DESREE NG

As a trusted advisor to those around me, my goal is to support and encourage my clients to live a life of freedom with a focus on smart financial decisions. How did I come to this realization?

I’m currently a penultimate student at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), taking a part-time degree in Accountancy. I was working in Assurance at a Big 4 firm for 3 years, and in that period, I was dissatisfied by the misalignment between the job’s expectations and my personal beliefs and values. I realized that I wanted to work from the heart, and to be giving and authentic to those around me. I discovered that for longevity in my career, I had to be part of a nurturing culture and industry that allowed me to serve and value-add others.

I chanced upon the world of financial advisory via my sister. I kept an open mind and jumped into an Internship Programme to better understand financial planning concepts and hone my technical know-hows. During the internship, it dawned on me that as a financial consultant, I would be able to share my knowledge with others to support them in their life goals – be it friends, family or colleagues and that these people would treasure my work. To top things off, AAG provided mentorship and plenty of opportunities to grow in terms of personal development.

Nurturing future leaders
Beyond serving my clients, I am passionate about giving the leaders of tomorrow with the same mentorship and support I have received in AAG. I actively connect students to experienced professionals from various industries as I understand how tough it is to decide on their next step and the future options available for them. I’ve seen the importance of mentorship in my career, and want the youth of today to pursue a path that they can both excel in and are passionate about.

A people’s business
Nothing can quite replace the human touch that financial consultants provide, and my advice to up-and-coming financial consultants is to forge strong bonds with clients via in-person interactions that build commitment and trust. Beyond being just a job, I want to build authentic, long lasting relationships that uplift and encourage. As the saying goes — people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Be authentic
There is the stigma that financial consultants tend to be pushy and commission driven, and I actively work on proving that wrong by showing my honest, authentic self to my clients. I prioritize understanding my client’s circumstances first – desires, needs, background, career trajectory, goals – then use my experience to freely value add to them by identifying risks or missed opportunities in their portfolio. The relationship comes first, and when I’m my authentic self, that allows my clients to be the same. It goes beyond a professional relationship, and turns into one that’s built on trust and good faith.

Accolades

For general enquiries:

Email

connect@aiafa.com

Phone

1800 248 8000

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AIAFA.COM.SG