Since Providend started back in 2001, we have always adhered strictly to two guiding principles that differentiated us – One is to go on a fee-only basis to remove all conflict of interest and two is to advocate the use of cheap term life plans to our clients where insurance is concerned.
Watch this short video as Christopher Tan, CEO of Proviend, shares his journey in the financial industry and the reason behind the two underlying principles of Providend.
Hello everyone. Thank you for watching this video clip. We hope that through this way, we will be able to share some of our thinking, leave some food for thought and maybe make a small impact on your financial and non-financial life.
Today, I want to talk about something that happened to me many years ago that made an impact on my life.
Back then when I first joined the industry, there was no such thing as a Financial Advisory Firm. If you want to do financial planning, you want to give financial advice, you either join the Bank, the Stockbroking Firm or you join an Insurance Company. And so, I decided to join an Insurance Company.
I was doing well. But in the third year of my career, I read an article by the Editor of The Business Times. And she interviewed a financial planner from U.S. and she said something to the effect that if you sell whole life plans, you are like serving your client with a plate of poison. That really shocked me because back in those days, all of us, in fact even today, a lot of us actually sell whole life plans.
And I was in denial. But over the next six months, as I studied and as I researched more and more into what she said. I realised that what she said was true. That there will come a point in your life whereby you do not need insurance coverage anymore. By buying expensive whole life plans, not only you cannot cover yourself sufficiently, you are paying for what you do not need. In most situations, a term plan will do.
And so, that had a great impact on my life. And I quit from the Insurance Company and started Providend in 2001. And when we started as a firm, we decided to firstly, to go on a fee-only basis which means to say that we do not take commissions from selling a product. We only charge a fee to remove all conflict of interest. And secondly, where insurance is concerned, we strongly advocate the use of cheap term life instead of whole life.
Now, please do not get me wrong that there is no use for the whole life. There is still a use for whole life plans but in most situations, buying a cheap term life would suffice.
Well, it is gratifying to me that after almost twenty years, I see more and more people subscribing to this philosophy.
However, I just want to emphasise that buying term is not so that you can invest the rest of your money. Buying a term is because it is the cheapest way to afford you full coverage.
So, I hope this video has been helpful to you. And you find that it has been, please help me share it with your friends. And thank you very much for watching.
For more related resources, check out:
1. Making A Name Through Ethical Practices
2. Why Most Needs Can Be Covered By Term Insurance
3. Sensible Way To Insure Yourself – With Term Insurance
We do not charge a fee at the first consultation meeting. If you would like an honest second opinion on your current investment portfolio, financial and/or retirement plan, make an appointment with us today.
