For Cathy Wong Siu-fong, senior financial adviser at Manulife and the winner in the insurance sector of the SCMP/IFPHK Financial Planner Awards 2008, being a part of the competition was not only an education. It also helped to raise her profile in the wealth management sector. In the end, it was also a lot of fun, she said.
Ms Wong has six years' experience in the insurance sector, providing financial advice to individual clients. A certified financial planner, her extensive training in finance and accounting stood her in good stead. In addition to being a licensed MPF intermediary and insurance agent, she is also a qualified accountant, and a member of CPA Australia and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
At Manulife, she adds the role of senior investment consultant to her financial advisory role. Another factor which she felt gave her an edge in the competition was that before joining the financial planning sector, she worked as a corporate accountant in small and medium-sized enterprises for 10 years. This helped give her an in-depth understanding of the needs of clients.
In the competition, finalists had to give oral presentations of real-life financial plans, which they had prepared, to a panel of judges playing the role of clients. The aim was to assess whether the participants were able to clearly explain to their 'clients' their proposals and the reasons behind their suggestions.
Reflecting on this year's competition, Ms Wong said she found the second round particularly challenging. 'I had to explain to them my client's present situation, what problems I had identified, and I gave some recommendations,' she said.
'I thought my finance and accounting background helped a lot in analysing my client's cash flow, and looking at my client's balance sheet,' said Ms Wong, a graduate of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, where she majored in accounting.
Ms Wong said her accounting background made her more conscious of issues like the cash flow, balance sheet and tax planning. 'These are very important aspects in financial planning for clients. My background also makes me very cautious and provokes me to think about more scenarios and more options for the clients.'