After working as an insurance agent for one company since 1990, Tony Tong Heung-wing decided that it was time to gather more in-depth knowledge about money matters to boost his competitiveness in the industry.
He signed up for the professional diploma in personal financial planning at the Open University's Li Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education (LiPACE) in 2001, and graduated a year ago.
Following a programme of planning in financial, investment, insurance, retirement and tax matters, Mr Tong says his new knowledge will enhance his professionalism and hopefully lead to better-served clients and more business opportunities.
He says this is already proving true, with sales in the fourth quarter of last year and the first two months of this year rising by about 30 per cent as a result of referrals and repeat purchases by existing clients.
He believes this is because his customers have more confidence in him.
The Asian crisis and the bursting of the information technology bubble led to more cautious investors, he says, and in 1999 he realised the industry was facing a new challenge.