IFA Wilfred Ling

[sanzhu]

U can look for nichols of advisor click

 

[wutawa]

si bei ho tang sia knn 4800 also will hv ppl consider

exactly, i tinking that 4.8k i can use to invest a counter alrdy

 

[agau168]

That is his business model, nothing wrong with that as long as he is upfront with his fees.

This is better than others trying to hide real intentions by giving some freebies, e.g. advices, and asking you to pm them for fee-based consultations or give free courses and then try to psycho you to pay for expensive follow-up courses.

I agree. Expensive $4888 financial advisers like Wilfred Ling is still more ethical than financial trainers who charge thousands of dollars for trading/investment 2-3 day short courses and pretend that it is their passion to help people reach financial freedom. To hypocritical financial trainers: Come on lah, your passion is to make money for yourself, never mind at the expense of your students. If your real intention is to help people, you can share your knowledge on this forum free of charge like BBCWatcher and ShinyThings.

The customer should know himself. If he is not rich, he is not the type of customer that suits expensive financial advisers like Wilfred Ling. Not fit to be his customer, given his business model of serving the rich which can be plainly seen from his $4888 fees, assuming the $4888 figure from TS is accurate.

 

[w1rbelw1nd]

I also don't think it's fair to be so negative towards the likes of Wilfred ling or providend (they do fee-only). As someone who has considered to use their services, and understand the scope of work involved, it will take them many hours to come up with the end product, with a lot of back and forth discussions. If we are willing to pay tuition teachers $50 an hour, and that professional engineers charge out rate is $200/$300 an hour, surely we can pay for good advisors acting as true fiduciary?

Singaporeans are a bunch of cheapskates and timid fools when it comes to adopting new ways of consuming financial products. When comparefirst by MAS was pushed out, giving the man on the street easy access to directly sold, cheap term insurance, how many bought through the platform and start the virtuous cycle of change? Few, sadly. Won't be surprised if many gave in to the fearmongering of those agents.

The real heroes imo is people like Christopher tan (providend) who has been trying to offer everyone (watch out for moneyowl!) an alternative while sticking true to his fiduciary duties.

I agree. Expensive $4888 financial advisers like Wilfred Ling is still more ethical than financial trainers who charge thousands of dollars for trading/investment 2-3 day short courses and pretend that it is their passion to help people reach financial freedom. To hypocritical financial trainers: Come on lah, your passion is to make money for yourself, never mind at the expense of your students. If your real intention is to help people, you can share your knowledge on this forum free of charge like BBCWatcher and ShinyThings.

The customer should know himself. If he is not rich, he is not the type of customer that suits expensive financial advisers like Wilfred Ling. Not fit to be his customer, given his business model of serving the rich which can be plainly seen from his $4888 fees, assuming the $4888 figure from TS is accurate.

 

[w1rbelw1nd]

Oh I didn't know the part about no refund/rebate for Wilfred. That is indeed a special case hahaha

Thanks. I was only reading this wilfred’s website that’s why curious, his FAQ mentioned he does not refund/rebate any commission lol, so he indeed is a special case of excess charges

 

[KinoChoco]

Oh I didn't know the part about no refund/rebate for Wilfred. That is indeed a special case hahaha

Yup, and after the initial planning, no more financial advices will be given, even those policies u bought under him, if u require any advice if any fund switches is required in the future, he won’t entertain unless you pay him again or put him on quarterly retainer fee...hence the initial 4888 is only for initial planning with no follow ups Liao. The more I read the more my eyes gotten bigger hahaha.

 

[limster]

for straightforward medical treatment, got some people insist on going to private hospital even though they charge thousands of dollars more than govt hospitals because they feel its worth it.

but financial advisor, must be free of charge!

thats why your father & mother ask you to become doctor, lawyer, banker!

 

[Smokey.B]

for straightforward medical treatment, got some people insist on going to private hospital even though they charge thousands of dollars more than govt hospitals because they feel its worth it.

but financial advisor, must be free of charge!

thats why your father & mother ask you to become doctor, lawyer, banker!

didn't know a financial planner is placed in the same ranks as a doctor or lawyer

u do understand that barriers to entry is extremely low? probably o/n levels will do

the financially most healthy people in the world, peter lim warren buffet etc did not rely on a financial planner

have not met a single millionaire who credited his FA for his wealth, but vice versa? plenty

 

[bladez87]

maybe this Wilfred has a team of specialist supporting him in matters of tax, cpf, insurance advisory.

 

[limster]

didn't know a financial planner is placed in the same ranks as a doctor or lawyer

u do understand that barriers to entry is extremely low? probably o/n levels will do

the financially most healthy people in the world, peter lim warren buffet etc did not rely on a financial planner

have not met a single millionaire who credited his FA for his wealth, but vice versa? plenty

Ever heard of family offices? I got friends working at family offices who are essentially financial planners + investment managers. And the barriers to entry are high! Ideally you should have a good track record at a top bank!

 

[lzydata]

I think Wilfred Ling shares quite a bit in public so those of us who cannot afford that kind of personalised attention - or who would rather not pay for it - can still learn from him.

 

[moejoseph]

I think Wilfred Ling shares quite a bit in public so those of us who cannot afford that kind of personalised attention - or who would rather not pay for it - can still learn from him.

My friend attended his talk before, and some of the likes. At the end, they offered a "free consultation" (waiver of the $4888) and try to get them to buy something during the consultation lol

Good tactic to put a price on your consultation first, then offer it for free so people will be jumping to it instead of the normal FAs outside.

The things they do and advice given, were not much different than most FAs out there.

 

[Mecisteus]

I think Wilfred Ling shares quite a bit in public so those of us who cannot afford that kind of personalised attention - or who would rather not pay for it - can still learn from him.

He was quite active in the old sgfunds forum.

By posting in public, he gotten a lot of free publicity at that time. So it's a win win for him.

 

[agau168]

Not being negative towards expensive financial advisers like Wilfred Ling. Expensive financial advisers have their use but only for the rich who are too busy to manage their own money. It is Wilfred Ling's business model to serve only the rich. His fees say it all. I say this in a matter-of-fact manner that if you are not rich, it is a lose-lose situation to engage expensive financial advisers like Wilfred Ling. Why is this being unfair and negative to expensive financial advisers?

To be blunt, if your money to be managed is around $100k, forget about engaging expensive financial advisers like Wilfred Ling. $4888 is 4.8% of your $100k savings. Ridiculous fees as a percentage. To be fair, $100k is not a small sum by normal standards but it is certainly "small" in the eyes of profit-maximizing fee-based financial advisers.

Wilfred Ling's fees are transparent. Published transparently on his website.
https://www.ifa.sg/fees-for-financial-planning/

Wilfred Ling is a smart businessman. He does not want to waste time on "poor" customers. Know yourself as a customer. If you're not fit to be his customer, then don't waste each other's time. Lose-lose situation.

THere are lots of learning resources available free of charge. There are also people who will share their financial knowledge generously like BBCWatcher and ShinyThings without asking for money in return. Don't have to rely on expensive fee-based advisers like Wilfred Ling unless you are so busy making money in your job or business that it makes financial sense to outsource your money management to expensive financial advisers.

I also don't think it's fair to be so negative towards the likes of Wilfred ling or providend (they do fee-only). As someone who has considered to use their services, and understand the scope of work involved, it will take them many hours to come up with the end product, with a lot of back and forth discussions. If we are willing to pay tuition teachers $50 an hour, and that professional engineers charge out rate is $200/$300 an hour, surely we can pay for good advisors acting as true fiduciary?

Singaporeans are a bunch of cheapskates and timid fools when it comes to adopting new ways of consuming financial products. When comparefirst by MAS was pushed out, giving the man on the street easy access to directly sold, cheap term insurance, how many bought through the platform and start the virtuous cycle of change? Few, sadly. Won't be surprised if many gave in to the fearmongering of those agents.

The real heroes imo is people like Christopher tan (providend) who has been trying to offer everyone (watch out for moneyowl!) an alternative while sticking true to his fiduciary duties.

 

[w1rbelw1nd]

Matter of opinion la. Like you say the fees are expensive, most people won't even bother to engage him with a small (imo 100k is small) portfolio, so how's it lose lose?'

Anyway, I hope all those new in investing and doing their own financial plan don't assume that taking bits and pieces of portfolio allocation, using better investment instruments equates to a good personal financial plan. It is NOT. A good financial plan requires some form of goal-based investing, budgeting, self-awareness, and discipline that, in my opinion, cannot be obtained just by copying some online thought leaders' boglehead 3 fund allocation". There are country specific, policy specific nuances that needs to be taken into account. I would recommend reading mm in it's entirety than rely on "experts"

Not being negative towards expensive financial advisers like Wilfred Ling. Expensive financial advisers have their use but only for the rich who are too busy to manage their own money. It is Wilfred Ling's business model to serve only the rich. His fees say it all. I say this in a matter-of-fact manner that if you are not rich, it is a lose-lose situation to engage expensive financial advisers like Wilfred Ling. Why is this being unfair and negative to expensive financial advisers?

THere are lots of learning resources available free of charge. There are also people who will share their financial knowledge generously like BBCWatcher and ShinyThings without asking for money in return. Don't have to rely on expensive fee-based advisers like Wilfred Ling unless you are so busy making money in your job or business that it makes financial sense to outsource your money management to expensive financial advisers.

 

[lifeishard]

it COULD be he charges you the $4888, tell you how to allocate your resources and which products to buy. Then you go buy the products yourself or engage through own agent...

 

[computers70]

Honestly, not a very good impression

 

[Zenest]

On Wilfred's website, it says he is a representative of PromiseLand, a IFA firm.
So he earns comm on product clients buy, like any other financial planner.
https://www.ifa.sg/professional-financial-planning-practice/
By charging an additional consultation fee, it's a way of setting himself apart from the rest.

$4888 is probably not a significant one-off expense for good advice.
The retainers, including a fee of 1%p.a.(on top of usual products charges) for managing portfolio.
If he can consistently deliver significantly higher returns on portfolio than his fees, why not.
Consistently, because his fees will be charged consistently.
https://www.ifa.sg/fees-for-financial-planning/fees-for-investment-management/

IMHO, take your time to find a FP who has good reviews, whether by friend's recommendation or otherwise.

For your consideration.

 

[juztoshare]

I would like to share my experience with Wilfred. He quoted 4k+ for full service and we agreed on 2k for partial service. I have shared my expectation with him that I required advise on investment.

Instead of providing advice on investment, he did an analysis of on portfolio and suggests that I should sell my car, condo, go for cheaper holiday so that I can retire early. I believed he wants me to cash out so that he can help me with the investment. Why do I need to pay someone 2k to tell me to reduce my cost? His strategy is to identify high net worth client so that he can help the rich to invest.
Why do we need to pay him 4k so that he knows my portfolio and pay him additional money to help us with the investment?
Wilfred does not listen to what his client objective.
If you are convince that he can help you, make sure he provides you with a satisfactory service before making your payment.

 

[WindBoi]

I would like to share my experience with Wilfred. He quoted 4k+ for full service and we agreed on 2k for partial service. I have shared my expectation with him that I required advise on investment.

Instead of providing advice on investment, he did an analysis of on portfolio and suggests that I should sell my car, condo, go for cheaper holiday so that I can retire early. I believed he wants me to cash out so that he can help me with the investment. Why do I need to pay someone 2k to tell me to reduce my cost? His strategy is to identify high net worth client so that he can help the rich to invest.
Why do we need to pay him 4k so that he knows my portfolio and pay him additional money to help us with the investment?
Wilfred does not listen to what his client objective.
If you are convince that he can help you, make sure he provides you with a satisfactory service before making your payment.

I think it is between you and him. There are some details that you did not provide that might change the way we look at things.

You are not oblige to share it with us.

There may be a reason why he asked you to reallocate your capital.

Asking you to sell your car and reduce the frequency of holiday might be indication that even with an optimistic rate of return, you cannot have a possibly realistic financial independence some years down the road.

There is an upper limit to investments. If i were to believe, many people think the rate of return can overturn any problems