2020: How does it impact financial planning Book Review : Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo

MEMBERS / CONTRIBUTORS Ms Joanna Leng, CFP® Ms Yash Mishra, CFP® Mr Ron Miura, CFP® Mr Alfred Chia, CFP® Ms Kee Siew Poh, CFP® Ms Irene Yee, CFP® Mr Tan Hwee Heng, CFP® Mr John Sim, CFP® Mr Lawrence Chow, CFP® Mr Calvin Bok, CFP® Mr Adrian Tong, CFP® GUEST WRITER Ms Lorna Tan Head of Financial Planning Consumer Banking Group DBS Bank FPAS SECRETARIAT Production of the Magazine.

Please email admin@fpas.org.sg for advertisement / article contribution.

FPAS' VISION

Who will pay my medical bills Estate Planning For The Singapore Property Owner Turning Irregular Payment Sums To Something Regular-How I Keep My Sanity Millennial Financial Planning

FPAS envisions that all Singaporeans have access to responsible and appropriate financial planning advice by raising the professionalism in the industry through education and shared code of ethics.

FPAS also provides a range of services to consumers including:

Lo Hei Luncheon 2020

• Educate and inform the public of the need for objective professional advice in making secure financial decisions.

中国大陆 – 新加坡跨境认真考试顺利结束!

Code Of Ethics Workshop For Ngee Ann Poly

• Ensure sufficient professional and ethical standards to maintain the confidence and trust of consumers.

• Provide education, training and information to our members to enhance their skills in providing holistic and objective financial advice.

Upcoming Events Financial Planner Awards 2020 (FPA 2020)

• Develop and maintain high ethical standards within the CFP professionals.

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Judging Panel

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Finalists (Aspiring Category)

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Finalists (Experience Category)

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Mentor Award & Student Category Finalists

• Represents the industry and CFP professionals to continue to raise the professionalism of the industry and to provide high quality financial advice to Singaporeans.

Financial Planning Association of Singapore (UEN: S99SS0008L) 112 Robinson Road #07-02, Singapore 068902 Tel: (65) 6372 1030 Fax: (65) 6372 0121 Email: admin@fpas.org.sg Website: www.fpas.org.sg | www.FPA.sg

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Singapore Resilience & Solidarity Budget

CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and are certification marks owned outside the U.S.

by Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. Financial Planning Association of Singapore is the marks licensing authority for the CFP marks in Singapore, through agreement with FPSB. AFPCM , AWPCM, ASSOCIATE FINANCIAL PLANNER and ASSOCIATE WEALTH PLANNER are registered certification marks of the Financial Planning Association of Singapore. MCI (P) 013/01/2020

President’s Message

Alfred Chia, CFP®

This is going to be an unforgettable year for many due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

It had created fear, panic, serious financial disruption and even death. The disease doesn’t discriminate nationality as it spread globally and wreaking havoc. In times of economic crisis, many businesses will be affected which will lead to job loss. Many people will be struggling with financial crisis. We are privileged where NTUC partner with us to run complimentary financial planning workshops for union members. We valued such opportunities to contribute back to the society in such uncertain time. I hope more of our members will step forward and join us to support such good cause.

Congratulations to all the finalists! On behalf of FPAS, I would like to extend our gratitude to the esteemed panel of judges who have contributed their precious times and tirelessly reviewed the submissions and interviews the finalists! I also like to commend the efforts of the Secretariat led by Samantha in organizing FPA2020! In view of the COVID-19 situation, the awards recognition had been postponed to 21st August 2020.

Tough times don’t last but Tough People Do! In fact, tough times also bring out the greatest of humanity, love, compassion, and care for each other. The dedication of frontline personnel from cleaners to healthcare professionals win over the respect and gratitude of a Nation! The spirit of SGUnited will truly make this an unforgettable year!

Chief Editor’s Message

Yash Mishra, CFP®

Work, Wellbeing, Wealth in the backdrop of a Global Pandemic – Covid 19 and financial market turbulence - the sangfroid mantra of the 21st century seems currently on halt and is rapidly being recalibrated. Technology helps tremendously to set up remote work locations. Given the rapidly evolving contagion of Covid – 19 global pandemic.

The ageing of populations worldwide has had national governments rethink their economic policies to stave of economic decline. The underlying principles are sound – extend the working life of the healthier and long lived individuals, exercise prudence and reduce the burden on fiscal and social support systems.

There is also the challenge of rising a medical costs. Rising longevity brings with it the challenge of getting good medical care in your golden years. We address this in the article – who will pay your medical bills”.

Singapore faces challenges on each of these fronts – economic growth can be limited by a small population size and talent pool.

It needs to find ways to care for an increasing pool of low income elderly. This year’s budget takes a look at all the measures taken in "Singapore Budget 2020".

The fundamental issues we need to address as practitioners and help clients understand are what causes over consumption and hinders people from saving? Beyond the policy makers, we as individuals need to take responsibility for retirement financing. To help you understand the issues we take a longterm view with the need for a “Robust Financial Plan". We give you an insight into the estate planning aspect of Singapore property.

Creating robust investment portfolios in extremely volatile markets requires understanding and we discuss that in the article “Systematic Asset Allocation and Diversification “into what are some of the essential and common characteristics of investment portfolios. We also give insights into how “How Gold has been traditionally used as hedge in investment portfolios in “Gold & its place in investment portfolios’. As a global trend there is increasing focus on climate, responsible consumption, environment, food security, inclusion and other Sustainable development goals as laid out by United Nations. We try and understand the trend in the article “Sustainable Investing — The New Lens” Our Book Review Section, picks on the Nobel prize winner for Economics 2019, Dr Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo title “Poor Economics” that raises our awareness of the economic models for the bottom of the pyramid as income inequality rises.

Meanwhile, don’t succumb to panic, stay informed on the global pandemic and financial market turbulence and as the coordinated containment and monetary and fiscal measures work their way through the system, this storm shall pass.

To the spirit of human resilience!

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This is also our 3rd year in organizing Financial Planner Awards 2020. Such Awards encourage and recognize Financial Practitioners to produce quality financial planning reports. We have received more entries than previous year with higher standards. They are from the Banking, Insurance, Financial Advisory firms and tertiary students.

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Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB) reported another year of growth for the global CFP certification program in 2019, as the total number of CFP professionals worldwide rose to 188,104. This reflect the growing demand of quality and professional financial advisory services as a global trend.

A NIGHT 50 YEARS IN THE MAKING

Date: 12 December 2019​​​​​ Venue: Chicago

On December 12, 1969, 13 men with backgrounds in the retail sale of insurance and mutual funds gathered for an inaugural meeting in a hotel outside Chicago’s O’Hare airport. The attendees were increasingly aware that investment products alone could not fully address the needs of their clients. They sought a new way, one that would take a more integrated and holistic approach to address their clients’ needs. Their discussion set the groundwork for what we now know as financial planning.

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Since then, financial planning has become a recognized international profession. We have come a long way from the first class of 42 individuals who completed the first CFP ® certification program at the College for Financial Planning in 1973, to the more than 188,104 (as at end of 2019) CFP ® professionals certified today around the world, and the many thousands of others who deliver or support the delivery of financial planning or provide professional financial planning education.

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FPSB Affiliates, CFP Board and Samantha

Dr Leroy Chiao Former NASA Astronaut Susan John Chair CFP Board

Kevin Keller CEO CFP Board

Noel Maye CEO FPSB Ltd

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Having a

Robust Financial Plan SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

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By Lorna Tan

Head of Financial Planning Literacy Consumer Banking Group DBS Bank

The Covid-19 outbreak which started in Wuhan, China, has brought back unpleasant memories of the SARS outbreak in 2002 and the MERS outbreak in 2012, both of which had resulted in investor stress, anxiety and fear. Most of their concerns centre around whether their investments can withstand the market fluctuations and volatility, and the duration of the uncertainty.

In Singapore and elsewhere, the authorities have put in measures to minimise spread of the outbreak and help stem the global spread of the virus. These include putting in place controls on the entry of visitors from mainland China. For example, all new visitors with recent travel history to mainland China would not be allowed entry into Singapore, or to transit through the country.

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020 FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

As retail investors, we should also have robust measures to safeguard our savings and assets, and that are able to withstand short-term shocks and market gyrations. Doing so will go a long way to prevent any adverse knee jerk reactions and unwise investment decisions. It gives us a peace of mind so we can avoid giving in to unnecessary panic and have sleepless nights.

Here are 7 tips to manage your finances during this period of uncertainty.

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With a proper financial plan in place, we will have a better understanding of our financial resources such as our money flows and where our investments stand in the risk-reward continuum. A comprehensive financial plan covers the areas of managing credit and loans, budgeting, insurance, investment, retirement and estate planning. When these areas are well covered in a sound financial plan, we have greater clarity on how each financial decision affects another and we can adapt more easily to life changes while keeping our life goals intact.

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Do not over-concentrate on single securities and single-country assets. It is wise to seek the guidance of a professional financial adviser for this process and who can also help to do portfolio rebalancing when required.

Once you have your optimal asset allocation in place, you will be able to sleep peacefully even during times of uncertainty because you know that your risk exposure will be taken care of. A sound and diversified portfolio will be able to weather the ups and downs of market uncertainty.

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Work your money harder Make your money work harder by maximising the interest earned in higher yielding operating accounts like the DBS Multiplier Account which rewards you with up to 3.8% interest per annum for steps taken to boost your financial wellbeing. These include saving, buying an insurance plan, getting a home loan and investing. Each eligible financial transaction helps propel your savings to a higher tier of interest rates.

Meanwhile, source for low-cost investment options for your positive cash flows to accumulate over time.

For instance, robo-advisory platform DigiPortfolio offers access to diversified investment portfolios at an affordable ongoing fee. Remember that high investment expenses – especially when they are not justified with high returns - will eat into your gains.

Time in the market Time in the market is more important than timing the market as retail investors tend to get out of the market at the wrong time and miss the “good days�.

Adopting the strategy of dollar-cost averaging can help you avoid the pitfalls of timing the market. It involves regularly buying a fixed dollar amount of an investment, regardless of the share price. By doing so, you buy more shares when prices are low and few when prices are high. So over time, you will have a lower average share price. This helps investors to stay invested even during tough times since they keep getting a lower average price.

Insurance cover Insurance is a means to cushion against financial loss due to specified events. Top on the list is a suitable hospitalisation & surgical insurance plan to cover our hospital bills and selected outpatient visits. Other healthcare-related insurance includes critical illness and income disability cover. There are also insurance plans that help us grow our savings such as endowment plans and investment-linked insurance plans.

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A basic rule for retail investors is not to put all our eggs in one basket. Our investment plan should not be reduced to a single stock or a single investment strategy. It is prudent to diversify our assets and ensure a good mix of investments that carry different levels of risks, depending on your risk profile and financial needs.

Positive cash flow and emergency funds The foundation to financial wellbeing is to build positive cashflows which can be invested in suitable instruments to make our money work harder. To do this, set up a realistic budget which indicates your money inflows and outflows. Before investing, it is prudent to set aside at least three to six months emergency funds in cash to ensure that you have enough liquidity to tide you and your dependants over during rainy days. Doing so will give you some peace of mind even if you suffer from temporary setbacks like losing a job or are unable to make a living because you must be quarantined. It also means that you can avoid the adverse impact of liquidating your investments for short-term cash. For those in the gig economy, it is advisable to set aside at least 12 months of emergency funds.

Diversification

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Invest for the long-term There will always be market uncertainties. However, history tells us that financial markets have bounced back time and time again, so we are on firm ground.

We know that that over the long-term, the markets have managed to function efficiently and profitably.

So, start investing early and take advantage of the long-time horizon to compound and grow your money.

As investors, let us focus on what we can control: setting up a sound financial plan, having a realistic budget, ensuring adequate protection, proper diversification when investing, and a commitment to a long-term strategy to achieve our life goals.

The writer is Head of Financial Planning Literacy at DBS Bank, and author of best-seller Money Smart: Own Your Financial Destiny.

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Sound financial plan

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What are

Cryptocurrencies and why it matters?

By John Sim, CFP®

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Cryptocurrencies, most famously represented by Bitcoin, has been in the news a lot over the years. So, what are cryptocurrencies, and should you be concerned about them? What is the Singapore government’s stand on cryptocurrencies? Should I include them in my investment portfolio? I will be attempting to address these questions in this article.

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Let’s start by briefly defining what we mean by cryptocurrencies and to better understand some characteristics that are associated with them.

Cryptocurrencies are a form of digital assets that reside and operate on a platform made up of a large number of computers spread across a network. This platform is usually a blockchain, which is a form of distributed (or decentralised) ledger. You can think of a blockchain as a “record book” tracking all movement of the cryptocurrency between all users.

They can be used as a store of value or as a medium of exchange between untrusted parties across the Internet without the need for a trusted intermediary. And all these intermediaries take a (considerable) cut of the transacted price. But with cryptocurrencies, such a payment system takes place almost instantaneously without the need for trusted payment intermediaries (trustless) and with zero or negligible transaction fees.

All these are achieved through the use of cryptography, hence the name “cryptocurrencies”. Cryptography, in this context, is the use of computationally hard problems to secure transactions, control the creation of more cryptocurrencies and to verify the transfer of such cryptocurrencies. A more detailed description of how this works is beyond the scope of this article.

WHY SHOULD IT MATTER TO ME? The significance of cryptocurrencies is how it can potentially disrupt many traditional industries. We will look at 2 areas to illustrate the disruption that is happening.

PAYMENT 2.0 One area ripe for disruption is the US$3.41 trillion payment space. As briefly described above, there are many inefficiencies in the current payment models. There is a need for many intermediaries like payment acquirers / processors, card networks, card issuers, payment gateways etc, resulting in slow and costly end to end transactions. These are currently necessary as there is no other way to exchange value between untrusted parties. These intermediaries essentially act as a trusted party between untrusted buyers and sellers to escrow funds during the buying process and to handle settlement subsequently. But with cryptocurrencies, such payments can be performed effectively peer to peer, near instantaneously, for a fraction of the current costs,and enforced programmatically by the network. This can enable new business models of frequent, in-app, micro-payments.

DIGITAL ADVERTISING 2.0 Another area where cryptocurrencies can potentially disrupt is the US$283.35 billion digital advertising space. In its current form, it is the giant advertising aggregation platforms of Google, Facebook and the likes that get that lion’s share of the revenue by monetising their audience. But with the advent of cryptocurrencies, and the ability to support micropayments cheaply, power and control can be placed back into the hands of users. Advertisers can effectively reward users for engaging with their content. Users can “tip” content creators whom they like, thus incentivising creators to create content that appeals to users. Imagine getting $0.01 for every “Like” you receive on Facebook....

RISKS WITH CRYPTOCURRENCIES While cryptocurrencies offer many advantages and benefits, just like with any nascent technologies, there are many risks associated with this space as well. Scams and fraud are just right around the corner, luring the naive, the greedy and unsuspecting user to part with his digital asset. A simple search on Google for “crypto scams” will yield many real cases of hacks on crypto exchanges where millions of dollars of crypto assets are stolen, of Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and exit scams and more. So buyer beware! The adage “if it is too good to be true, it probably is” never rang truer.

Volatility is another noticeable characteristic of the crypto space. The following chart shows the spectacular rise and equally spectacular fall of Bitcoin’s price (over 300%), all within about 1 year!

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN SINGAPORE So what is the status of cryptocurrencies in Singapore?

Cryptocurrencies are not legal tender, so spending your cryptocurrencies is not going to be easy. There are various local and foreign fintech companies that are working on smoothening that user experience of using their crypto in a daily setting. However, Singapore is actually one of the more “crypto-friendly” regulatory environment. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) takes a relatively “light touch” approach to most things crypto, but has a tough stance against its abuse in the area of anti-money laundering (AML) and countering terrorism financing (CTF). As such, Know Your Client (KYC) rule enforcement is strict.

Furthermore, with the recent release of the Payment Services Act (PSA), local and foreign fintech firms are given much clearer regulatory guidelines on their responsibilities and obligations when it comes to dealing with buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. This, in turn, provides clarity and stability for business owners in this upcoming space. Couple this with a well-educated, highly connected population, this puts Singapore at the forefront of creating a well-balanced environment to allow innovation to thrive while keeping users, funds and the financial institutions safe.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cryptocurrencies have only been around since Jan 2009, with the mining of the first Bitcoin. We are at the cusp of a revolution in how money works in this Internet age and while there are a lot of risks still, this innovation cannot be ignored and its impact will be felt as time goes on. So should we invest in cryptocurrencies?

My answer is a resounding “Yes”, but invest in yourselves first by learning more about this evolving space before dumping a chunk of money at the next big ICO, hoping to make it rich.

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Does Gold Have A Place In Your Clients’

Financial Portfolio?

By Lawrence Chow, CFP®

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DEBT RISING At the close of 2019, world debt has risen to a record high of above $250 trillion. The total borrowings from households, corporates and government puts the world debt-to-GDP ratio to a record high of 320%. While it has been a decade long exercise by Central Banks to recover from the last financial crisis, the total debt has increased by 50% via monetary policies in order to achieve inflation to spur economic growth.

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MONEY VS FIAT CURRENCY A typical instrument of monetary policies is to control money supply by increasing the supply of fiat currency circulating in the economy. While most people recognise the dollar bills as money, however the value of fiat currency lies in the trust and confidence that people have in the country’s government.

As currency supply increases, the purchasing power of the currency decreases. This is where the issue lies. Currency does not hold its value over time. Money does.

What is money then? Since ancient times till as recent as the early 20th century, gold and silver were recognised as the primary medium of exchange. It is considered a store of value because it also has practical use in the industrial use, hence there is value in it being a precious metal.

Before August 1971, bank issued notes are backed by a standardised exchange rate against gold known as the Gold Standard which allowed bank note holders to convert their currencies to physical gold at the stated exchange rate.

However since August 1971, US President Nixon announced the termination of the Gold Standard, hence physical gold started trading freely in the open market, which the liberation of currencies from gold standard allowed an infinite increase in currency supply to fuel fiscal requirements. From this point on, gold was relegated from being money itself into just a type of asset while fiat currency became the confidencebased medium of exchange.

WHY SO LITTLE PEOPLE HOLD GOLD AS AN INVESTMENT? Although gold is a hedge against inflation, one of the key arguments against gold as an investment is that is a nonyielding asset. In a modern portfolio, it is difficult for portfolio managers to allocate funds into gold in the face of demands from investors to generate yield on their investments. Since gold price largely reacts to supply and demand in line with economic events, many portfolio managers will choose to allocate their portfolios into other asset types which they can better predict an expected return from fundamental analysis.

IS THIS THE RIGHT TIME TO ALLOCATE GOLD? We have experienced the longest market bull run in history.

The longer the bull run sustain, the more we hear from news sources and well-known investors that we are one day closer to the next big financial crisis.

In comparison to all major currencies in the world, gold outperformed all currencies with an annualised return of 19.97% (Bloomberg data). One of the factors may be due to Fed’s intentions with interest rate, which goes to show that fiat currency’s value is relying on confidence, and hence gold has an indirectly proportional relationship with fiat currency confidence.

One of the risk we are potentially facing is how the central banks deal with the next economic crisis. In the last global financial crisis, most countries resorted to buying assets to increase currency supply in the market, hence the interest rate was cut from the high of 5.25% in 2007 to 0% in 2011.

At the current Fed rate of 1.5%, there is little room for further rate cuts unless we enter the negative interest rate region. With this in mind, gold seem to be primed for further upward gains when the next economic crisis arrives. This definitely serves as a form of insurance for anyone’s overall financial portfolio.

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WAYS TO PARTICIPATE IN GOLD Traditionally, it is recommended to own 5 to 10% in gold as a hedge against inflation and adverse economic events. These are some ways to gain gold exposure: 1. Physical gold • Pros – This is the most assured way of owning gold in bullion coins or bars due to its limited availability in circulation. They are highly liquid and can be sold at spot price.

• Cons – Cost of storage can be an issue. Storing in a security box facility will incur high expense over a long time period, especially when gold itself doesn’t generate yield to cover this expense. The buy/sell spread can be high due to cost of production.

2. ETF (eg. SPDR Gold) • Pros – ETF is a low cost way of gaining gold exposure.

It can be easily traded with a low spread. A highly liquid instrument.

• Cons – while gold ETFs usually claim that they are backed by physical gold, we cannot redeem gold itself.

3. Gold stocks/funds • Pros – Offer diversification and advantage of professional management by fund managers who pick the gold mining companies.

• Cons – Gold funds are usually invested in gold mining companies hence the price of the fund may not replicate gold price movements directly. Profitability of gold miners also affected by the ability to find more gold mines and to achieve a good yield on gold extraction.

Conclusion

While having gold in our client’s portfolio is a debatable topic, we are also dealing with the fact that economic headwind is against us. It is always useful to discuss with our client's alternative ways to protect their portfolio, especially when we are exploring unchartered territories where traditional asset class like equities and bonds may not perform in a textbook manner. The key is diversification into low correlation assets to preserve our clients’ portfolios with a long term time horizon in perspective.

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Sustainable Investing ­– The New Lens

By Yash Mishra, CFP®

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After 25 years, in wealth management in different avatars Investment banking, Private banking, fee based financial planning for over 15 years, I now have a new passion – its Impact Investing.

SUSTAINABLE INVESTING is about investing in progress, and recognising that companies solving the world’s biggest challenges can be best positioned to grow. It is about pioneering better ways of doing business, and creating the momentum to encourage more and more people to opt in to a better future.

Through the combination of traditional investment approaches with environmental, social and governance (ESG) insights, investors ranging from global institutions to individuals are taking a sustainable approach to pursuing their investment goals.

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING AND ESG INTEGRATION? Socially responsible investing (SRI) and ESG are often treated as one in the same, however, there are some key differences between the two and the impact they have on the investment process.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) ESG refers to the practices of an investment that may have a material impact on the performance of that investment. The integration of ESG factors is used to enhance traditional financial analysis by identifying potential risks and opportunities beyond technical valuations. The main objective of ESG integration remains financial performance.

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SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING (SRI) SRI goes one step further than ESG by actively eliminating or selecting investments according to specific social/sustainable guidelines. The underlying motive could be religion, personal values or political beliefs. SRI strategies use ESG factors to shape the objectives of the strategy and/or apply negative or positive screens on the investment universe.

Sustainable, Responsible Investing, Impact Investing and ESG (environmental and Social Governance these are all Buzz phrases. Let’s start by getting to understand these terms a bit better – the reality it’s an evolving area and they are currently being used interchangeably.

RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT is a young industry that lacks widely-acknowledged and precise norms, guidelines and definitions. So far, there is an understanding that responsible investment is a generic term that refers to a wide range of approaches that integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in the investment process. Responsible investment can take on a variety of forms and should help to identify and to mitigate investment risks.

SUSTAINABLE SWELL: The evidence points overwhelmingly that Individual Investor Interest is driven by Impact, conviction and Choice. Morgan Stanley Institute survey of Individual investors have following key statistics for 2019.

Among individual investors a, 85% up by + 10% YOY

INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK: Avoid exposures that conflict with your principles & values

95%

of Millennials

are interested in Sustainable & impact Investments, +9% up YOY

IDENTIFY

Identify ESG risks & opportunities

INVEST

Invest by incorporating ESG analysis

IMPACT

Impact with outcome-oriented investments

INFLUENCE Influence through in-depth research and engagement

88% of all

respondents

of all respondents believe in the potential of impact related businesses will be profitable business

In its white paper, “Sustainable Reality: Analyzing Risk and Returns of Sustainable Funds,” Morgan Stanley analyzed 10,723 funds, using Morningstar data on exchange traded and open-ended mutual funds active in any given year from 20042018. The key findings: There is no financial tradeoff in the returns of sustainable funds and traditional funds. No consistent or statistically significant difference in total returns existed between ESG-focused and traditional mutual funds and ETFs. Sustainable funds may offer lower market risk.

Sustainable funds experienced a 20% smaller downside deviation than traditional funds, a consistent and statistically significant finding.

As for how well sustainable funds do during periods of extreme volatility, the study found that in years of turbulent markets, such as 2008, 2009, 2015 and 2018, sustainable funds’ downside deviation was significantly smaller than traditional funds. The study also looked specifically at the last quarter of 2018, when U.S. stock market volatility spiked, and found that, despite negative returns for nearly all funds, the median sustainable fund outperformed the median traditional fund by 1.39% in U.S. Equity returns, and had a narrower dispersion. “While the last quarter of 2018 may have caused angst among many investors, those with investments in sustainable funds likely saw smoother fluctuations and potentially fewer losses,” said Slovik.

Alternate Investment Approach: 1. Restriction Screening: Intentionally avoiding investments in certain sectors or issuers based on values or risk-based criteria 2. ESG Integration: Considering ESG criteria alongside financial analysis to identify risks and opportunities throughout the investment process, which may or may not lead to decisions to avoid, include or size certain investments 3. Thematic Investments: Tilting investments toward certain themes and sectors positioned to solve global sustainability related challenges, includes ‘Sustainable Funds’ as defined by EU Taxonomy or other regulatory frameworks 4. Impact Investing: Allocating to funds or enterprises intentionally structured to deliver a specific and measurable set of positive social and/or environmental impacts alongside market-rate financial returns.

Conclusion In conclusion, its starts with Putting Clients Investment Goals First and creating enhanced value beyond Financial Returns by meeting their investment objectives based on a range of values and impact measures. In my view, this increasingly is a trend that will continue to grow in the decade ahead.

Sources: 1. Report on US Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends , The US SIF Foundation, 2018 2. Sustainable Signals: Growth Opportunity in Asset Management, Morgan Stanley 2019 3. INSEAD knowledge, From Good Intentions to maximising Impact, Building a global platforms for social impact

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of Millennials

respondents an expressed interest in measurement of impact reports

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91%

The Importance of

Systematic Asset Allocation and Diversification

By Ron Miura Ryutaro, CFP®

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Since working as a financial adviser (now Certified Financial Planner), I have faced the interesting situations whereby prospects, strangers, and even clients asked me the same questions: such as “which stock should I invest in?”, “can you please tell me how to invest?”, and “what do you think of bitcoin investing?” The simple yet profound question to them is whether or not they still buy and invest in Nissan Motors without knowing the company’s business model, investor’s time horizon and risk tolerance level. Sensible and prudent financial advisers do not need to answer all these questions one by one, rather the concept of “systematic asset allocation” and “diversification strategy” based on client’s financial background would be the key ingredients for successful wealth management planning.

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What is the definition of “systematic asset allocation” and why does it matter to clients? Investment researches have proved that nearly 90% of successful investment portfolio management depends on the proper allocation of asset class. There are 2 types of asset allocation: (1) Strategic which is assessed by long-term investment trend and (2) Tactical which is assessed by short-term cyclical investment trend.

Advisers need to adjust the criteria that the strategic asset allocation account for up to 80% of portfolio followed by up to 10% of Tactical asset allocation and 10% of investment instrument choice. The method of how financial advisers can decide to allocate the ratio of each asset class and strategy would be based on many factors, such as the level of client’s risk tolerance and investment knowledge, time horizon, and financial goals. The typical asset class consists of cash, equity, bond, life insurance with cash value, and alternative investment like hedge fund, gold and real estate.

If client’s risk profile is aggressive, it would be possible to construct the aggressive investment portfolio which consists of 90% equity, 5% bonds, and 5% cash. Balanced investment portfolio can consist of 45% equity, 30% fixed income, 20% alternative investment, and 5 % cash. Moreover, investment time horizon includes short term up to 5 years, medium term for next 5 to 10 years, and long term for more than 10 years to help clients maintain and enhance their lifestyle needs.

Apart from client’s risk profile, clients can still take advantage of short-term market timing and opportunities as a tactical asset allocation strategy. Upon agreed investment advisory solution, clients can choose and decide their investment preference, and define the ratio of asset allocation strategy customised by financial advisers.

What is “diversification strategy” and why does it matter to us? To maintain and enhance their investment returns, financial advisers need to implement the diversification

On the other hand, there is a counter-argument of “diversification” strategy. For example, renowned US billionaire investor, Mr. Warren Buffet does not believe in the concept of “diversification” strategy. He mentioned that “diversification was another form of ignorance”.

Some retail investors respect and follow his ideas and wisdoms blindly. Although it seems to be feasible to follow such a successful investment legend, the difference between the majority of retail investors and Mr. Warren Buffet is that he can afford to lose a lot of money compared to them and his time horizon is ‘’forever”. How many retail investors fully understand that investment is long-term commitment instead of speculating on hot stocks in the short term. Indeed, his investment advice is straightforward, Rule #1: do not lose your money, Rule #2: Remember the rule number 1. Therefore, even based on his investment advice, it would be evident that diversification strategy might still work for most investors.

It is the part of managing investment risks.

To summarise the main points, it would be obvious that timing the market, forecasting the details of financial market in the short term and asking which stock we should buy and invest would be inappropriate and irrelevant to clients.

That is because no one, including investment gurus, can predict the future of financial markets.

Also, each individual has different lifestyle, financial goals, time horizon, level of investment knowledge, and risk tolerance.

Nothing is important than the customised asset allocation and diversification based on client’s financial goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance level to fulfil client’s dream.

Let’s bear in mind that Certified Financial Planners are so influential similar to medical doctors taking care of patients’ overall health, and professors assessing students’ intellectual skills.

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

Conclusion

15 FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

strategy. For example, investors can manage foreign exchange risks by holding more than 2 currencies, such as US Dollars, Singapore Dollars and British Pound. To avoid the home-bias and one country focus risk, investors need to think beyond their home ground and invest globally by using index fund, exchange-traded fund and unit trust. Although some prospects always show their concern about the volatility and unpredictability of foreign exchange rates, currency diversification by holding several currencies can stabilize the value of investment portfolio than that of the investment portfolio with only one asset class and currency. During Abenomics period (the economic policy under the Abe administration since Year 2012), the value of Japanese Yen has dropped sharply against major foreign currencies. If investors had practised the currency diversification strategy by holding Japanese Yen plus other major currencies under Abenomics policy, they would achieve decent investment returns. On the other hand, some investors do not enjoy the economic benefits of Abenomics unless they have invested in Japanese stock market in Japanese Yen. Indeed, the majority of people in Japan have held cash, life insurance and residential property in Japanese Yen only and they failed to implement currency diversification strategy by holding one currency only. Therefore, it would be obvious that investors should implement the currency diversification strategy to enhance the value of their investment portfolio and even reduce foreign exchange and concentration risk.

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

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SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

Singapore Budget: How does it impact

Financial Planning

By Alfred Chia, CFP®

In view of the Covid-19 outbreak situation, there is high expectation of this budget. Government did not disappoint as they projected the largest deficit in over a decade to support the economy. As usual, they are prudent to support current situation and plan for future.

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18

This article will highlight the key areas of the Budget that will have impact on Financial Planning for Individual and Business Owners. I draw reference to FY2020 Budget Statement by DPM and Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat, delivered on 18th February 2020. Please visit https:// www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2020/budget-speech for more details.

He began by announcing additional $800 million to support efforts to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. The bulk of this will go to the Ministry of Health which is on top of the substantial resources committed each year.

He expressed Nation’s gratitude to all frontline officers fighting this outbreak. I fully agree and believe everyone share that gratitude.

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

The Finance Minister introduced 2 special packages with a total budget of $5.6 billion.

First, Stabilisation and Support Package amounting to $4 billion. This will help enterprises with cash flow and workers to stay in their jobs. This aims to stabilize the economy. There will be additional help to sectors more directly affected by the outbreak.

HIGHLIGHTS OF BUDGET: i

Finance Minister introduced Jobs Support Scheme to help enterprises retain local workers. Government will offset 8% of the wages for every local worker in employment. This is up to a monthly wage of $3,600 for 3 months. Payment will be given to employers by end of May this year.

ii

With over 1.9 million local employees in Singapore, this will cost the Government $1.3 billion and benefit all enterprises and their local employees.

iii There will also be enhancements to Wage Credit Scheme to support wage increases for Singaporean workers. iiii With these enhancements, another $1.1 billion will go to about 90,000 enterprises, to benefit more than 700,000 Singaporean employees.

v.

There will be a Corporate Income Tax Rebate for Year of Assessment 2020, at a rate of 25% of tax payable, capped at $15,000 per company. This rebate will benefit all tax-paying companies, and cost about $400 million.

vi

There are many other measures from property tax rebate, business loan support, rental waiver for hawker, etc. These are targeted support specially for Trades much affected by the outbreak.

vii There is also postponement of GST hike to 9%.

However, Finance Minister did mention that the hike will still be needed by 2025. He also announced support to cushion the increase specially for the lowincome group. He also explained the needs for such hike such as increase spending on healthcare system. viii To support Singaporeans to continue learning, Finance Minister will provide a one-off SkillsFuture Credit top-up of $500 for every Singaporean aged 25 years and above. He will enhance the role of enterprises in developing their staff. There is also special focus on mid-career workers currently in their 40s and 50s. There will be additional $500 SkillsFuture Credit top-up for those who age 40 to 60 in 2020. His message is that you are never too old to learn.

IMPACT ON FINANCIAL PLANNING: a Jobs Support and Wage Credit Schemes will certainly help companies to defray part of their salary cost.

Companies who employ more local employees will benefit more. Companies can use this savings for better Employee Benefits. To be able to keep all the staff in employment with better benefits will certainly boost morale. Most workers will feel more at ease about able to keep their jobs. It will create better motivation and loyalty. Furthermore, companies need to position for business recovery when outbreak is over. It is important for companies to be able to keep their workers and not simply retrench due to short term crisis. Losing job can be a major disruption to financial plan if there is no ‘emergency fund’ to cater to such situation. b As payment is end of May, companies still need to manage their cash flow. As the support is up to monthly wage of $3,600, the support is for general workers.

Employees need to monitor their financial situation specially if their trade is most affected by the outbreak.

d

Some industries and self-employed are badly hit financially. It will also affect loan repayments such as home and car. Individual should review their personal financial situation and prioritise their expenses.

Important to maintain essential insurance policies for risk management.

e

Companies who have been profitable will have more cash flow from the tax savings. Companies can use this savings to reward their staff, upgrade computer systems, buffer for business slowdown in current year, etc. In totality, $400 million will be retained by enterprises which is a strong injection to the economy.

middle-income Singaporeans aged 55 to 70. About 435,000 Singaporeans will be eligible.

In the Budget Statement Annex, there is an illustration of how older Singaporeans can benefit from right-sizing their HDB flat, as well as benefit from the enhancements to the Silver Support Scheme (SSS) and the new Matched Retirement Savings Scheme (MRSS).

Illustration of Benefits from Retirement Schemes source: https://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget_2020

CURRENT

CPF LIFE Payout

+

Silver Support

+

Enhanced Silver Support

= $570 Monthly ENHANCE

f

From financial management perspective, consumers need to be reminded on the impact of over-spending.

The impact of GST hike is little over single year but will have great impact over long run. Better management of expenses can channel savings into retirement planning.

Higher CPF LIFE Payout • Matched Retirement Savings Scheme • HDB Flat Right-Sizing (3-room to 2-room)

About

g

It is also a reminder and support for us to continue learning. For those who want to further excel in the financial advisory industry, Certified Financial Planner (CFP) will be a gold mark standard to achieve.

Many FPAS members who have achieved this mark go on to volunteer with FPAS initiatives. These include our support to many government initiatives to increase financial literacy.

Second, Care and Support Package. This is to support families specially the less well-off. There will be special package as households will be impacted by the slowdown.

Government had significantly increased social spending over the last decade in area like healthcare, education and housing. This Budget will continue to care for Singaporean through the various measures.

There is a new introduction, Matched Retirement Savings Scheme from 2021 to 2025. Under this scheme, Government will match every dollar of cash top-up made to the CPF Retirement Account, annual cap of $600, for lower to

= $1,400 Monthly It is a reminder of the importance of Retirement Planning.

There is significant improvement though there are much more work needed. For eg. A decade ago, 4-in-10 proportion can set aside Basic Retirement Sum (BRS) compared to 7-in10 from the 2021 and 2022 cohorts. BRS for 2021 and 2022 is $93,000 and $96,000. It is definitely not ideal retirement lifestyle for many people. It will be much more impactful for the financial advisory industry to work with government’s efforts to empower consumers to better prepare for retirement planning.

In summary, this is a Budget that caters both to current outbreak situation and planning forward for many years to come. It should be a reminder for us to plan our finances in a way that will provide for current situations and future challenges like retirement planning.

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

This is ‘Looking Forward’ for any business owners.

Outbreak will eventually be contained. There are businesses that will continue to perform well. This is to encourage enterprises to continue to improve on productivity. It also encourages local workers to continue to upgrade their skills to upgrade their pay.

19 FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

c

Singapore Resilience & Solidarity Budget Support Workers. Stabilise Businesses.

Build Resilience.

Supporting Workers, Protecting Livelihoods SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

20

Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) • Government will pay 25% of monthly wages for every local worker in employment, capped at $4,600, for 9 months till end-2020 • Higher support for sectors more affected by COVID-19, of up to 75% Wage Credit Scheme • Additional payout to be brought forward from Sep to end-June 2020 COVID-19 Support Grant • Cash grant of $800 per month for 3 months, for low- and middle-income Singaporeans who lost their jobs due to COVID-19

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

Temporary Relief Fund • Provides immediate financial assistance for families whose livelihoods were affected by COVID-19

NTUC Care Fund (COVID-19) • Provides one-off relief of up to $300 for eligible union members SGUnited Jobs • About 10,000 jobs available over the next year, to facilitate employment for jobseekers SGUnited Traineeships • Supports employers in providing traineeships to fresh graduates entering the labour force, to help boost employability for new graduates SkillsFuture Credit • Advance use of SkillsFuture Credit top-ups for select courses, from 1 Apr 2020

Supporting Self-Employed Persons (SEPs) SEP Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) • Eligible Singaporean SEPs will receive $1,000 a month, for 9 months SEP Training Support Scheme • Extended till end-2020 • From 1 May 2020, training allowance enhanced to $10/hour

Point-to-Point Support Package • Special Relief Fund payments of $300 per vehicle per month for taxi hirers and private hire car drivers, till end- Sep 2020 Enhanced Workfare Special Payment • Benefits about 50,000 lower-income SEPs

Supporting Families Enhanced Care & Support Package • Triple the current payout under Care & Support – Cash for all Singaporeans aged 21 and above in 2020, t0 $300, $600 and $900 • Parents, with at least one Singaporean child aged 20 and below in 2020, will each receive an additional $300 • All Singaporeans aged 50 and above in 2020 will receive their $100 PAssion Card Top-up in cash • Singaporeans living in 1-room and 2-room HDB flats will receive $300 in Grocery Vouchers in 2020, and $100 in 2021 • Enhanced Workfare Special Payment to $3,000 in cash in 2020, for Singaporeans who received Workfare payments for work done in 2019

• Double the grant to Self-Help Groups to $20 mover 2020 and 2021, and increase the grant to Community Development Councils to $75m in 2020 Greater Flexibility on Government Fees and Loans • Suspend student loan repayments and interest charges for 1 year, from 1 Jun 2020 to 31 May 2021, for graduates of Autonomous Universities and polytechnics • Suspend late payment charges on HDB mortgage arrears for 3 months

Supporting Businesses Enhanced Property Tax Rebate for 2020 • Increased Property Tax Rebate for qualifying commercial properties, such as hotels, serviced apartments, tourist attractions, shops and restaurants, from 15% or 30%, to 100% • Increased Property Tax Rebate for Integrated Resorts from 10% to 60% • All other non-residential properties will receive a new 30% Property Tax Rebate

Capital Loan • Increased maximum loan quantum to $10m and Government risk-share to 80%, under Enterprise Financing Scheme – Trade Loan • Increased subsidies for loan insurance premiums to 80% under Loan Insurance Scheme

OUR RESILIENCE BUDGET

Support Workers. Stabilise Businesses.

Build • Raised maximum support levelsResilience. for Productivity Support for Capability Development

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

Solutions Grant and Enterprise Development Enhanced Rental Waivers Grant to 80% and 90% respectively, till end-2020 • Increased rental waiver from 1 month to 3 Supporting Self-Employed Persons (SEPs) • Enhanced SMEs Go Digital to support both readymonths, for stallholders in hawker centres to-adopt and advanced digital managed by NEA or NEA-appointed operators solutions that reduce face-to-face contact ❖ SEP Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) Increased rental waiver from 0.5 months t0 2 • Extended the enhanced training support, • •Eligible Singaporean SEPs will receive $1,000 a month, for months, for eligible tenants of Government comprising higher course fee subsidies 9 months agencies and absentee payroll support, to more sectors • All other non-residential tenants of Government and till end-2020 ❖ SEP Training Support Scheme agencies receive 0.5 months of rental waiver Resilience Building • Extended till end-2020 Cash Flow Support • Enhanced government matching ratio under SG • From 1 May 2020, training allowance enhanced to $10/hour • Expanded Temporary Bridging Loan Programme Together Enhancing Enterprise to all sectors, and increased Resilience (STEER) programme ❖ Point-to-Point Support Package maximum supported loan to $5m • Introduced funding support for specialised • •Special Relief Fund payments of $300 per vehicle per Increased maximum loan quantum to $1m under cleaning under SG Clean Enterprise Financing Scheme – SME Working month for taxi hirers and private hire car drivers, till end-

Sep 2020

Aviation Sector Food Services • Enhanced Jobs Support Scheme for businesses • Enhanced Jobs Support Scheme for food & whose activities are based principally in the beverages firms, with a total of 50% wage offset, aviation sector, with a total of 75% wage offset, Families capped at a monthly wage of $4,600 Supporting capped at a monthly wage of $4,600 Land Transport Sector • $350m Enhanced Aviation Support Package to Enhanced Care & Support Package ❖ • Special Relief Fund payments of $300 per provide cost relief for airlines, ground handlers vehicle per month for taxi hirers and Private • Triple the current payout under Care & Support – Cash for all and the cargo industry, as well as to maintain a Hire Car (PHC) drivers, till end-Sep 2020 minimum level of connectivitySingaporeans aged 21 and above in 2020, t0 $300, $600 and $900 • Additional support for taxi and PHC operators • Parents, with at least one Singaporean child aged 20 and Tourism Sector • 1-year road tax rebate and 6-month waiver below in 2020, will each receive an additional $300 • Enhanced Jobs Support Scheme for hotels, of parking charges at government-managed • All Singaporeans aged 50 and above in 2020 will receive their travel agencies, tourist attractions, cruise parking facilities for private bus owners, to defray terminals and operators, and $100 PAssion Card Top-up in cash Meetings, operating cost Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions (MICE) • Singaporeans living in 1-room and 2-room HDB flats will receive Arts & Culture Sector venue operators, with a total of 75% wage offset, $300 in Grocery Vouchers in 2020, and $100 in 2021 • $55m support package to safeguard jobs capped at a monthly wage of $4,600 • Enhanced Workfare Special Payment to $3,000 in cash in 2020, and retain capabilities, support capability • $90m for tourism recovery efforts to help the development, and step up digitisation efforts for Singaporeans who received Workfare payments for work sector rebound strongly when the time is right

21

done in 2019 • Double the grant to Self-Help Groups to $20m over 2020 and 2021, and increase the grant to Community Development Councils to $75m in 2020

❖ Greater Flexibility on Government Fees and Loans • Suspend student loan repayments and interest charges for 1 year, from 1 Jun 2020 to 31 May 2021, for graduates of Autonomous Universities and polytechnics • Suspend late payment charges on HDB mortgage arrears for To find out more about the Singapore Resilience Budget: https://fpas.org.sg/singapore-resilience-budget-2020/ 3 months To find out more about the SEP Income Relief Scheme (SIRS): https://fpas.org.sg/sep-income-relief-scheme-sirs/

SUPPLEMENTARY BUDGET 2020

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

❖ Enhanced Workfare Special Payment Supporting Affected Sectors • Benefits about 50,000 lower-income SEPs

PROTECTING LIVELIHOODS

SAVING JOBS, SUPPORTING WAGES • To help save jobs, Government will pay 75% on the first $4,600 of 1 monthly salaries for every local employee for April 2020

For more information on JSS, please scan the QR code below

• From May 2020, wage support levels will revert to original levels in Resilience Budget1 • First JSS payout will be brought forward to April 2020, from May 2020 75% wage support for aviation, and tourism sectors; 50% for the food services sector, and 25% for all other sectors

1

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

22

SUPPORTING ENTERPRISES

MORE HELP WITH CASH FLOW & CREDIT Cash Flow & Credit Support for Employers • Waiver of monthly Foreign Worker Levy (FWL) due in April 2020 to help firms with cash flow • FWL rebate of $750 in April 2020 from levies paid this year, for each Work Permit or S Pass Holder • Laws to ensure property owners pass on Property Tax Rebate to tenants

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

• 1-month rental waiver for office, commercial, and agriculture tenants for Government agencies • Government's risk share raised from 80% to 90% for EFS- Trade Loan, EFS-SME Working Capital Loan, and Temporary Bridging Loan Programme - Applies to loans initiated from April 2020 till 31 March 2021 EFS: Enterprise Financing Scheme

HELPING SINGAPOREANS

PROVIDING TIMELY SUPPORT Cash Payments for Singaporeans • Additional cash payout of $300 for all Singaporeans aged 21 and above in 2020 • $300 from enhanced Care & Support ­— Cash payout will be paid in April 2020 1

1

Enhanced cash amounts of $300, $600, or $900 for all Singaporeans aged 21 and above in 2020

Assessable Income Additional + Enhanced for YA2019 2 Cash Payments Not more than $28k Above $28k to $100k >$100k or owns more than 1 property

2

YA: Year of Assessment

$300 + $900 $300 + $600 $300 + $300

Total Cash Payment

Payment in April 2020

Payment in June 2020

$1,200 $900 $600

$600 $600 $600

$600 $300 ­—

Book Review:

Poor Economics

Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo Reviewed by Yash Mishra, CFP®

Additionally, a lack of education about health has the side effect of creating a tendency to overmedicate and thus propagate drug-resistant pathogens. It is often assumed that drastic political reforms are necessary to solve large problems. However, replacing a political institution can be very difficult or impossible. Instead, the authors believe that significant policy improvements can be made in the margins of existing institutions, which may in turn lead to better overall institutions, especially so if the new policies result in small wins and increase trust in existing governments.

Greater trust in a government allows it to focus less on voters’ immediate approval and more on long-term gains.

Small, non-controversial modifications can have big effects.

In this edition of Book Review, we feature “Poor Economics”

by Nobel laureates in Economics, Mr Abhijit Banerjee & Ms Esther Duflo who share their insights into the poverty traps that exist for the Poor and models.

The authors define a poverty trap as “the limitation of scope for growing income or wealth at a very fast rate is limited especially for those who have too little to invest, but expands dramatically for those who can invest a bit more. On the other hand, if the potential for fast growth is high among the poor, and then tapers off as one gets richer, there is no poverty trap.” Anti-poverty approaches should be based on research and data such as randomized controlled trials.

Lazy thinking (being constrained by ideology, ignorance and inertia) is the enemy of progress.

While, lack of food can still be a problem in specific instances, in modern society it is not a contributor to the general persistence of poverty. A major exception, the authors research is malnutrition in-utero and during childhood, which correlates with lifetime education attained and future wages earned. In these cases, anti-malnutrition programs like iodine supplementation for pregnant mothers and deworming pills for youth have demonstrated substantial value. Malnutrition in adults living in extreme poverty has a much less direct effect on wages, but one

The key five key findings are 1. The poor often lack critical pieces of information and believe things that are not true...

2. The poor bear too much responsibility for their own lives, for the wealthy, the right decisions are often automatic.

3. There are good reasons that some markets are missing for the poor, or that they face un favourable prices.

4. Poor countries are not doomed to failure because they are poor, or because they have had an unfortunate history.

5. Expectations about what people are able or unable to do all too often end up turning into self-fulfilling prophecies.

As,we strive to be a more socially inclusive society, this book nudges us to consider actions that will give social mobility for the bottom of the pyramid.

23 FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

Health poverty traps also affect the extreme poor. Children who are sick, go to school less and earn less over the course of their lifetimes. While, the poor spend considerable time and money on healthcare, it is most often on expensive cures rather than cheap preventative care.

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

exception is anaemia (extreme iron deficiency). The poor, like everyone, are sceptical of others telling them what to eat.

Also like everyone, the poor prioritize spending that make life less boring (TV, cell phones, cultural events, tastier but nutritionally low-value food) Finally, nutrition education is challenging because the personal experience feedback loop takes a long time — investment in childhood nutrition doesn’t financially pay off until years later in adult life.

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

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Who will

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

pay my medical bills?

By Adrian Tong, CFPÂŽ

In Singapore, we have one of the best medical standards in the region, with many people from our neighbour coming in just to use our medical services. However, with higher quality, naturally there will be a higher price.

Fortunately, for locals, basic medical treatment up to B2 wards in our government restructured hospitals is already covered by MediShield Life, a Hospitalization Insurance Plan from the CPF board. However, if one wish to have the option of staying in more comfortable wards, they would need to consider adding on an Integrated Shield Plan from a private insurer, such plans have a deductible of up to $3,500 a year, and on top of that an co-insurance of 10% on the remaining claimable amount. If one wish to reduce the amount they have to pay, they can choose to further reduce the deductibles and co-insurance around 5%, capped at $3,000 a year, buy using cash to purchase a Rider, which is an add on plan to their basic plan. There are currently 7 insurers in the market offering such integrated shield plans, and their Riders, let’s take a look at how to choose between them.

2: BESIDES FINANCIAL ISSUES, THE NEXT ISSUES YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER WOULD BE WHAT KIND OF COVERAGE YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU. HERE ARE THE FEW MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS: A: Do you have any one that can look after you, if say you come down with a sickness that requires people to take care of you for extended period? If so, you might be more concern about “Community Hospital”, they provide medical services for patients who require a period of continuation of care, usually after our discharge from the acute Hospitals. Some insurers provide full as change overage for these Community Hospitals, while some have a limit on what much to claim a day, the rest on the other hand, limits how much days one can stay per admission per year. Some also covers home nursing.

B: The other coverage that might be of concern would be overseas coverage. This can be viewed from two direction, which is (1) does the plan covers you when you are traveling overseas? And (2) does the plan allowed you to seek planned treatment overseas? While all 7 insurers covers emergency hospitalization in overseas, which is defined as, when imminent treatment is medically necessary, they will only pay up to the reasonable cost of similar treatments in Singapore. One insurer allows the purchase of a secondary Rider on top of the first one, to extend the coverage to overseas non-emergency hospitalization, while two other allows for planned overseas treatment, as long as it is recommended by a Singapore doctor and is under their list of overseas partners.

D: If you are selecting a plan for your new born child, and you are afraid that he or she might have unknown Congenital Disease, currently only 2 insurers provide full coverage over it from day one, the rest gives either limited or no coverage over Congenital Disease coverage during the first 1 or 2 years.

E: If you have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, but is currently under control, most insurers would decline your application. However, one insurer might be able to offer you coverage provided that you go through their screening and take on their program to help you control your condition.

F: Pre- and Post-Hospitalization, coverage. For pre hospitalization, the lowest we have is 90 days, all the way up to 180 days for certain insurers, this is usually not that much of a concern since most of the time, a consultation that leads to hospitalization shouldn’t need so long. On the other hand, Post Hospitalization coverage, which covers the follow ups, such as on-going Condition Monitoring and Physiotherapy, might take a longer time, insurers currently offers from 100 days to 13 months of Post Hospitalization coverage, this might be important to compare.

G: The annual limits of the plans might also be of concern.

However, all Integrated Shield Plans today do not have a lifetime limit, and the annual limit for Private Plans are at least $1 Million, while that of A Wards are at least $450,000 and B1 ward Plans at least $250,000, which is likely enough for most cases.

H: Last but not least, as insurers tries to control claim to keep price down, some of them have certain unique limitations, such as increasing your premiums after a private hospital claims, you might need to pay attentions to such limits.

As we can see from above, all the varies Insurers has unique benefits, so it’s up to you to see what are your main concerns over medical needs and select accordingly.

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

The first question to ask is, do you think you can sustain a higher end plan when you are older, as you retire in the future? All the 7 insurers offer a choice of Private Hospital Coverage, and a Government Restructured Hospital plan that covers up to stays in A wards, while some of them further divides their Government Restructured Hospital coverage into 2 plans, one that covers up A wards, the other only up to B1 Wards. For the cash rider, some of the insurers offers a lite version of their rider, with higher co-insurance to be paid ourselves a year, but at a cheaper rate. Now, due to the fact that insurance premiums for all these plans raises with ages, it is important to look at one’s current income, savings and retirement plan, so as to determine if one can still afford the highest level coverage when one is older, at around 60 or 70 years of age. In short, if you don’t have any special requirements, and want to have an option to downgrade when you are older, a plan that has the option of covering up to Ward B1 and a lite version of their rider might be a better choice.

C: If you have 2 or more children, you might want to look the one that offers free Government Hospital A ward coverage for up to 4 children if both parents are under the Private or Government A Ward plan.

25 FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

1: FINANCIAL SITUATION

Estate Planning for the Singapore Property Owner

By Irene Yee, CFP®

THE PITFALLS IN SUCH PLANNING INCLUDE: 1)

In property-hungry Singapore, it is common that residential properties are a part of an individual’s estate when one passes on. While most of these properties are HDB (Housing & Development Board) apartments, a significant portion is comprised of private properties ranging from apartments to landed properties.

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

26

The minor child cannot yet own his share of the estate until he is turns 21. As it was not specified who the trustee of his property shares is, the Executor/Trustee will by default hold custody of his share of the property. If this individual is also the Guardian of the minor child, there is little accountability to the proper custodianship of these property shares which belongs to the young beneficiary.

Is this individual (ie. the trustee who may also be guardian) competent and/or reliable enough to safe-keep his shares (which may amount to $1million (ie. 25% of 2 private properties totalling $4 million), for the next few years until he turns 21?

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

2)

The single adult beneficiary, because of her inheritance of her share of the private properties, will not be able to go ahead with her plan to purchase a new or resale HDB flat with her fiancee

3)

We will go through a hypothetical scenario to show how failing to specify in advance one’s estate distribution instructions regarding one’s real estate can potentially be a source of family disputes and result in unexpected property transaction expenses.

If the wife (Mrs Tan) wants to buy another private property after inheriting the shares of the private property and staying in it, she will be subject to a higher ABSD rate as the subsequent property purchase will places each of them in a higher tier for stamp duties given the increased property count

4)

Even having a will which states that the family home be divided in equal portions among surviving siblings may be a recipe for future disaster as different family units of the beneficiaries may not be able to all live happily under one roof, or disagreements may arise as to the timing and sale price of the prized bequeathed family home.

Is the other (married) adult beneficiary, who already owns his own private property, aware that he is subject to the higher ABSD tier when he inherits the property shares from his deceased father?

5)

How will the 4 family members (not including the in-law) practically work out their living arrangements between the 2 residential properties?

6)

And if (2) is not practicable, how will the timing of the sale and the sale transaction prices of the 2 properties be agreed upon?

It is also not uncommon to hear a Singaporean remark that she “doesn’t have much except for a HDB apartment and some cash and stocks and shares, so there is no need to do any estate planning” (this despite the fact that a “simple” HDB apartment averages $500,000). Such remarks cannot be further from the truth.

Imagine the scenario where Mr Tan, who has 2 private residential properties, passes on leaving behind a wife in her early 60s, 1 minor child, and 2 adult children one of whom is married with kids, and the other will be getting married in 2 years’ time plans to purchase either a new or resale HDB. Mr Tan’s “simple will” states that his estate is to be divided into equal shares amongst his 4 immediate family members.

FORMER ABSD RATES On/after 12 Jan 2013 to 5 July 2018

NEW ABSD RATES On/after 6 July 2018

SC buying 1st residential property

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

SC buying 2nd residential property

7%

12%

SC buying 3rd (or more) residential property

10%

15%

SPR buying 1st residential property

5%

5%

SPR buying 2nd residential property]

10%

15%

SPR buying 3rd (or more) residential property

15%

15%

Foreigner buying any residential property

5%

20%

Entitles buying any residential property

15%

25% Plus additional 5% for housing developer (non remittable)

A $1.5 million real estate which grows at a rate of say 4%pa will easily be worth $ 4.86 million after 30 years. All these while the real estate is kept in the family, either occupied by estate beneficiaries or rented for rental income, while the property asset compounds its capital value.

As an illustration, a Singapore citizen who purchases his 2nd residential property at $ 1.5 million would need to pay 12% of ABSD. This amounts to $180,000 in Additional Stamp Duty alone.

One can do this by placing the real estate in a trust, so that the property is maintained and managed by the relevant professionals for the period of time you specify in advance.

The amount is larger for a Foreigner purchasing her 2nd residential property at $1.5 million, i.e. 20% of ABSD or $300,000.

Another way trusts can be used in property-related assets/ investments is where there is a need for protection of vulnerable beneficiaries, such as young and/or financially immature beneficiaries, or special needs individuals. In such situations, the corporate trustee holds the tenancy-incommon shares according to the deceased’s instructions.

Alternatively, the corporate trustee holds a certain percentage of the property to effectively safeguard and prevent any sale of the property that would compromise the interest of the vulnerable beneficiary.

Using structures that are legally set up, ABSD planning can be implemented to manage residential property transaction costs.

Some of the more sophisticated uses of trusts for real estate assets/ investments include the use absolute property trust in Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) planning.

Since the ABSD that a Singapore citizen or PR (permanent resident) private property buyer differs depending whether the to-be purchased property is her 1st, 2nd or 3rd (or more) residential property. Structures using trusts can be put in place to affect this property count and hence the stamp duty rate.

An area of property investments that many do not realise or talk about is the practical challenges that can arise from mental incapacity such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, especially in ageing Singapore. Most property owners/ investors may be capable and willing to spend the time managing their own investments before and even during their golden years, but mental capacity may deteriorate with age. One should therefore plan ahead for a time when managing one’s own property investments may become difficult. For some, the prudent action to take now is to select a corporate trustee as their LPA property and affairs donee, through the LPA Form 2; the higher level of accountability of a corporate trustee makes such a trustee a natural choice as an LPA property and affairs decision-maker.

Estate planning especially where it involves the property assets and investments is not a D-I-Y project by the property owner. Rather the planning should include the relevant professionals such as professional estate planning practitioners and trust managers who are experienced in the use of wills, trusts and financial solutions to put the proper plan in place and execute it when the time is right.

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Many individuals are also under the misperception that their real estate is either to be transferred to their beneficiaries or to be sold (and cash proceed distributed to beneficiaries) on their passing, with no other options in between. What if there is an affordable way to keep the real estate in the family 10, 20, or more years after one’s passing, to allow the beauty of compounding of investment returns to work its magic?

PROFILE OF BUYER

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For these different scenarios, structures involving wills and the right trusts can help provide optimal estate planning solutions to reduce potential family disputes and minimise property transaction expenses such as ABSD.

Turning

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Irregular Payment Sums To

Something Regular ­– How I keep my sanity

By Joanna Leng, CFP®

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

Being a single parent is challenging, especially when you have more than 1 kid, and when they are young.

Really? I thought having kids is already a challenge, hence an understatement for being single.

Single parenting is about trying to get that kid out of bed on time, so I can get to work, on time. It is also hoping that none of your children gives you the morning drama that brings chill down your spine.

How about finding the sock that is always losing its friend? Forced to share the same yucky cup of water after your kid had that muffin for tea break.

Financial planning for me is not about getting a hospitalization insurance, or savings policy for my children. It is not about what happens if I fall ill and do not have money to look after myself. It is about my day to day living, like getting them to eat their greens.

To keep my sanity, I share with you a few ways I practice giving my life some predictability and stability.

2

I avoid GIROs. Surprise surprise! Having great convenience, out of the mind peace can prove useful. While GIRO is definitely a good thing, having the bill in front of you makes you take second glances where you normally wouldn’t have when you have it on giro... why bother, right? Its already paid.

The thing here is, some bills like your utility and credit card statement comes in monthly with irregular amounts. What happens when you have a need for something and can only be paid by cash? You paid your utility bill in full and did not cater for that extra expense. Checking your utility bill usage and sharing it with your children helps bring up the awareness when they are using the electricity and water. It makes children understand that it is a joint effort from everyone. We all use it and only mom or dad is paying for it. If the bill is higher than your past average, have them think of solutions and see if it works the following month. It is not a very accurate gauge, but it gives you some ground to work on with your kids. Having to pay the bill a fixed amount helps keep things more consistent, how? If your utility is about $120 a month.

You set aside a fixed budget of $120. Make the same payment amount every month.

When your usage is lower, you get a surplus within your account and this adds up.

There will be times you need the extra cash somewhere. When in need, you can choose if you want to put that $120 in or use it for an unexpected expense. From the budget you have set aside, should some months, you exceed the $120 there will be credit to cover those times. The same works for credit card payments.

Have more than one bank account.

Have more than one bank account. I find having multiple bank account super useful when you know you have a need every month of certain items. You can set aside a budget for each and have them placed in a different bank account. This is like the earlier concept for placing the funds into your utility bill. You use only what is available from the account. Ideally, never spend more than the budget allocated. That way, you will find surplus at the end of the year, as a saving or for spending on something you normally will not buy.

3

There is always a way to save or invest and to even spend that little more is something a single parent never says.

There is always a way to save or invest and to even spend that little more is something a single parent never says. You may eye on an item you cannot bear to buy, because you need to focus on your other expenses. While you feel the need to pay for everything else in the world, you need to have a ‘fun box’ as a reward. I understand when another single parent tells me, it is so hard to save up for something you want. Like how everyone likes to be appreciated, you need to be appreciated too, by yourself. If you find saving or setting aside funds challenging, try asking yourself, if today you were to suffer a pay-cut of 20%, would you still try to make things work? I often use this thought process not only when I want to set aside saving for something I want. I also use it when I want to think of areas I can scale down on or give up (like my online shopping). Usually whatever comes to mind first, are the things you need the least.

Single parenting is no easy feat, from emotional, to mental, to physical, to finances and much more. There will be days things will get worse than you can imagine, but there will also be days that make everything worth it. Look forward to those days.

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I avoid GIROs.

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1

Millennial

Financial Planning

By Kee Siew Poh, CFP®

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30

You are known as a Millennial if you are born between 1981 to 1996 and between the ages of 24 and 39 in 2020. Millennials are usually the offsprings of baby boomers.

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

How different would Millennials be compared to baby-boomers in terms of mindset and money management?

Millennials tend to value experiences over ownership of things. With this, comes the ‘treat yourself first’ mentality where you spend money on entertainment or experience versus savings for housing or financial independence.

This is why it is even more important for millennials to plan ahead because as the saying goes, ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’.

1

Start with a Financial Plan & Roadmap

A Financial Plan is something personal, it is about you and your goals. A good place to start planning is to identify your short term and long term goals.

• •

Short Term Goals – eg further studies/certification, marriage, down-payment for first home, paying off study loan, savings optimisation etc Long Term Goals – eg financial independence by age 50, retirement, debt-free/ fully paid house etc

It is said that the journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step. It is alright to start small, because it is the habit that matters more than the quantum. Here’s a brief framework of how you can get started.

• • •

Work out your Income and Expenses Decide on the amount to “Pay Yourself First” i.e. your enforced savings instead of “Treat Yourself First” From this enforced savings every month, have it separated into 3 pots or 3 accounts i.e.

No Account Name

Purpose

1.

Savings Account

For liquidity & shorter term savings (1-3 years) eg holiday & certain purchases

2.

Protection Account

For insurance, to create a leverage, where a small amount set aside can translate to a big payout in times of need.

3.

Investment Account

To optimise savings for longer term (5-20 years or more), to make the money work harder.

How much to set aside for each pot or each account will very much depend on your goals, objectives and risk profile. Within the Investment Account, if one has a lower risks profile, a good start may be to set aside a little more into Preservation instrument (more predictable) instead of Growth instrument (more market-dependent).

3

Start Now & Not Procrastinate

In the past, it may not be uncommon for some PMETs to stay in one company for life, until retirement. As a result, their peak income earning years may likely be between ages 50 to 60. Today, employment vulnerability is on the rise and job security cannot be taken for granted. PMETs are increasingly at risk of being retrenched. According to the retrenchment statistics released by the Ministry of Manpower, the proportion of PMETs among workers being retrenched annually has grown from 37% in 2008, to 65% in 2018. This upward trend is unlikely to be reversed anytime soon, and will be accelerated in the event of an economic downturn. Hence, one’s most economically active years is likely to be between 30 to 50 years old instead of 50 and beyond. It is therefore important to save more aggressively during this period and aim to be financially independent by age 50, if not 60. Beyond that, it would be enviable to be in the position where you work because you choose to and not because you have to.

Assuming you start savings at the age of 30 with $1,000 every month ($12,000 pa) for just 10 years (total $120,000), it is possible to receive a payout of $1,500 every month (or $18,000 every year) from age 50 to 70 (20 years). In short, with $120,000 set aside over 10 years, you may be able to receive a total payout of $360,000 over 20 years, which is about 3 times more!

Alternatively, with the same savings of $1,000 set aside every month from age 30 to 40, it is possible for the payout to be doubled to $240,000 or more before age 55, if one chooses to receive it in one lump sum. This is the power of compound interest when you start young and not procrastinate.

Without planning, with increasing employment vulnerability from age 50 onwards, it can be worrisome especially when one is caught in the sandwich generation of having to support school-going children and aged parents. You also do not want to be caught in the situation where you are too frail to work and too poor to retire. With deliberate planning, it is possible to experience financial freedom and to be in the position where you work because you choose to and not because you have to.

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2

Start Small & Diversify

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Recognise what you are working towards, start to prioritise your goals and envision the life you want to live. Once you know the financial goals, you need to work out your numbers. For instance, if you would like to buy a HDB flat valued at $500,000, the down-payment would be at least $100,000. Assuming a time frame of 5 years, this translates to a savings of $20,000 pa from both Cash and CPF. Would this be realistic? If it is not, being aware and being informed of it sooner is the first step to making positive behavioural changes. While the numbers may seem daunting at first instance, with small and deliberate steps taken, this may be achievable sooner rather than later.

FPAS Lo Hei Luncheon 2020

Lo Hei Luncheon 2020

Date: 6 February 2020 Venue: Unleash Café at 112 Robinson Road #01-02 SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

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FPAS celebrated this Chinese New Year with its CFP Professionals! We hope to have a bigger venue next year and celebrate this special occasion with all our members.

Wishing everyone a Blessed Happy Chinese New Year!

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

中国大陆 – 新加坡跨境 认证考试顺 利结束!

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Date: 5 – 8 December 2019 Venue: Shenzhen, China

12 月8日 , 中国大陆 – 新加坡跨境认证考 试在深圳顺利举行。本次考试共有38名中 国大陆 CFP 持证人参加, 其中有近一半的学 员不仅持有 CFP 证书, 还持有认证私人银 行家（CPB）证书。他们来自中国台湾地 区, 中国香港地区, 和中国大陆。考试前, 12 月5日至7日, 考生们还进行了22 学时的差别 教育培顺。通过本次跨境培顺并通过考试 的学员, 可以申请取得新加坡颁发的 AFP 或 AWP 证书。

Code of Ethics workshop for Ngee Ann Polytechnic Date: 6 January 2020 Venue: Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Following our MOU signing ceremony held on 27thAugust 2019, a Code of Ethics workshop was conducted for 170 students. The students are eligible to apply for AFP certification upon completing their 3 years course.

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

33

Event2020 Calendar 2020

February – March 2020

30 April 2020

21 August 2020

Financial Planner Awards 2020-Judging Panel-Oral presentation by Top Finalists

FPAS 20th Annual General Meeting

Financial Planner Awards 2020 at Mandarin Orchard Singapore

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September 2020

October 2020

October 2020

FPAS Stakeholders’ Luncheon 2020 at NTUC Centre

World Financial Planning Day Consumer Series 2020

CFP Graduation Ceremony

34 FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

*For information on the events visit www.fpas.org.sg - Events 210mmx148.5mm_mag ad(beans)_P.pdf

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6/3/20

4:17 PM

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

FPAS is pleased to be organizing the industry-wide competition in search of Singapore’s Top Financial Planner from the Banking, Insurance and Financial Advisory sectors for the 3rd year!

Samantha Wong CEO, FPAS

The inaugural Financial Planner Awards 2018 has garnered huge following from the consumers looking for good financial planning advice. This year, we are delighted to introduce the Students Category, where we have more than 100 students participating from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Nanyang Polytechnic. They have been mentored by our past Financial Planner Awards winners and I believe it was an invaluable learning experience gained!

Once again, we wish to congratulate all the finalists of the Financial Planner Awards. We look forward to the announcement of the winners in August.

Thank you to the panel of judges for their contributions and for making FPAS 3rd Financial Planner Award 2020 a great success!

Visit the Awards website, www.FPA.sg, to find out more.

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

The award aims to recognize financial planners who have demonstrated highest level of financial planning skills, professional knowledge excellence and uphold best practices in the industry.

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FINANCIAL PLANNER AWARDS 2020

JUDGING PANEL

Alfred Chia, CFP®

Gary Harvey

Goh Siak Koon

Rachie Hui, CFP®

Luke Lim

Dr Ben Fok, CFP®

Deepak Khanna

Hu Yuanwen, 胡渊文

Genevieve Cua

Dato’ Wayne Chen

Lily Choh

Vincent Ee

FPAS President CEO SingCapital Pte Ltd

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABILITY

Director Institute for Financial Literacy

Managing Director Phillip Capital

FPAS Vice President CEO St. James’s Place Wealth Management

COO and Head of Standards Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore

CEO Grandtag Financial Grp

36 FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

Head of Wealth HSBC Bank

Editor The Business Times

Head of Institutional, Asia Pacific Head of Distribution Southeast Asia Schroders

Assoc. Prof Jeremy Goh Principal Investigator Citi-SMU Financial Literacy Programme for Young Adults Singapore Management University

Associate Business Editor Lianhe Zaobao, 联合早报

CEO GoalsMapper

CEO Financial Alliance Pte Ltd

Ang Xiu Ling

Ferina Fionna Ali

Goh Teng Hui Justin

How Jia Hui

Koh Ho Kiat

Kor Jiaming Joshua

Li Yajun

Lin Weixin

Lin Yanfeng

Lo Bing Cheng Johnson

Ong Ji Yuan

Rachel Lau Xiu Hui

Soong Jun Cheng Aloysius

Tan Wai Leong

Tan Wei Loong Wilson

Teng Jun Wen

Wendy Sim Ling Ling

Yan Chin Fei

Yeo Du Qun

Zhou Kangxiang Alvin

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FINALISTS (ASPIRING CATEGORY)

37 FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

FINANCIAL PLANNER AWARDS 2020

FINANCIAL PLANNER AWARDS 2020

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FINALISTS (EXPERIENCE CATEGORY)

FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

Alicia Dee Chiew Yong, AFP

Chen Mingli

Chum Ling Li Lindee

Delia Tay Harng Hoon

Fang Chung Ngee Isaac

Goh Xingjun

Guan Wenyan

He Jiani

Hong Jingting

Hoong Hsien Rui Joshua Russell

Kee Siew Poh, CFP速

Koh Wee Leng Kelvin

Lim Kah Hian, CFP速

Nga Jin Kang

Seah Kai Ling Karene

Soh Chin Keong Samuel

Song Ruilin Marcus

Tan Ee Rui Telvin, AFP

Tay Wei Lin, CFP速

Yeo Jin Chong Jerry, CFP速

MENTOR AWARD & STUDENT CATEGORY FINALISTS

FINANCIAL PLANNER AWARDS 2020

MENTOR Mentor for Nanyang Polytechnic

Mentor for Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Mentor for Singapore Polytechnic

FPA2019 Winner FA sector Experience Category

FPA2018 Winner Insurance sector Aspiring Category

FPA2019 Winner Insurance sector Experience Category

Jerry Yeo, CFP®

Goh Ming Shan

Eric Seah, CFP®

GROUP 1 : NANYANG POLYTECHNIC Evelyn Toh Xiao Hui

GROUP 2 : NANYANG POLYTECHNIC Asher Patrick Chua Weijun

Celeste Yeo Pei

Lim Yee Teng

Lim Edith

Ng Guo Hao Philbert

GROUP 2: NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC Chong Li An Marcus

Jocelyn Voo Pei Yee

Nigel Ong Long Chuen

Oh Jia Jun

Toh Kai Bin

GROUP 3 : NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC Heng Xiao Wen

Heather Pang Jing Wen

Ching Tricia

Soon Jun Hong Samuel

GROUP 9 : NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC Chan Jun Kai

Chia Yao Tong

Bryan Khoo

Crystal-Joyce Woon Cheng Cheng

Tay Jia Sheng

GROUP 3 : SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC Ethan Lim Jun Xian

Jadon Ching Wei En

GROUP 4 : SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC Ang Jia Ni

Goh Ni Hui

Lim Zhi Qi Rachel

Ong Yun Yi

Tan Sze Woon

Vernis Tin Wan Ni

GROUP 5 : SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC Teo Xin Jian

Leow Qi Tai

Zemas Lim

GROUP 6 : SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC Kek Kai Seng Jeron

Loh LingFeng Melissa

Ng Ming Liang

Quak June Yang

Tham Wei Yi Rachel

GROUP 7 : SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC Chua Wei Zhuan

Dillon Ng Kor Young

Lim Wei Jie

Teo Wen Bin

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Chow Wen Xuan Joshua

39 FINANCIAL PLANNING MAGAZINE 2020

Adrain Kee Boon Leng

Nicole Tay

FIRST INDUSTRY-WIDE competition by FPAS for FINANCIAL PLANNERS IN SINGAPORE to be recognized for their FINANCIAL PLANNING EXCELLENCE in the BANKING, INSURANCE and FINANCIAL ADVISORY sectors.

21st August 2020 Mandarin Orchard Hotel Singapore

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