If you’re in the market for a new insurance policy or seeking financial advice, you would do well to narrow your search by excluding those with high conflicts of interest between you and them. There are three main types of people who claim to provide financial advice in Singapore: Tied agentsBank representatives (eg. relationship manager) Financial Adviser Representatives Inherent bias of tied agents You can easily rule out tied agents if you are counting on unbiased advice. The whole point of a tied agent is to sell products of the insurer that has recruited him/her. Despite their self-aggrandising “financial consultant” titles, they are simply salespeople of the company. They are remunerated as such, they are trained as such, and their contract bounds them as such. The word “tied” is quite literal; they are contractually obligated to only recommend products of their captive insurer, and even if your tied agent...