He added: “I want to contribute back to the industry I have been in for more than 15 years, and I want to use what I have learnt to ensure my decisions have a positive impact on financial planners.”
‘Not all unethical crooks’
Singapore’s government has also been working to implement new legislation to try and make the financial services industry more fair for consumers, most notable in the advisory world are the amendments to the Financial Advisers Act and Insurance Act.
“The industry is undergoing a lot of changes at the moment,” he said. “Regulatory changes are happening very quickly and affecting many practitioners, who all need to keep up to date or they will quickly become dinosaurs.”
“I don’t see changes like the Financial Advisory Industry Review (FAIR) as a challenge but rather a good step forward. It will not be good, however, for those advisers who just think about their wallets,” Kwok said. “FAIR has put financial planners on alert and means they will have to be more careful when advising their clients.”
Kwok said he is considering introducing awards to celebrate and showcase the achievements of advisers in Singapore. “We also want to communicate that not all financial planners are unethical crooks. We should promote and encourage advisers when they have done well so that others will want to follow in their footsteps.”
