“I believe that some of the representatives could be acting more as product distributors than as financial advisers.” - Lee Chuan Teck, Assistant Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore at Singapore Management University ‘Market for Financial Advice’ Symposium on 6 July 2012.

Wilfred’s comments:

It is of no surprised that financial advisers are merely product distributors. This shouldn’t be surprised at all. Internally within the industry, one talk about selling products through ‘different distribution channels’. These ‘distribution channels’ are often referred to as the tied-agency, banassurance, financial advisers and direct marketing (internet / direct mailers). Nobody called these channels as ‘advisory channels’.

Moreover, the paymasters are the product manufacturers. When a person is an employee of a firm, his allegiance is with the employer. For a financial adviser, his paymaster comes directly from the product manufacturers. Thus, he is merely a product representatives or a salesperson whose fiduciary duty ...