Another election is upon us and Singapore votes for its third elected President. This time around, Singaporeans get to choose between four different candidates, all of whom seem to stress on how independent he is.
Why the emphasis on “independence”?
Independence signifies one’s impartiality and objectivity. These qualities are important for our next President. Likewise, the degree of independence of a financial adviser also directly impacts the person who is engaging the financial adviser. The value of unbiased advice cannot be overstated in constructing a good and proper financial portfolio.
However, I have come across some people who are sceptical of Independent Financial Advisers (IFA), thinking that they do not offer true objective advice. This is due to several reasons, namely the fact that most IFA representatives are still remunerated by commissions, and that they cannot distribute every insurer’s products.
These are indeed clashes of interests, as I have ......