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I was born five years after Singapore’s independence. My late father came from Malacca during his teenage years to work for the Singapore Traction Company, which ran trams. It was a blue-collar [...]

In the past two decades, we have not used investment-linked policies (ILPs) when constructing investment portfolios for our clients because we do not deem them suitable. However, over the years, [...]

Living a Good Life: Choosing the Right Path Over the Easy Path “A lot of people have thought about happiness and what it means to have a good life, and I would subscribe to this: We only [...]

Living a Good Life: Taking the ‘Shortcut’ to Filmmaking and Creativity “It’s not about the ability to retire but also how we utilise the time while we are on this planet. In the last [...]

Over the past months, during the various webinars that I did, I have been asked this same question several times: How does Providend ensure that our client advisers always do the right thing for [...]

Living a Good Life: Lessons from Travelling 50 Countries on $3,000 “Some of the guesthouses are closed due to the pandemic, so I had to pitch a tent along the road to stay a night.” [...]

When I first started my career in the financial services sector in the late 90s, comprehensive financial planning was not widely practised. Most of the time, it was really just product sales. I [...]

“When I was much younger, we used to stay at a much bigger place. We had two cars and two maids, then subsequently, we just had one car, no more maid, downsized a little bit and went to rent [...]

For the past 22 years, our CEO, Christopher Tan, has always been at the front line to share more about the humble beginning of Providend and how we persevered despite all the hardships faced to [...]

In the past 3 years, many studies on the value of advice have emerged. Fund managers like Russell Investments and Vanguard, as well as professional associations like CFA Institute and Financial [...]

“When you say people get free advice here, I laughed because in the end when you think about how this world works, nobody works for free. So you are paying for what you are getting somehow. [...]

From time to time, we will get this question about the way we manage wealth for our clients: “why should clients pay you an ongoing advisory fee if you take a “passive” instead of an “active” [...]

20 years ago, I wrote an article in this same column about the different ways financial institutions are compensated and their implications for consumers. Suffice to say, the industry, which is [...]

“There have been many bad money decisions because I know how to buy (stocks) but I don’t know how to sell!” In many industries like healthcare and legal, it is a norm for people [...]

Bonds are not typically the best asset class if there is unexpected inflation, but one type of bond which investors use to keep pace with the inflation rate is the Treasury Inflation-Protected [...]

We all know Kyith as the brain behind Investment Moats, Singapore’s most well read financial blog, but how much do we know about his motivations and money values that led him to where he is [...]

In the recent 3 years, we have witnessed a rise in the number of people coming to us for end-of-life, legacy, and estate planning. Perhaps they were reminded that death can happen suddenly, [...]

Living a Good Life: Courage, Style, and Entrepreneurship After 60 In this episode, we are delighted to be joined by the lovely Ms Ong Bee Yan, who shares how she blossomed from a shy young woman [...]

4 years ago in 2019, The Woke Salaryman was set up with the intention of helping Singaporeans make better financial and life choices through education. In this episode, our CEO, Christopher Tan, [...]

Here comes the FIRST episode of Providend’s Money Wisdom Podcast Season 2! In this episode, you will get to know more about your new co-host – Isaac Ong, as he shares what he does as an [...]

This month marks the 25th anniversary of my career in wealth advisory. Time really flies. I had a good career, not that it was worry-free. Instead, it was all the crises that I have gone through [...]

Living a Good Life: Steering Life’s Transitions with Purpose “At some point in time, we see the higher purpose of why we are doing certain things.” This reflection sets the tone for [...]

Whether you are accumulating towards retirement or spending in your retirement years, having your investments reach their planned returns is crucial in ensuring you achieve your goals. When it [...]

“Focusing on the correct side of your money equation will help you not only be financially successful, but also help you finish well in life.” In this episode, I will elaborate both sides of the [...]

Recently, someone on my Facebook asked me to use 1-3 words to describe how the start of 2023 has been for me so far. I posted “Ctrl-Alt-Del” (Control, Alternate and Delete). What do I mean? To [...]

“What would happen to my firm, Providend, and my loved ones if I did not make it home?” In this episode, I will share the two main concerns of business owners and the need to plan for your [...]

“Transition” is the word that describes 2022 for me. For the financial markets, we transited from low inflation to a higher inflation environment, from low interest rates to rising interest rates [...]

“I have seen parents come to me with only a few insurance policies and to them, that is education planning.” In this episode, I will share a major flaw in how many parents plan for their [...]

“I believe for most parents, one of our greatest concerns would be to make sure our children receive the best education possible.” In this episode, I will walk you through some of the major [...]

“I strongly believe that a key ingredient to our clients’ financial success is money coaching.” In money coaching, we categorise individuals into eight money archetypes, help them understand how [...]