I REFER to the huge uproar over alleged mis-selling by relationship managers (RM).

As many people have lost a lot of money during this financial crisis, it is not surprising that investors are looking for scapegoats so that they can recover some of their money.

My heart goes out especially to uneducated retirees who have lost money.

Having been a former insurance and investment adviser, I have some opinions on this debacle.

As RMs need to meet their monthly sales quotas and earn sales commissions, they will strive very hard to perform, sometimes omitting certain facts during the sales process.

This is only natural as most banks are sales-driven, but this is now deemed unethical.

I foresee a long period before banks can regain investors' trust.

Once bitten, twice shy, especially when it comes to money.

If not for the Minibonds affair, RMs would still be selling financial products the way they were taught to.

Something will have to change, but I am sure the banks and the Monetary Authority of Singapore will fix the problem.

People who buy financial products need to be responsible for their own investments.

They have to find out for themselves what the products are about, instead of relying solely on the advice of RMs. It is not fair for investors to place all the blame on RMs when they lose their money in bad times.

Did they make noise when they made gains before, and reward RMs and banks?

Apparently not. Some well-educated, shrewder investors might even seize the opportunity to get back some of their ill-invested money by joining the crowd of protesters.

As Singapore braces itself for a recession, let everyone come together and move on without blaming anyone.

More importantly, Singapore needs to learn from this period of uncertainty and emerge stronger than before.

Mr Gilbert Goh Keow Wah

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