A close friend who has been in the business of selling investments and insurances in Malaysia for over 25 years once told me “The Salesman is always there when he needs you, but will he be for there for you when you need him?”

While my friend advises within the still very infant Malaysian market where the public are still very much sold an investment or policy, his words started to ring true to me about where the Financial Planning industry has come from; and indeed going too within the developed and regulated world.

In my home country for example many people bought their first plan from the AMP man who used to come to their door and collect their monthly premium. From humble beginnings financial planning was born into what is now an extremely complex area where investment planning is only one particular subset of a job that encompasses holistic advice from tax planning, family matters, debt management and much more.

Many people bought various plans in their early days, lost contact decades ago with the salesman and as they approached retirement have only again picked up the policy contract to be somewhat disappointed with their decision all those years ago.

The offshore financial planning industry really is not to much different to the humble beginnings I have described above. I come across expatriates from all walks of life who have taken out various investment and savings plans through their journeys only to have lost touch with their initial adviser or consultant, or be unhappy with the services and advice they are receiving.

The nomadic and demanding nature of the expatriate, client and adviser alike often means what was started with the best intentions and promises of service and advice can fall by the way side for a multitude of reasons.

Being in the 21st Century however really means that none of this should happen. So if it shouldn’t happen, then really we need to revisit my good friends quote about salesman and decide whether you are dealing with a professional financial planner or a salesman.

From the outset, I explain to everyone I meet the service levels that they should expect from myself and my company; which include a full financial planning review, asset and risk profiling, personal risk protection, quarterly personal review meetings (either face to face or online), weekly market updates from professional investment and technical partners, client meetings and seminars with these professionals, and access to the use of third party professional asset management and banking services.

Through sophisticated client management systems and the use of the internet, no matter where you are in the world all of these important tools to meeting your financial goals and ambitions are able to be implemented, serviced and maintained.

The client service standards and systems that both myself and my company have developed mean that not only can we deliver these for new clients, but we are also able to take on board and create relationships with new people from all over the world who have existing products and investments in place and help guide them through the future.

Do you fall into the category of someone who has existing financial products in place but has lost touch with your adviser, consultant, or just wants a second opinion? We are currently offering an initial 1 hour introductory and review meeting to discuss how our customer focused services and solutions could benefit you.