MR EDMUND Wee, the head of a prestigious financial industry body, considers his attitude towards money shaped by two very personal events.
The first was meeting his wife, Wendy, and the second was being struck down by serious illness.
Mr Wee, 40, president of the Insurance and Financial Practitioners Association of Singapore (Ifpas), lived a carefree life before he met Wendy, now 41. He spent freely on food and social activities, and barely saved.
'I'm crazy over soccer and used to travel to Malaysia over the weekends during the Malaysia Cup days. But after I got to know my wife, she strongly encouraged me to save,' he says.
'Wendy was an accounts executive then and was more financially conscious than me. She saved and invested 60 per cent of her pay every month,' says Mr Wee.
Under her influence, he diligently put aside some money regularly. As a result, his savings over the three years before they got married in 1994, were sufficient to pay for the $80,000 renovation of their matrimonial house in cash.
Mr Wee, who worked as a full-time financial consultant with NTUC Income over the past decade, has advised countless policyholders who were later stricken with critical illness, permanent disability or death.
'My job is not done till I've delivered the cheques to my clients. When that happens, all of them have the same question: Why didn't I ask them to buy more insurance!' he says.
And Mr Wee knows first-hand how it feels to face financial insecurity caused by ill health. In 1993, when he was just 26, he was struck down by a disease that impaired his motor skills.
He could not walk and was bedridden for three months. His parents had to carry him whenever he needed to move around, including to the toilet.
'The incident changed my life. I realised the importance of health and that health insurance should not be neglected and should form part of one's core insurance planning. At that time, I had only MediShield plus my company's health cover,' recalls Mr Wee.
Thanks to his own determination as well as therapy and the support of Wendy and his family, he regained the use of his limbs within a year.
At the time he fell ill, he was working as a container surveyor and as a part-time agent with Income. But when he recovered, he decided to commit himself completely to his insurance career, and became a full-time financial consultant with Income in 1994.
'I'm grateful for whatever I have today,' he says. Mr Wee has served at Ifpas in various capacities for six years. He served an earlier stint as president in 2003/2004.
Q What are your money habits?
A Savings are for rainy days and investments are for the long term. I used to spend freely but now, saving is a must for me.
I put aside a lump sum of $30,000 - which is meant for rainy days - in fixed deposits and savings accounts. I regularly save about 10 per cent of my income and another 15 per cent goes into investments.
Q What financial planning have you done for yourself?
A My primary financial planning principle is to spend within my means - never overspend. As a financial consultant with Income since the late 1980s, I strongly believe in the importance of insurance products.
This should form the base of one's financial plan before one invests the surplus savings.
My core insurance portfolio includes major illness cover and medical plans. I also ensure I have insurance cover that takes care of outstanding loans such as mortgage and car loans, and other policies to take care of the family's running expenses should anything happen to me.
I'm insured for more than $1 million on my life through a mixture of whole life and term plans. My annual premiums amount to $12,000.
Besides insurance products, which account for 60 per cent of my portfolio, I have cash savings, fixed deposits (8 per cent), stock investments (12 per cent) and investment-linked plans (20 per cent).
For stock investing, I do my own research, reading books and newspapers, and getting tips from friends.
My stocks are mainly blue chips, such as Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and SembCorp Marine (SembMarine), and also several investment-linked plans (ILPs). I buy SPH because the dividends are good and I like SembMarine because of sustainable business growth.
My ILP investment has grown by 40 per cent from 2002 till now while my stock holdings have risen by 20 to 25 per cent per annum since 2003.
Q What's your investment philosophy?
A I review my level of risk profile and financial needs every two years and I am invested for the long term. In addition, it is prudent to know the charges for any investment involved.
Always invest within your limit. Do not overstretch. Reading, listening and observing is always a must when investing.
Q Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
A I'm the eldest in a family of five. I have two younger brothers. We were poor and times were tough. Sometimes, I did not have a single cent during my school recess and I had to go without food.
Thankfully, the school helped by giving me free books and subsidising my school fees. Dad was a taxi driver earning about $1,500 a month and mum was a housewife.
To supplement my pocket money, I started working when I was 12 during the school holidays selling Christmas cards. We valued very cent we earned. I came out to work after my O levels. I joined Income as a part-time insurance adviser while holding a full-time job as a container surveyor.
Q What has been a bad investment?
A In 2001, I invested $40,000 in technology funds which plummeted in value not long after during the tech bust. But now they are recovering to levels where I first purchased them. I held on because I believe in long-term investing.
Q Your best investment to date?
A About 14 years ago, I invested $5,000 in stocks including Hup Soon Huat, Super Coffeemix and BBR, on the advice of a friend. I achieved a return of about $20,000 within three weeks.
On second thoughts, my best investment to date is my investment portfolio which is a mixture of global equities and bonds, because it provides more diversification and has a long-term investment horizon. Also, it is taken care of by a fund manager.
Q What are your aspirations for Ifpas?
A I am very passionate about this industry and it is my aspiration to strive for recognition by the relevant authorities to mandate compulsory membership in a professional association in this profession.
There are 12,000 agents, of whom 4,400 are members of Ifpas. Since I was elected its president, membership has grown by 10 per cent.
I aim to grow Ifpas membership to 5,000 by the end of this year.
Q What's your retirement plan?
A My goal is to retire at 55 with $2 million. I will use part of it to buy an annuity that will give me regular payouts for life.
Q And your home now is...?
A It is a four-room, 1,507 sq ft condominium in Sin Ming which I bought in 1998 for $620,000.
'I'm crazy over soccer and used to travel to Malaysia over the weekends during the Malaysia Cup days. After I got to know my wife, she strongly encouraged me to save. Wendy was more financially conscious than me.' MR WEE, who spent freely on food and social activities and barely saved before he got to know his wife, Wendy
Change in view of health policies
'Being struck by disease changed my life. I realised that health insurance should not be neglected and should form part of one's core insurance planning. At that time, I had only MediShield plus my company's health cover.' MR WEE, who suffered a disease at 26 that impaired his motor skills
