Financial advisers willing to sell term and ETF

Hi Mr. Tan,

I am currently recruiting advisers especially tied agents who felt that their agencies have not been providing good support to them. I am aware that a number of agencies/firms taught their agents to sell based on the highest commissions rather than needs of their clients with very few training provided. 

Under my team, advisers will not be judged based on how much revenue they can bring in but on how clients are being helped. I imposed no sales quota. I’ll hand-hold these new advisers on how to do recommendations based on needs of their clients. I am product neutral as long as recommendations are suitable for their clients. This is unlike other agency managers who may be unhappy with low cost recommendations such as term and ETFs. Moreover, training provided easily exceeds 90 hours per year. This is way above the regulatory requirement of 30 hours.

My advisers will not charge an advisory fee unless they have significant relevant experience and academy qualifications. I do not consider advisers from tied agencies to have the relevant experience unless they can show evidence of selling products based on needs. In the meantime, how these new advisers are going to earn a decent living selling suitable products is going to be an issue. One of my ideas is to get clients to come to our business center for consultation during office hours. Clients indirectly pay for the advisory fee by incurring their own travel expenses and the inconvenience of taking time off from work. Even if these advisers do not charge a fee for the consultation, the reduction in travel and marketing expenses for these advisers will be significant because the profit margin for selling low cost products is higher when expenses are lowered. 

My recruitment page can be found here: http://www.wilfredling.com/content/view/169/67/.

Thank you for posting this on your blog. Appreciate it.

Wilfred Ling

FA Associate Director

Promiseland Independent Pte Ltd

10 tips on buying insurance

Here are 10 tips on buying insurance. It is written for consumers.
Ask Mr. Tan

Median income grew by 4.2%

Read this story: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1096348/1/.html
Although the median income has increased, it barely covers inflation. Furthermore, the lower income workers hardly earned any increase and have to cope with higher cost of living.

Talk by Jacques Attali - Is the Global Economy still in crisis?

I recommend my blog followers to attend this public talk - which I have registered to attend. Please read the details below and register for the talk. Personally, I like the socialist approach taken by France, rather than the free market capitalist approach followed of America (that has caused the global crisis). I like to hear what Dr. Attali has to say, and will also give my views at the seminar.

If you register for this talk, please send an e-mail to kinlian@gmail.com. I want to talk to you about the issues that you are interested in or know that you are attending.

Tan Kin Lian

ASEF(www.asef.org) is the only permanent institution of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) based in Singapore.

We organise various intellectual, cultural and people-to-people exchange programmes that promote mutual understanding between the people of Asia and Europe. So far we have conducted over 500 projects, reached out to over 15,000 participants in Asia and Europe.

On the 13^th of January 2011 we are organising a ‘Public Talk’ by the French economist and writer Jacques Attali, one of the top 100 public intellectuals of the world. This event is co-organised with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). Singapore Foreign Minister Mr George Yeo will be present in this event to introduce Dr Attali.

This will be an open session where people from different walks of life living in Singapore would get an opportunity to interact with Dr Attali. The topic for discussion: “Is The Global Economy Still In Crisis?”

The venue of the event is the Ballroom, Raffles Hotel (13^th January, Thursday, 10.00 am to 12.00 noon)

Here is a a short video on this event http://asef.org/index.php?option=com_project&task=view&id=669

BEST - Business Game

Go to this website: http://www.easyapps.sg/besta/

Watch the video to learn how to play this game.

There will be 7 games every hour. So, you can join the game at any time of the day or night! You can even join a game after it has started.

If you are not sure about playing the game, you can "View" any game and watch how the other players are doing. If you join the game and do not wish to submit any input, the software is intelligent enough to simulate the input for you.

If you are the only real player in the game, you will be competing against 9 other simulated players. You should be able to perform better than them, after you learn the technique. But, at the initial stage, you may perform worse.

Wish you all the best!

Making reparations

Hi Mr. Tan,

After studying for some financial planning examination modules as well as reading up widely about financial planning, insurance and investments, I have come to realise that I have sold many products of poor value to my clients during the last almost two years I spent at an agency of a large insurance company.

Being naive and new to the industry back then, I readily accepted products such as anticipated endowment plans and regular-premium ILP life insurance as good and beneficial for my clients and myself. Like many of my colleagues, I trusted my manager and company to teach us the right thing.

It is only now that I realised that many of these products were taught to us based on half-truths, and in turn we recommended such products to our clients based on such half-truths. When I raised such issues to my colleagues and manager, they persisted in rhetoric that we were truly benefitting our clients with such products, and even that the half-truths were necessary for them to take up the beneficial plans. Later, possibly knowing that I know better, I was persuaded to leave which I was more than happy to do so as I could not continue to do things against my conscience. My colleagues are still spell-bound by their managers and perhaps the money and incentives they got from the sales of such products. I know them to be good-natured and well-meaning people, but alas I feel hurt to realise that many of them think that I'm just trying to create trouble when I tell them about the serious downsides of the products we were selling.

I feel very bad and guilty that many of my clients will be shortchanged as a result of such plans which neither insure them adequately nor prepare them for retirement. Insurance agents face a lot of rejection, and I feel that I have betrayed the trust of these people who were kind enough to give me a chance to handle their finances.

I am moving on to an ethical independent financial advisory firm where I feel I will be most able to give ethical and competent advice (low cost funds and term policies), but I still feel bad for the financial damage I have potentially caused to my clients. I feel that I should tell them the truth I have realised about the products they have taken up, but I worry about the potential repercussions I might face. While I feel that it is good for them to know as their policies are still young and still manageable, I think that many will misunderstand and think I am just trying to sell other products to them even though I can receive a good income by just remaining mum and collecting the trailing commissions.

I even feel inclined to refund them the full cost of the premiums they have paid, but I realised that while the remuneration for such products were good, I cannot possibly do this as a bulk of the premiums also go to other entities aside from the adviser, and I have to consider my own survival.

I sincerely wish to make up for the wrongs I have done. I hope you and your blog readers can give some suggestions and advice on how I can make reparations to my clients.

Many thanks.

Great book on spirituality - one of the best!

Review of Wisdom on How to Live Life (Book 2) By Smudger "Spirituality"
Every decade or so comes a spiritual book which stands out from the rest. Don't get me wrong, I liked the Conversations With God series and still do, also Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now increased our knowledge of spiritualty enormously, but Dr. Tommy Wong's Wisdom and How to Live Life (BK2) is, in my opinion, at least on a par with any of those. His BK1 with the same title blew me away with the shear depth of reasoning in the dicussions between Guru Dick and Harry and the student Tom. This sequel centres on a discussion between Guru Harry and student Tom only. It covers such vitally important topics such as 'how to find our interest and mission in life', 'why it is important to believe that God and we are one','the real problems in having attachments'and so on. I have only owned BK2 for one week, but read it through twice, such is the impact this book has had on me and will do so again until its teachings permeates through me. I can truly recommend both books and honestly believe you will not regret doing so.


The books can be ordered here.

Asking for advice from TKL

If you wish to ask for my advice, please take note of the points stating in this FAQ:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=182

Some people expect to take up a lot of my time for free. They do not read the FAQs  or do their own homework before approaching me. When I told them that I do not have the time, they asked me to recommend someone who can advise them. I know of a financial planner who charges $200 per hour.

If you do wish to ask for time, be prepared to spend this money. Do not expect to take other people's time for free.

Sub-prime crisis in the USA

Many people saw the sub-prime crisis coming, except the people who are in charge. Will this also apply to Singapore? Although we do not have sub-prime loans, the low interest rate in Singapore is also inflating property prices.

Read SGEP.

Litigation Support Software | Litigation Services | Law Office Software

Litigation Support Software Factors To Consider

Some of the main factors to consider when looking at litigation support software include

• Document categories-does it allow the easy categorization of documents
• Is it easy to use for your litigation support staff
• Has is foreign language support
• Can it handle all of the popular file types

Common and popular e-discovery programs include Concordance, CT Summation, IPRO, JFS Litigator’s Notebook, CaseMap, LiveNote, TrialDirector and Zantaz.

via lawofficesoftware.org

FISCA Talk: Insuring your Financial Security

Title of talk: Insuring your Financial Security
Date : 18 Dec 10, Sat, 2-5 pm
Venue : The Verge (2 Serangoon Road Level 6)(Near Little India MRT)

FiSCA is pleased to bring to you another new topic on insurance. The speaker is Mr Tan Kin Lian, who has over 30 years of experience in insurance business. His talk will focus on how to consider insurance as another tool for your financial security. Make use of this great opportunity to learn from the insurance guru.

This event is available to all FiSCA members at $20 and non-members at $30.
We encourage the public to join as FiSCA members as the annual fee for members is only $36.

More details and registration can be found at:
http://www.fisca.sg/events

Outline of the talk can be found here.

HK: Minibond investors misled, says prosecutor

A bank manager appeared in court yesterday accused of misleading six investors, some barely educated and retired, to buy HK$6.8 million of Lehman Brothers minibonds.

Cheung Kwai-kwai, 47, a former personal financial services manager at Bank of China (Hong Kong), pleaded not guilty in the District Court to nine counts of fraudulently or recklessly inducing the victims to invest money between 2005 and 2008, violating the Securities and Futures Ordinance.

Senior prosecutor Jonathan Man Tak-ho said that Cheung misrepresented to the victims the minibonds were "principal protected", "of very low risk" or "highly secured" while experts said the products were complicated structures whose principal - the sum invested - was not protected, meaning investors could lose all of their money.

The alleged victims are now aged 51 to 78. Three were retirees when they were induced to buy the products, the court heard on the first day of the trial.

Read the following link for the full story:
http://www.lbv.org.hk/content/pages/posts/minibond-investors-misled-says-prosecutor10705.php

Learn to be entrepreneur

Singaporeans generally are not entrepreneurial. They are brought up in an environment to be careful, to work hard, to get the right answer and to avoid mistake. They tend to avoid making decisions and to take responsibilty for bad decisions. They like other people to decide for them. This is part of the Singaporean culture.

To be an entrepreneur, one has to be willing to try and experiment, to make mistakes and learn from mistakes, to learn by doing (rather than to take instructions from other people).

I have developed the BEST Business Game to allow the players to learn the skill of making decisions on pricing, marketing and resource allocation. It allows the player to develop the skill by practicing over many rounds.

Learn to be a business entrepreneur. Go to www.easysearch.sg and click on BEST Business Game.

Making advance payments

Consumers should be wary about making advance payments for private school fees, spa treatments or other services, or investing in investment schemes by unregulated bodies that promises a high rate of return.

Ask Mr. Tan

Rising cost of health care

Many people are worried about the rising cost of health care. The insurance agent tell them that the solution is to buy private shield insurance. This is bad advice, especially for people who have a tight budget and do not have sufficient savings for their retirement.

My reasons are explained in several FAQs that can be found in my website, www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx. You can search for them by using the keyword "Shield" or "health".

The insurance agents tend to exaggerate the need frequency and high cost of medical treatment to get people to buy private shield. Here are the reasons why you should avoid spending this money:

• Young people have a low incidence of serious illness
• If it happens, they can be treated at a low cost in a subsidized ward or will be paid by the employer
• By buying private shield, you have to pay a higher premium and a higher co-payment for treatment
• There is the risk of the claim under private shield being rejected due to non-disclosure or exclusion. You can read a few stories of rejected claims in my website. 

The cost of health care can increase 5 to 15 times for older people. If the buy private shield, the cost can be 2.5 to 4 times of Medishield. To keep the cost at a more manageable level, the elderly people insure under Medishield and pay a lower premium and a lower co-payment when they are hospitalised.

Private shield should only be bought by people who are wealthy and have more than enough savings for their retirement, and want to have the choice of their own doctor, and do not mind paying a higher premium and higher co-payments.

Tan Kin Lian

Buying Term Insurance

A few consumers have asked me to tell them how they can buy Term Insurance. I asked them to go to my website (www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx) and search for "Term". There are a few FAQs that help them to find the right premium and to go to the right website. I do not know the answer myself, so I have to make the same search.

Pay the right price

Consumers often ask me the following:

• Is it good to buy private shield, compared to Medishield?
• Should I stay on pension or take the lump sum?
• Should I invest in an ILP?

The correct answer should be - it depends on the price. If you pay the right price relative to the benefits, then the policy is good. If you are paying an excessive price, then the policy is bad.

For example, a civil servant asked me whether it is better to keep the pension or take a lump sum. It depends on how much the retiree gets to give up the pension. After providing the figures, it is easier to make a judgement by comparing the different options. This type of question cannot be answered "in a vacuum". 

In the FAQs in my blog, I educate consumers about what is the right price, and how to avoid being over-charged. You can go to my website, www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx to search for the relevant FAQ. You have to enter a keyword, such as "investment linked" or "shield" or "pension" and see the FAQs that are relevant to the subject. If you cannot find the FAQ, you can change the keyword and try again.

When you find the FAQ, you can read it on the browser, or download it into your PC. You can also print it out, if you need to read it offline.

Spend some time to search and read the relevant FAQ before you send a question to me. You can get a better answer when you are educated. You should not rely on other people to think for you.

Tan Kin Lian

Alan Shadrake's case - reply by Singapore High Commissioner

The Singapore High Commissioner to UK replied to the Guardian newspaper about Alan Shadrake's case.

SGEP

Victims of spas that closed down

Dear Sir,
I would like to raise to your attention that many people who had signed up for spa packages with True Spa and Subtle Senses are still paying for credit card installments even after these 2 spas have stop operations.


http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_170620749615018&ap=1#!/home.php?sk=group_170620749615018&view=doc&id=171669619510131


Is it possible if you could explain to the consumers how this can be possible?


Someone asked why can’t consumers just pay banks the factoring fee they earned and then the credit cards go after the spas for the rest?


The Government has chosen to remain silent about all these or take a watch and see stance. I feel there is a lot of injustice in Singapore.


The victims have started a Facebook group which is now about 500 people. Even though there 18000 customers, many have been fearful of defamation charges or trouble if they make noise. I heard someone who sued True Spa last year was countersued for defamation by True Spa.


Where is the justice in Singapore? Do you know how we can ask the government to take action to swiftly freeze the voluntary liquidation of Subtle Senses? I think instead of using customers’ advance payments to operate the spa businesses, True Spa is now an empty shell and we are not sure where all the millions of dollars of customers’ monies is now.


Hope the government can do something quickly. Otherwise the monies will just disappear after being transferred here and there.


Thank you for your kind attention.
Ally

Pension or lump sum?

Should a Singapore civil servant who reaches retirement age keep the pension or give it up for a lump sum payment? Read this article to learn about what to look for and how to make your decision.

www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx

CPF and low cost housing

Read the views of the Reform Party in SGEP.

Singapore Casinos causing problems to Johore familes

Singapore casinos are causing problems to Johore familes. Read SGEP

Loan shark harrassment cases

Are these cases on the rise or falling? Read SGEP

Questionable business practice

Hi Mr. Tan,

I would like to bring you to the attention of this practice an insurance company agency is carrying out at IT exhibition fairs such as Sitex 2010 which starts today.

They claim to offer car insurance quotes. From anecdotal accounts (such as one here), the representatives at the fair will approach exhibition goers with car insurance, trying to get them to discuss it at their booth. They will later try to push financial products like anticipated endowment plans to these people. 

Their website currently lists their address. A quick reference reveals this address to be a building of a life insurance company. They also collect personal and contact information on their website. I can only imagine how such particulars are being used.

I cannot imagine this to be tolerable by local regulators. Is there a channel where we can notify the regulators to look into this matter?

Many thanks for reading.

REPLY

You can lodge a complaint with MAS.

Monkey sprayed with water

Have you wondered why some government or company regulations are followed mindlessly for years, after they have lost their purpose? Read this story.

Monkey sprayed with water

Neighbourhood schools now require balloting

Hi Mr Tan,
You said "parents have the choice to ignore these competitive requirements and send their child to a nearby school, i.e.instead of competing for the "good" schools.". I wish to update you on the P1 registration today. Many so-called non-famous schools (eg. in Woodlands, Sembawang) require balloting nowadays. This is due to the fact that PRs enjoy the same priority as citizens for P1 registration. As S'pore PR is easily obtainable, this is tantamount to giving foreigners equal standing as citizens for P1 registration. The recent amendment to give citizens an extra ballot slip is just cosmetic. A PR whose sibling is already studying in the school will get priority over citizens without one. Is this fair?

The P1 registration priority system is very convoluted for a reason. It allows many well connected parents to obtain backdoor entry to famous schools without a soul noticing. I have come across such cases before. It is ironic that this government prides itself as being meritocratic!


TY

Understand your life insurance needs

Many people have to consider life insurance when they are approached by an agent (or someone who is called an adviser or consultant). The agent will tell them about the risk of premature death or critical illness or the need to save for the future, and recommend a life insurance policy as the solution.

The agent is well trained to tell convincing stories to the consumer, but these stories are often exaggerated. The life insurance policy is usually not in the interest of the consumer, i.e. the consumer can find better alternative solutions. The agent is likely to recommend the life policy that pays a fat commission (usually several thousand dollars) to the agent, and is taken away from the consumer.

I strongly advice consumers to be educated about life insurance and personal financial planning so that you can make a better decision for your future. You can read my book on financial planning (www.tankinlian.com/ishop) or attend the educational talks conducted by FISCA (www.fisca.sg).

You can also get answers to specific questions in the FAQs posted in my website, www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx. Some of these FAQs can be found by searching for the keywords below:

Half truths
Right prioirty
Low cost
How to say "No"

My message is specially directed to young people who are starting work for the first time, as you will be the target of several life insurance agent within a few months. Some of them are your classmates or friends. You need to know how to ask the right questions and how to say "no" to them. You have to learn this skill, as it could save several thousand dollars from being wasted.

My message is also for parents of these young people. Do pass this message to your children. It will mean a lot for their future.

Tan Kin Lian

Competing to enter "good" schools

Hi Mr Tan,

Recently, there was an article about MM Lee acknowledging that admission to primary school is "unfair"
http://edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/news/news/493926/MM_Lee_admits_admission_to_primary_school_is_unfair.html

I have a toddler myself and I am aware of the "pressures" that many parents face when thinking about their child's education.  Many parents start signing up for parent volunteer work, planning for move, when the child is like 2-3 years old (maybe even younger) and there's alot of emphasis on which schools to go to, based on the "perception" that some schools are better than others. For the teachers, I am sure those who are from the "elite" or more popular schools will face added pressure of keeping up their "reputation", will it inevitably focus more on academic results than the development of the child per se?

I am overseas, and until the day i return to Singapore, I guess I am "fortunate" not to be overly stressed by this issue. But I am just wondering aloud here, is it unthinkable that the education ministry scrap all these "crap" about alumnus, parent volunteer etc, and let the MAIN critieria for admission be proximity to the school and siblings being in the same school. Wouldn't that level the playing field, instead of the current vicious cycle?

Do you have any views? Whether what I suggest is a viable option to consider by our government?

MY REPLY

Parents have the choice to ignore these competitive requirements and send their child to a nearby school, i.e.instead of competing for the "good" schools. 

I was educated in a primary school near my home, and it was not a "good" school. I was able to top the school without too much hard work and continue my secondary school in Raffles Institutition (which I entered on merit). I did receive an education that was suitable for my working life.

 

Tan Kin Lian

Manila, Philippines

 

Rich people should pay more taxes

Here is the view of Warren Buffett:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-21/warren-buffett-tells-abc-rich-people-should-pay-more-in-taxes.html

Know what is happening in Singapore

There are many things happening in Singapore that citizens should be aware of. Some of these happenings are negative, and are not covered in the local media, as they only present the positive sides. They are covered by bloggers and are usually well written. You can get updated on these happenings by visiting the General Election portal (SGEP).

For example, there is the case of a young man, borne in Japan with a Singaporean mother, who lived in Singapore since 10 years old and served National Service. He overlooked to make his oath of negligence (as he was not aware about it) and his citizenship is taken away. No one in the civil service is willing to take the responsibility to bend the law and allowed him to retain his citizenship. This is quite typical of behavior in Singapore - no one wants to take the responsibility - not even the Minister!

Be aware of the issues. Read SGEP. At the next general election, ask yourself .... do you wish to see changes for the better?

Wall Street Cover-Ups, Deceptions and Lies

Hi

Here is an interesting article whose contents you already know but good to share with your readers.

http://www.uncommonwisdomdaily.com/wall-street-cover-ups-deceptions-and-lies-10676?FIELD9=5

Mike

John Lennon’s song and Tommy Wong’s books

Listen to John Lennon’s song “Imagine” and read Tommy Wong’s books “Wisdom on How to Live Life”, you will find that amazingly both deliver the same message for the betterment of mankind.

The books can be ordered here.

Teaching of Chinese language

I met someone recently who come from a family with a strong background in Chinese education. He spoke strongly against the new method of teaching Chinese using Pinyin. The students focused too much in Pinyin and did not pay sufficient attention to the Chinese writing. He said that this approach would destroy the Chinese language and culture. According to him, this view is shared by many Chinese language teachers.

He further remarked, "Just because some elites have children who are not able to cope with Chinese, they are now changing the system to suit their own purpose!" This is a strong statement, but I sense that there is probably some grounds for this belief. To avoid this type of feeling, it is best that these types of issues should be openly discussed. It is bad for decisions to be taken by a few elites, making the other people feeling left out.

Skyway in Manila

I am now in Manila to speak at a seminar. On the way to the hotel, the limousine went up a road called the "Skyway". It is an elevated highway. There is no toll fee. The skyway is not congested and the traffic flows smoothly. Most cars use the ground level road as they travel a short distance and have to make turns. The skyway is useful for long distance travel.

14 years ago, I suggested to the Minister for Transport to build a second level expressway above the Central Expressway. This would be suitable for long distance travel and would relief the congestion on the CTE. He consulted his engineers and replied that there were technical constraints. They did not want to talk to me. I disagreed with the assessment, but did not wish to pursue the matter.

I believe that the elevated highway is a good approach to relief the traffic congestion and should be considered as a possible solution.

Tan Kin Lian

Will Singapore face the same outcome as Ireland?

Should we be worried about Singapore? Prevention is better than cure.

DareToAct

Excerpt:
Ireland was one of the poorest countries in Europe when it joined the EU in 1973 along with Britain. Even with European subsidies, unemployment in the mid-1980s averaged 16 percent.


In the 1990s, lured by a 12.5 percent corporate tax, companies such as Pfizer Inc. and Microsoft Corp. helped Ireland export its way into becoming the “Celtic Tiger.” The jobless rate sank to 3.9 percent by 2001. In the decade through 2006, Ireland grew at an average annual rate of about 7 percent, the fastest among euro-area countries.


That expansion, together with easy credit, fanned a real- estate bubble. Home prices almost quadrupled in the decade through 2007. It went disastrously wrong for Ireland following the 2008 demise of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc ., which turned the slowdown in the property market into an implosion that engulfed the economy. The ISEQ stock index has plunged 70 percent from its record in 2007.
 
My view
Singapore is following the same path and is likely to face the same outcome.

Unreformed socialist

I met a doctor friend who has known me for many years. He remarked, "Kin Lian, I heard you speak at the medical seminar. You are an unreformed socialist. This is a dangerous occupation in our capitalist society today".

I understand his remarks. So many powerful people in Singapore, including our government leaders, are pursuing their personal wealth and interest. Someone who is willing to speak for the ordinary people, will not be welcomed by them.

It is sad to see what has been happening in recent years. We have among the worst income distribution in the world, as measured by the Gini coefficient. Many people have to work on two jobs to earn enough for the family. They are paid wages that are way below the poverty line, and yet our leaders refuse to consider a minimum wage.

Singapore made the best progress in our earlier years, when the economic policies were more fair and equal ( i.e more socialist), than they are today. Singapore was a more cohesive society in the old days.

Tan Kin Lian

Recognize the right priority

The insurance agent tells consumers that their biggest risk is premature death and critical illness. This is not true. The chance of this happening during the working life ins less than 10%. More than 90% is likely to work till retirement without facing these risks. They are more likely to retire with inadequate savings, in spite of saving prudently over a lifetime, because a large part of their accumulated savings is taken away from them due to the bad life insurance policies. This is a bigger risk facing more people.

www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx

ILP - sharing our experience and mistake.

Dear Mr Tan,

Here is my two cents worth for investment linked products. My wife being the naive person she is bought some insurance/investment plan from DBS/AVIVA called her assurance gold in a bid to earn a decent return on her hard earned money but alas she was sweet-talked by a financial planner to sign up for the plan.

Once the plan had been signed, the financial planner did not call her for the next 5 years and she had faithfully contributed $500/mth to this plan.

She started investing in this product in July 2004 till present Nov 2011 which would make it a total of 77 months of premium paid up to date. (Do correct me if I got the months wrong) Thus paying up to $38,500 in total. The current value is worth only $26,650.22 which a loss of 31% (no including inflation)

After selling the policy, agents have a hands off approach. I do believe that most people are better off investing in an STI ETF or some blue chip share which gets dividends.

I do hope that other investors do learn from our mistakes and not be CONNED into buying investment linked products from agents who think of nothing but earning a quick buck from naive people like my wife.

My pain is your gain!

*Kindly take note that most insurance agents do not have a basic salary or a very low basic salary thus they would sell products which would give them the most commission as just to meet the client, they would have to pay for dinner, transport, parking etc thus selling low commission products such as term insurance would not make sense to them.

PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES, WOULD YOU BE SELLING TERM INSURANCE TO EARN A MEASLY COMMISSION OR INVESTMENT LINKED/LIFE INSURANCE? (Food for thought)

KC

My view
Although an insurance agent needs to earn an income, it does not justify selling a policy that makes the customer poor for a long time. Some agents earn more than a modest income to make a living - they earn a large income of five figures a month.

The agent claims to be professional and to give advice in the interest of the client. It is bad for them to mislead the client and sell bad products to rip off the client.

Rising cost of health care

Are you financially prepared to meet the rising cost of health care when you are retired? How much does it cost? What is the best way to preserve your Medisave savings to meet this rising cost? Here are the tips.

www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx

Creating An Online Business-Step By Step Guide | BusinessAndLegal.ie

It is important to read these posts and take action in the order I have set out.

Step 1-An Outline of this online business model
Step 2-Keyword research Part 1
Step 3-Keyword research part 2
Step 4-Proof of the value of good keyword research
Step 5-Creating search engine optimized websites


You will discover, for free, how to create your own online business.

But if you are looking for get rich quick, click away now. Because building an online business will take work, time, effort and application by you.

Just like in an offline business.

via businessandlegal.ie

Read my book - Practical Guide on Financial Planning

Some people sent questions to me, asking me for guidance. I sense that they are quite ignorant on financial matters, and do not seem to make the effort to learn the basic knowledge. They only expect other people to give them the answer. This is dangerous and unfair.

At the least, they should read my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning. It gives them a good background to ask sensible questions. I hope that they will take this important step - before they send their questions to me.

Business Times: UBS takes on couple in $9m lawsuit

Published in Business Times

Husband and wife, who have been private banking clients, countersue
By MICHELLE QUAH

The Singapore arm of Swiss bank UBS AG is taking two of its private banking clients to court, on the grounds that the couple owes the bank some S$9 million.

The couple, Ng Kok Keong and wife Yow Sin May, have filed a counterclaim - saying that their money was lost as a result of the 'grossly negligent' behaviour of their relationship manager, Lily See. They are seeking damages, in addition to what they have claimed they had lost.

Read the full story in BT website (free after 6 pm)
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,413973,00.html?

More Singapore stories in this portal:
http://www.easyapps.sg/SGEP/Latest.aspx

My comments
Reading the facts of this case, I get the impression that the investments were made in leveraged dual currency contracts. I have warned investors to avoid these type of contracts. Read this article.

Large increase in membership of FISCA

There was a large increase in membership of FISCA during the past two weeks (about 30 new members). This was probably due to my letter, published in the Straits Times on term insurance, whole life insurance and investment linked policies, and to the interest in the FISCA's analysis on the DBS preference shares, which was posted in the FISCA website (for member's only).

You can join FISCA (www.fisca.sg) and attend the educational talks at a discounted price for members. FISCA now offers 4 separate talks. Wow!

Garrett Goh's original letter

Garrett Goh has sent me his original letter (see below) that was sent to the Straits Times. The Straits Times editor published an edited version.


TO: Straits Times (for publication on ST Forums)

I refer to the ongoing discussion on insurance products (Lim Pueh Joo, "Investment-linked policy works best for me", Straits Times, Nov 19), specifically to address the “advantages” of investment-linked policies (ILP).

Mdm Lim is technically correct in that once the term insurance period ends, renewal premiums will be costly if a person develops a medical condition. However, she has failed to understand that purchasers of term insurance are not looking to renew their policy at the end of their term. Buying term insurance is only half of the strategy. One should not forget about the other part, where advocates of term insurance will save and invest the difference between the premiums of a comparable ILP policy and term policy. As written in my earlier letter, for an insurance coverage of $500,000 for a mid-20s male, this sum is about $8000/yr. Assuming that this difference of $8000/yr is invested in low-cost investment instruments and grows at a moderate 5% per annum for the next 40 years (till retirement age), the accumulated "cash value" will be $1,000,000. Consumers who buy term insurance and invest the difference will very likely be able to accumulate their own "cash value" by the time the term policy expires, and this self-accumulated "cash value" will be at least equivalent if not greater than the insurance coverage purchased. Having a personal "cash value" is also more advantageous, because one can claim one's own money without restrictions like adhering to the strict definitions of 30 critical illness.

I am pleased that Mdm Lim has found her ILP returns to be good. However, I would advise her to make an appropriate comparison before jumping to conclusions. It is well known that ILP introduce many additional fees that increase their effective expense ratio. Low cost investment products have an expense ratio of about 0.50%, which is much lower than the ILP expense ratio that may be around 2.0% or higher. The high ILP expense ratio will be detrimental to her financial health in the long term. Using the above hypothetical scenario (which assumes a gross 5% returns per annum), if a consumer were to save and invest the $8000/yr difference for the next 40 years, the ILP investor would accumulate a cash value of about $600,000 versus the DIY investor's cash value of about $850,000. Personally, I find the idea of giving the insurance company a quarter million dollars a total rip off. ILPs only appear to be a win-win situation because consumers are not well educated about the cheaper alternatives out there.

Garrett Goh

Garrett Goh: Strategy behind buying term insurance

Published in Straits Times Online Forum

I REFER to the ongoing discussion on insurance products (Madam Lim Pueh Joo, "Investment-linked policy works best for me"; yesterday), specifically to address the "advantages" of investment-linked policies (ILP).
Madam Lim is technically correct in that once the term insurance period ends, renewal premiums will be costly if a person develops a medical condition.

However, purchasers of term insurance are not looking to renew their policies at the end of their terms.
Buying term insurance is only half of the strategy. Advocates of term insurance will save and invest the difference between the premiums of a comparable ILP policy and term policy.

Consumers who buy term insurance and invest the difference will very likely be able to accumulate their own "cash value" by the time the term policy expires.
This self-accumulated "cash value" will be at least equivalent to, if not greater than, the insurance coverage purchased.

Having a personal "cash value" is also more advantageous,because one can claim one's own money without restrictions, such as adhering to the strict definitions of 30 critical illnesses.
It is well known that ILP policies introduce many additional fees that increase their effective expense ratio.

Low-cost investment products have an expense ratio of about 0.5 per cent,
which is much lower than the ILP expense ratio. The latter may be around 2 per cent or higher. ILPs appear to be a win-win situation only because consumers are not well educated about the cheaper alternatives out there.

Garrett Goh
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_605149.html

Motor claims - protect consumer who make third party claim

Printed in Straits Times Forum page
We agree with Mr Tam Ah Hock ('Protect consumers'; Nov 10) that the insurer of an illegally modified vehicle that caused the accident should pay the third-party claim. 

After paying the claim, the insurer can seek to recover the loss from its policyholder, if the policyholder had breached its conditions. This should be a separate matter between the insurer and its insured and should not affect the third-party claimant.

The insurer is not acting fairly by refusing to consider a claim from the third party on the grounds of a breach of policy condition. It is hard for the third party to sue an uninsured owner, as the owner may not be able to pay.
The current law should be amended to extend compulsory insurance coverage to damage of third-party vehicles.

The insurer should also be required to pay compensation to third parties, regardless of a policy breach by the insured. This will protect third parties but leave the insurer free to seek recovery of the loss from its insured. 
At present, most owners buy at least third-party insurance to cover injury and property damage. The change to the law will not cause hardship to consumers.

MR TAN KIN LIAN, 
President, Financial Services Consumers Association
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_605227.html

Funniest Pick Up Lines

Here is a collection of my favourite, funniest pick up lines and the pick up lines that have worked for me.

You know the most successful guys with picking up women are the guys who realize that funny pick up lines work..and work like gangbusters.

If you can get a woman to laugh with you, you can get her to do anything and there isn’t a better pick up line for girls than a funny one.

via funniestpickuplines.org

Heres and entertaining and funny site I came across..

Motor insurance premium

The General Insurance Association said that motor insurance premium will increase more slowly next year, after a 19% increase in 2009 and 10% increase in 2010.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1094436/1/.html

They do not seem to know that these increases are much higher than inflation rate.

Why Investment Linked Policy make a bad investment

Read this article, by a consumer who realized that he / she has been conned by the agent.

Myths about Private Shield

This article explains some myths about Private Shield that cause many people to be spending a lot of money wastefully.

www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx

Election is coming - read SGEP

The general election is coming. There is a news report about the high growth rate of the economy. But, economic growth is good for some people and bad for others who are at stagnant income and not able to keep up with the cost of living.

Read about these issues in the Singapore General Election portal (SGEP), It is updated daily with relevant news from the local media, international media and the blogs. Keep a bookmark to visit SGEP daily. Or, add it to your RSS feed.

Lim Pueh Joo: Investment-linked policy works best for me

Letter published in Straits Times Online Forum

Nov 19, 2010
MR TAN Kim Lian's line of thought ("Why only term insurance plans make sense now"; Monday) continues to perplex.

 He assumes term insurance is sufficient because it is low cost and gives the highest cover per dollar. This can be dangerous. Never decide based on price alone.

Term insurance is low cost but it may not be cheap in the long term. Once the insurance period ends, underwriting is required for renewal. If a person develops a medical condition before renewal, that no insurance company will accept, the person will be uninsurable for life. Also, if a person loses his job and cannot pay the premium when due, the cover terminates.

With whole life and investment-linked policies, there are usually cash reserves to automatically tide over the non-payment of premiums for some time when the policyholder is unable to pay.

 I have different policies from various insurance companies for my family. My best policy is my investment-linked one. Not only does it give better returns than projected in spite of the different financial crises over the years, but it also gives me the flexibility to vary the premiums and cover through my different life stages.

I am also aware the insurance company made more money, but who cares when it is a win-win situation. We should be thankful that there are now more life insurance choices for people with different needs. 

Lim Pueh Joo (Madam)

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_604763.html


View this letter in Wordle


Update
I have sent my reply to this letter. I hope that the Straits Times will published it. I also hope that some of my readers will write a reply to this letter from Mdm Lim.


Read this article:
Investment-linked policy - the good and bad
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx

Creating Websites For Maximum Search Engine Optimization-Plug Ins And Themes | BusinessAndLegal.ie

There might be some debate between users of Dreamweaver and similar programs and WordPress fans. If you want to make fancy websites with nice design features and bells and whistles this might be a debate worth having.

But I am engaged in online business to make money so there is no contest-I use WordPress. WordPress allows me to build sites quickly and with the range of plug ins and themes available it is perfect for building my online real estate quickly and efficiently.

via businessandlegal.ie

Medical insurance for elderly people

Dear Mr.Tan,

I enjoy reading your blog as I get to learn many useful knowledge from you. 

May I seek your advice. I intend to buy health shield for my parents who are not working for anyone.

My mum is a housewife and my dad is doing manual work with no insurance.  The yearly cost for one person is about $800+ as they are above 61 years old. If health shield is not advisable, what are the other alternatives?

REPLY

t is better to buy Medishield, as the premium is about half to one third of Private Shield and the co-payment is lower. For elderly people, it is better to be treated in subsidised ward (B2) rather than in higher ward. 

I am personally insured under Medishield, as I do not want to pay 2 to 3 times the premium for private Shield. Read this FAQ:

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=229

The premium for Private Shield will increase sharply as your parents pass the 70 and 80 year bracket. It can be 2 to 3 times of the current premium. 

Here are the premium for Medishield:

http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/uploadedFiles/News/Press_Releases/2008/MSH%20Payout%20-%20Annex%20B.pdf

Buy 2 get 1 free

A few titles are available at a discount of 33.3%, i.e. buy 2 get 1 free. You can join with your friends to buy these book, i.e. financial planning, intelligence quiz, etc. You can share the discount. You can also buy the bundle and present them as gifts. Go to www.tankinlian.com/ishop.

Ask Mr. Tan - Low cost investment fund

This article explains how you can invest in a low cost investment fund in Singapore. It also covers the issues of liquidity, diversification and its use as a retirement fund.

www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx (search for Low Cost Investment Fund)

test

via AudioBoo

Pretty good for Government work

Warren Buffett said "thanks" to the US Government for acting with courage to tackle the financial crisis:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/opinion/17buffett.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

What an excellent letter from a great person!
.

Shape Quiz (bundle of 10 minipaks)

Enjoy a discount of 25% when you order 10 mini-paks for $15 (usual price $20). Great as a game for children's party. Also, to give away as a gift. www.tankinlian.com/ishop.

Picture

Intelligence Quiz - vol 1, 2 and 3 (bundle)

This bundle of 3 books - vol 1, 2 and 3, is now available at a discount of 33.3%. You pay for 2 books and get the 3rd book free. It is a logic puzzle based on the famous puzzle created by Dr. Albert Einstein, the most famous scientist of all times.
Order at www.tankinlian.com/ishop.

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Wisdom on How to Live Life (Book 3)

Humans being the most intelligent species and having lived on Earth for thousands of years, we are yet nowhere near to a life of peace, love, joy and harmony. This book contains a story of a young man, Tom, who had a fourth conversation with Guru Harry. This is a continuation of their first three conversations which are contained in the books “Wisdom on How to Live Life” and “Wisdom on How to Live Life (Book 2)”. Guru Harry epitomizes someone from a spiritual society who offers a way of living which can lead to peace, love, joy and harmony.

Through this fourth conversation, Tom learnt that (1) why we should live our lives according to our wishes, (2) why it is better to have morality than money, (3) why somebody who did ten good deeds is better than another who did one hundred good deeds and one bad deed, (4) what is the negative response we need to prepare for when we do good, (5) why life is getting harder and harder, (6) why it is better to solve problems with spiritual solutions than physical solutions, (7) why there is so much fear on Earth, (8) why it is better to believe that there is no heaven, (9) why masters do not directly bring heaven to Earth, and (10) how to build a loving society.

More information about the book can be found on the websitehttp://wisdomlife.page4.me/

The book can be ordered here.

Author: Dr. Tommy Wong

USB Charger

I bought this USB charger from a shop in Queen Street for $15. It allows me to charge many mobile devices. I have charged by Android phone, iPod and Flip video-cam using both electricity and laptop. It worked without any problem.

I have approached the supplier to buy a bulk order. I can sell it for $12 per unit ($10 for order of 3 or more units). If you are interested, please reply to this survey.  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YYDFXJT. If there is sufficient demand, I will place the order.

Articles in SGEP

Is Singapore heading in the right direction? What changes do you like to see in Singapore? Read the articles that are collated in the Singapore General Election Portal.

SCMP:Bank officer charged over minibond investments

http://www.lbv.org.hk/content/pages/posts/bank-officer-charged-over-minibond-investments10555.php

A bank customer service officer appeared in Eastern Court yesterday accused of inducing five customers to invest HK$1.26 million in Lehman Brothers' minibonds.

Chan Lai-ha, 51, did not enter pleas to five charges of fraudulently or recklessly inducing others to invest money. The case is adjourned to December 1 for transfer proceedings to the District Court.

The minibonds, issued or guaranteed by the US bank which collapsed in September 2008, are a type of high-risk, credit-linked derivative - a financial instrument that derives its value from an underlying security.

On March 17, 2004, Chan allegedly induced Stephen Wong Man-ka to invest US$50,000 in Minibonds Series 9 by claiming that he would not suffer any loss of the principal amount, and that the investment did not carry any economic risk of loss. By making similar claims, she allegedly induced Ip Man-ye and Leung Chu-pang to invest HK$200,000 in Minibonds Series 15 on December 28, 2004.

On March 9, 2005, and December 1, 2007, she allegedly induced Ip to invest US$10,000, and Huyhn Tu-chau to invest HK$400,000.

The fifth charge alleges that Chan, on February 1, 2006, induced Li Ruilan to invest HK$200,000 in Minibonds Series 35, by claiming that the issuers of the product were the following - HSBC Bank, Hutchison Whampoa, the MTR Corporation, the People's Republic of China, Standard Chartered Bank, Sun Hung Kai Properties and Swire Pacific.

Chan is also accused of telling Li that in the unlikely event of a credit event occurring, she would only suffer a loss of a portion of the principal invested. Each offence carries a maximum penalty of HK$1 million in fine and seven years in jail. 

Living on accumulated savings - DIY

This article explains how a retiree, with adequate savings, can invest in a low cost investment fund and make monthly withdrawals for living expenses. There is no need to suffer a large deduction from the accumulated savings by investing in a life annuity.

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=283

Ask Mr. Tan

John Bogle - Investing in indexed fund

Why it is bad to pick a high cost, actively managed fund:
Why it is better to pick a low cost indexed fund
Investors look backward to pick the good funds,  but they will be wrong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAui2s6dPi4

Warren Buffet on Low Cost Investment Fund

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEX81lGhMwM&NR=1

Dave Ramsey on Life Insurance I

Truth about life insurance investing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCD7dgT17Rg&feature=related

Many people have a long term need for life insurance ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7VOZnJy7lE&feature=related

Suze Orman - Life Insurance is a bad investment

Here is Suze orman's view about life insurance as an investment. It is a bad investment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vnN9liFWaE

Suze Orman said that life insurance is bad for consumers, because of the high commission and other charges. Actually, it is not so bad in America, as there are tax advantages to offset the high charges. There is no tax advantage in Singapore, so life insurance is exceptionally bad in Singapore. It is made worse by the high deductions that are probably higher than in America.

Is a life insurance agent helping consumers by selling them a bad product? What type of friend is this?

FISCA talk - Insuring your Financial Security

Here is the powerpoint of the talk. It will replace the previous title "Consumer Guide to Insurance". The talk will be made available in December or January. Those who are interested to attend this talk are asked to give their particulars in this survey. Those who have registered for the previous title need not register again, as the topics are quite similar.

FISCA Talk on Financial Planning

I have changed the powerpoint for my talk on Financial Planning. The new outline is set out here. The next talk will be held on Saturday 4 December at 3 to 6 pm. Register here. This talk may still be of interest to FISCA members who attended the talk previously, as there is new content.http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=282

Costly rider to cover critical illness

A consumer bought an investment linked policy with an annual premium of $1,200. He insured for critical illness rider for $50,000. He found that the cost of the rider increases as he grows older and will exceed the premium at age 60. The cash value will start to decrease.

I advised the consumer to consider if he needs the critical illness rider at age 60, as his accumulated saving may be more than the sum assured. He can terminate the rider and save on the high cost that is deducted from his savings. He decided to terminate the policy and buy a private Shield to cover the cost of the critical illness.

Financial Calcuation with Excel

The Excel spreadsheet has excellent formulas to make financial calculations. They are available under the Formula tab >> Financial.

You can use the following formulas

FV - future value
PV - present value
NPER - number of period
RATE- interest rate
PMT - amount of yearly payment
Type - 1 (pay at beginning of year), 0 (pay at end of year) and 0.5 (may monthly throughout the year).

It allows you to find out the FV or PV of a single payment or a stream of regular payments, or to calculate the yield or number of periods.

When you attend my talk on financial planning or insuring your financial secruity, I will demonstrate how to use these formulas (for people who are not familiar).

Tan Kin Lian

Choose a good life insurance company

You can recognize a good life insurance company as follows:

• Provides a service to you to manage your long term investment and risk
• Charge you a fair fee for the service
• Gives you a fair return, after deducting the fee
• Helps you to achieve your goal, i.e. better yield and risk management

A bad insurance company takes advantage of your ignorance and takes away a large amount of your accumulated savings, i.e. fleece the consumer.

Be educated - so that you can recognize a good company and a bad one, a good policy and a bad one, a good adviser and a bad one.

Practical Guide on Financial Planning

Educational Talks

If you remain trusting and ignorant, you will be ripped off, sooner or later. And you deserve it (sorry to be blunt)!

Tan Kin Lian

Living on your accumulated savings

In my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning, I educate consumer on the option to keep their accumulated savings in a low cost investment fund and withdraw the money regularly to meet their living expenses. Although the market value of the fund may be volatile, it does not matter to a long term investor, as long as the underlying shares are in good quality companies.

The investor can just earn the dividend on the shares (which is about 3% per annum). If the dividend is not sufficient, the investor can sell some units every few months to supplement the dividends. If this is managed well, the fund should be able to last the lifetime and leave a balance to be beneficiaries.

Assume that the accumulated saving at retirement is $500,000 and the retiree needs to $2,000 a month to spend. Here is the balance of the accumulated savings at the end of 25 years (by which time, the retiree will be 90 years old), assuming that the fund earns a net yield of 4%, 5% and 6% (inclusive of dividend):

Balance after 25 years
Yield
4%      $293,436
5%      $490,455
6%      $750,182
You can do the same calculation with an Excel spreadsheet.

There is no need to invest in a life annuity, if you have sufficient savings to last for your lifetime. The advantage of a low cost investment fund are:

• Avoid the high deduction taken away by the insurance company (a lot of money!!)
• Earn a higher yield (better than a life annuity)
• Greater flexibility - to meet unexpected needs

The disadvantage is the perceived investment risk. You can manage it by diversification (e.g. in an indexed fund), investing for the long term (to average out the good and bad years) and by being educated (e.g.  buy my book and attend the educational talks by FISCA). 

Tan Kin Lian

Suzy Orman - Cash value and Term Life Insurance

Suzy Orman talks about whole life and term life insurance. She explain why a whole life policy is not suitable for children. Watch this video.

Poor deal from a life annuity

A consumer was given a proposal to pay a large annual premium for 5 years, keep the money until age 65 and withdraw an annual payment for life. The benefit illustration was confusing, even to me. I was not sure if this is a life annuity or withdrawal from an accumulation account.

I asked the consumer to use Excel and do the same projection, if he invested the money on his own to earn 3%, 4% and 5% in a low cost investment fund. He found that the DIY option gave him a large balance at age 91 - which is significantly higher than shown in the benefit illustration. The simple calculation gave an obvious answer to him - he should invest on his own.

He asked, "where do I get a low cost investment fund?" I recommended the STI ETF available on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The investment risk can be managed by diversification (in this single fund) and investing for the long term to average out the good and bad year. This is explained in my book on financial planning (available at www.tankinlian.com/ishop).

This simple advice could save the consumer several hundred thousand dollars! Do not buy a bad financial product (or life insurance policy) that can take away so much of your accumulated savings. You can DIY.

Tan Kin Lian

The Value of Great Keyword Research-Video | BusinessAndLegal.ie

via businessandlegal.ie

Economic Growth and Equity

Should we pursue economic growth or equity? These are not conflicting goals. They are complementary. We can achieve sustainable economic growth through equitable distribution of the economic output. Read my views in this article.

Donation to FISCA

Several people have approached me for advice and guidance. I have to spend time to educate them. In some cases, my guidance is able to save them several tens or hundred of thousand dollars. 

I like to ask these people to make a donation to FISCA in return for the guidance, if you find it to be valuable. Make any amount that you feel to be appropriate. Read this FAQ: http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=182

Your donation will help to pay volunteers who have to spend time to educate consumers in avoiding bad investment decisions. Do be generous and fair.

Tan Kin Lian

Making Niche Websites-Keyword Research Part 2 | BusinessAndLegal.ie

You may need to read Keyword research part 1 for this piece to make sense.

Keyword research is basically finding out what searchers are looking for and then creating content for your site in such a way that the Google search engine will choose to put your site in front of the searcher in the first page of Google’s search engine results as a good match for what the searcher is looking for.

When creating websites you need to structure your site with content in such a way that your chances of being well ranked in the search engines is exponentially improved and your site/article is served up to the searcher as a good result for the searcher.

via businessandlegal.ie

Criminal Justice Jobs | Jobs in Criminal Justice | Careers In Law

Criminal justice jobs offer great opportunities to engage in a constructive and fulfilling career helping the community and indeed criminals sometimes to get their lives back on track. Criminal justice jobs cover a wide range of activity including court administration, law enforcement, homeland security and corrections.  This article looks at the job of police officer/detective.

via careersinlaw.org

Suzy Orman on Life Insurance

Suzy Orman is a financial adviser who appears on CBNC Life on Sunday. She appeared in several videos posted in Youtube. She gave sensible advice about life insurance. Watch this video.

Existing life insurance policies - continue or terminate?

Many people who learned that their life insurance policy gives a poor yield asked me, "Should I continue or terminate the policy?"

I asked them to study this FAQ and do the calculations.

33.3% discount on Financial Planning book

There were several orders for the 3-copy bundle of my financial planning book, which is available at a 33.3% discount. Three people can join together to buy the book and enjoy the discounted price of $8 per copy, i.e. $24 for 3 copies). You can also buy 3 copies and give 2 away to your children or friends.

This book helps them to plan better for their financial future and get a better yield on their long term savings.

Why only term insurance plans make sense now

Published in the Straits Times Forum page
MR GIDEON Lee ('Buyers, not agents, decide the products they want'; last Friday) asked why I am advocating term insurance when the insurance cooperative that I headed had been selling whole-life and investment-linked policies for 30 years.

During my time, the whole-life and endowment policies were sold with distribution costs that were much lower than comparable products in the market. The effect of deduction was about 20 per cent over 25 years, compared to the 40 per cent for most policies today.

In the past, the cooperative also distributed high rates of bonuses out of the surplus, giving a high yield to policyholders on these old policies.

The letter writer quotes the example of a term insurance premium that charges $200 a month. This is an exaggeration. A young person can buy $300,000 in sum assured under the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) group insurance scheme and pay only $38.40 a month. This is available to SAF soldiers and operationally ready national servicemen, and their spouses.  To buy this amount of protection under a whole-life or unit-linked policy, the consumer usually has to pay a premium that is 10 to 20 times higher.

Some dishonest agents deliberately quote a higher cost for term insurance to persuade the consumer to buy the alternative policy that charges a higher premium and pays a fatter commission.

Mr Lee said correctly that the distribution cost is not paid entirely as commission to the agent. Part of it is paid to the agent's manager and spent on lavish overseas trips and other sales incentives. Regardless of how the money is spent, the consumer does have to pay the total distribution cost.

The writer said the commission is given for selling the product and not for advice. If this is the case, why are these people called financial advisers, consultants or other impressive names and not life insurance salesmen?

The writer is wrong in saying that I am advocating a one-size-fits-all solution. My aim is to educate consumers
to invest their savings in a low-cost investment fund, rather than a life insurance policy, to earn a better long-term yield and achieve greater flexibility. 

Tan Kin Lian
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_603264.html

My guidance on how to invest savings in a low cost investment fund, and why this is more flexible to meet the changing needs of consumers is explained in my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning, available here.