New Era of Change

The world we live in is rapidly changing.

Likewise, I am embracing a new era of change in my life.


America, as one of the world's most powerful nations, has embraced change when Obama was elected as America's first black president.

CHANGE was one of the most powerful words he used to win the historic election.

Change is inevitable if we want to move forward.

In short, America wants to move forward and so they have embraced this change.


Career
I started my career in the financial services industry as an audit clerk. Soon after that, I moved on to accounting and then to insurance in 1982. As I've always believed in professionalism, I had decided to pursue a professional course in insurance. Subsequently, I qualified as an associate member of the Australian Insurance Institute in 1987.

In 1988, I realised that the insurance industry in America have gone into financial planning. Therefore, I was determined to further my knowledge by enrolling for the Chartered Financial Consultant course with the American College. It took me 7years to complete on a self-study programme and I finally graduated as our company's first Chartered Financial Consultant in 1995.

I realized that what happened in the financial services industry in America will eventually happen here. Therefore, I co-founded Standard Financial Planner Sdn Bhd (SFP) after 4years of searching for business partners. SFP was set to lead the way when financial planning was not heard of in the financial services industry in Malaysia.

I moved from being a tied agent to a licensed financial adviser in 2007 to be able to represent the clients' interest better by providing more choices to fulfill their needs.

For a business to survive, the clients' interest must be given top priority.

For the past decade, I have dedicated my time and effort in building the company to its current position as the largest financial planning company in terms of the number of licensed financial advisers by Bank Negara and Securities Commission.

After 10years working in the corporate environment and building the company, I can now live my dreams of serving the people using the financial planning practice model which I plan to start this year.

The Blogosphere
Apart from the financial services industry, I have learnt to embrace the ever-changing world of Information Technology. That was how I found my way to the blogosphere.

How amazing is it to be able to reach out to virtually billions of people within seconds as compared to 15years ago, when snail mail and flyers were the best option for most people.

Take this technology back to 20years ago and it will be the world's most powerful magic trick!

This is also another amazing change in the information technology that have changed the world of communication. Therefore, we all have to accept change in conducting our business or it will sink in the red ocean of competitive market.


Why am I doing this?

To quote our ex-PM Badawi,

If one has the opportunity to do what is good and right for the country, then one must take on the task.

Likewise, Obama would say,

Each of us can make a difference and all of us ought to try.

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi,

We must become the change we wish to see in the world.

Financial Planning
After almost a decade of misconception by both the practitioners and consumers, the current regulations are further adding to the confusion in a way that they are not helping the industry to grow.

Therefore, I hope that the regulatory bodies and all involved parties in the financial services industry could come together to have a common mission to build a strong foundation for the industry to grow healthily in the next decade.

SFP have been paving the way for the last decade and I would now like to guide the way to creating a successful and profitable role model practice for financial advisers nation-wide.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate all who have contributed to this industry and wish them another successful year in taking this industry to greater heights.


Final Note
To CFP, RFP, ChFP and fellow practitioners,

Have faith and perseverance to pursue this uphill journey to bring the financial planning practice as the most sought after career not only in terms of income, but also the freedom, the job satisfaction and the fact that we are all helping people live a better life.

Cheers,
Alfred Sek