Testimonies 

"I engaged the fee-based service from Wilfred to look at my existing investments and to construct a diversified portfolio. He analyzed my existing holdings and recommended a portfolio consisting mostly of index funds. The usage of a Trust to protect my assets from potential future creditors was also recommended. With the 33 pages report he did for me, I now come to know of the various instruments which previously was not known to me. The fee I paid was value for money." - Mr. Cheng, 44, businessowner 

"I'm not a financial expert so it's good to have a professional develop a plan for my investments. Through a fee-based investment plan consisting 14 hours of work, Wilfred was able to provide financial advice that was useful, if not educational." - Ms Wong, 38, teacher 

What is Fee-Based Financial Planning? 

The fee-based financial planning service is most suitable for clients who understand the value of independent and objective financial advice. Under this system, the financial adviser is compensated for the advice given. We call this the advisory fee. There is no obligation to purchase products from us. In fact, if products purchases are required, the client can source the purchase of the recommended products from other companies and not necessarily from us.

Moreover, you do not need to be high networth to engage this service. Anyone can sign up for this service.

1. Understand the client’s objectives;
2. Gather and collect data from client (fact finding process);
3. Analyze the data collected;
4. Provide recommendations based on the outcome of the analysis;
5. Execute the recommendations into reality; and
6. Monitor and review on a regular basis to ensure the execution has been done in accordance to the recommendations.

The fee-based approach is not necessarily suitable for everyone. The basic idea of fee-based approach is meant to compensate us for work done. If there is little or no work to be done, the fee is not necessary.  As a rule of thumb, if we spend less than 30 minutes of work, the fee-based approach is not necessary. “Work done” is defined as the time spent in email, discussion over phone and meetings. “Work done” also includes time for the adviser to do research, calculate and produce the necessary report. However, “work” excludes time filling up proposal forms, investment application forms and arranging for medical underwriting (in the case of insurance).

The bottom line is that if the work exceeds 30 minutes, it is only fair that clients use the fee-based service.

The following are typical examples which a fee-based approach is suitable:

1. Client seeking advice in restructuring existing insurance portfolios to see whether it continues to meet existing needs;
2. Client seeking advice in evaluating current investment portfolio and desiring to be recommended a good asset allocation plan;
3. Client seeking ways to consolidate investments into a single account and at the same time wanting ways to shelter some of the investment assets away from future creditors;
4. Client seeking ways to reduce or avoid hefty estate duty payable to foreign government jurisdictions due to the assets domiciled in those locations;
5. Client desiring a second opinion as to the suitability of the investment products that have been sold to them by others.

Fee-based approach can potentially save a lot of money

How can this be possible? You may wish to read two examples of how I can help my clients in saving a large amount of money: Investment Planning Illustration and Insurance Planning.

Request for Quotation and Procedure

The fee involved idepends on the complexity of the case. Realistically speaking, having a fee above $2000 is considered normal.  If you are keen in the fee-based service we offer, here is the procedure:

1. Download the file HERE and print it out. You will need to contact me for the password to open the file.
2. Contact me for a brief verbal discussion and fax to me the printed form. I will in turn provide a quotation.
3. If the client is agreeable with the fee, I will email you a service agreement which stipulate the scope of service we can do and the charges involved.
4. At the same time, I will send to you a fact finding form for you to fill.
5. We will meet for a 2 hours discussion to understand your objectives and for me to clarify the information that you have provided in the fact finding form. In this first meeting, the minimum fee stipulated in the agreement has to be paid in cheque from the onset. The agreement has to be signed and given to us from the onset too.
6. After the meeting, we will analyze the information provided and create a report.
7. A second meeting will be schedule for us to explain to you what we have analyzed and the recommendations arising from our analysis. The report will be given to the client.
8. Any outstanding fee will have to be paid in cheque at the end of the second meeting.
9. Subsequently any execution of the recommendations can be done by the client themselves or we can assist in the execution.
10. The client can consider a yearly review but any fee will be agreed upon separately.

Sometime it is possible for the client to pay more than what is reasonable.  This can happen if there is too much time spent in unproductive fact finding. This arises because the client is unable to furnish us with accurate information. Much time is wasted at this stage resulting in a high fee. To optimize and have efficient usage of time, here are some pointers:

1. When furnishing us with the information, fill up the fact finding form neatly. Never come empty handed.
2. Make copies of the latest investment statements from the banks or other distributors. Request for the latest statement if the current one is out-dated.
3. For insurance planning, bring along all relevant insurance policy documents. If the documents are lost, request from the insurers first. Have the latest bonus statement at hand. If this is not available, request from the insurer directly.
4. Never attempt to tell us your financial situation everything in verbal form. We still have to record and write down – why not you write down yourself first? This will save us time and your money.

If what I say makes sense to you, feel free to contact me.