Convoy Financial Services principal consultant Enoch Lo says he is constantly competing with himself; OVERALL WINNER AND INDUSTRY TROPHY WINNER Independent financial advisory
THE SURGE OF interest in wealth management in recent years is keeping independent financial advisers busy as they modify their business strategies and attempt to differentiate themselves from the competition.
Enoch Lo, principal consultant at Convoy Financial Services and winner of the independent financial advisory industry trophy and overall award trophy at the first SCMP/IFPHK Financial Planner Awards, said that because a quarter of the population would reach retirement age over the next 20 to 30 years, wealth management services were growing in importance.
'The independent financial adviser [IFA] sector is a relatively new model in Hong Kong, with a certain percentage of the population unaware of the advantages of personal financial planning,' Mr Lo said.
'The Mandatory Provident Fund has made people see the importance of wealth protection and created interest in long-term savings investment options. There are still many untapped markets, but it is important to realise that the IFA industry is stamping its mark on the city's future economic development.'
An economics graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mr Lo began his career as an analyst for a Fortune 500 United States-based international consulting firm. He then moved on to an international financial institution where he spent the next few years working for its management development programme. He joined Convoy last year, after acquiring the necessary financial planning skills and qualifying as a chartered financial analyst and certified financial planner.