When the financial crisis struck last year, Clarence Yau Kam-man, a senior financial consultant at American International Assurance Company (AIA), remembers one of his clients becoming worried about his financial status. He was also concerned that there might be an impact on his policy benefits.
'He had many questions and queries about the financial market,' Mr Yau recalled. 'The only thing I could do was keep in contact with him and chat with him all the time, providing him with the latest market information and telling him that the current financial status of AIA Hong Kong was stable and safe, so his investments and insurance absolutely would not be affected by the circumstances.'
Mr Yau won the Outstanding Young Salesperson Award. He was one of three AIA employees to win awards at this year's competition. The other two, senior business manager Sandy Wu Wan-yu and senior business manager Kelly Lai Kar-yee, took the Distinguished Salesperson Award.
'The most important thing is that, as professional financial planners, we should never give up, no matter how many challenges we face,' said Mr Yau, who has been with the company for one year.
Mr Yau analyses the financial status of clients and gives them suggestions and solutions in a variety of categories, including risk management, savings management, investment management and retirement management. He enjoys his job because he gets to communicate with different kinds of people. He also enjoys the many challenges that the job provides.
'I help people achieve goals or even dreams in their life by providing them with better after-sales services,' Mr Yau said. 'To be successful in this field, you have to help people to improve their financial situation and watch them achieve their goals step by step over their lifetime.'
Ms Wu has been with the company for nearly 10 years. She helps clients undergo what she calls 'financial health checks' and lets them know more about their actual financial needs at different stages of their lives, advising them on products that can help them meet their goals. She finds her job challenging, meaningful and rewarding.