Befriending a colleague or client is more often than not a bonus, but for Ricky Lee Lap-ki, associate director at Convoy Financial Services, making friends through work seems to be part and parcel of the course.
Take a page out of Lee's schedule and it soon becomes apparent just how many of his clients have become friends. They play football together and chat over a bottle of red wine. He has recruited some into his company to work alongside him as financial planners. He even visits their newborn babies in hospitals.
'I tend to take a warm approach towards clients. I feel that if I am going to be of help to someone, then it makes more sense to get to know them well so that I can provide better tailored advice that can accurately meet their needs,' said the 28-year old.
This affable and outgoing personality played a role in earning Lee the My Favourite Financial Planner award last year - a spin-off prize from the annual SCMP/IFPHK Financial Planner Awards that will be contested again in this year's competition.
The award, held for the first time last year, allowed members of the public to cast their vote online over the course of one month for their favourite financial planner after viewing a two-minute video presentation made by each participant on an assigned topic. The nine finalists were the top three from each industry sector - banking, insurance and independent financial advisory - of the main competition.
'Though Hong Kong has two to three financial planning awards each year, I thought this competition was especially pertinent because you are judged not by the industry but by end users, so their feedback on our performance is that much more meaningful,' Lee explained.