For some of you may have noticed that CIMB bank now operates in Singapore. They made their presence known recently with an extraordinary large fixed deposit interest rate. A look at their product offering also revealed something different from other banks. Here are some interesting product offerings:

1. CIMB team up with TM Asia Life to offer TM Education, TM Lifestyle (LP – Rewards 15), TM Legacy (LP), TM Peace of Mind.

2. CIMB team up with NTUC Income to offer Vivolife SAIL and Revosave.

3. CIMB team up with iFAST to offer wrap account. Thus by doing so, it can also access a wide range of unit trusts with free switching.

The above are products advertised on their website although I am not sure whether products of low commission paying are offered such as NTUC Income’s Enhanced Incomeshield and NTUC Income’s iTerm.

Although this is not the first time iFAST, TM Asia Life and NTUC Income distribute their products through banking channels, it is interesting to note that the common products which IFA used are distributed by a single bank.

So what does that mean? A bank can increase its product offerings from multiple product vendors – it is only whether it wants or not. So it means that a bank can distribute more than 10 product manufacturers if it wants to. It is only a matter of business decision.

For more than 5 years, IFAs have been able to distribute many products from different manufacturers. IFAs claimed to be unbiased. Unfortunately this is far from truth. By default, this is not true. There is a huge amount of work that has nothing to do with insurance and investment. Why aren’t IFA offering such services as its core business? It is because there is nothing to earn. How could an IFA say he or she is unbiased than?

Therefore, IFAs who are merely product peddlers - their career is finished. People can just DIY and buy products from many sources these days.