Financial and retirement planning built on your priorities
A home, children, looking after parents, slowing down one day: it helps to see how it all fits together. The Balanced Financial Planning Package starts with a full review of where you stand, and the FDM method shows you why each step in the plan is there.
You will be speaking with Isaac Fang, CFARepresentative of Phillip Securities
The package
Balanced Financial Planning Package
Insurance and investment are two pillars of a plan. Overweight one and the other suffers. The package balances them around your goals.
Start with two basics
Two basics worth considering: a multi-asset investment account and personal accident cover. Accident cover is often underwritten mainly on your occupation rather than your health history. Whether either suits you depends on your circumstances.
Then the full plan
- A full review of income, expenses, assets, debts and existing cover.
- Goals, in order. Home, children's education, retirement income, whatever matters to you, ranked by you, with a required rate of return set for the money behind each one.
- Strategies for each goal, covering investments, insurance, and tax-relief schemes such as the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS).
- Regular reviews as your career, family or the markets change.
Within the six-step process
Financial planning follows six steps: agree the engagement, gather your information and goals, analyse your position, develop and present proposals, put them in place, then monitor. FDM is the process within step four.
The FDM method
FDM stands for Facilitating Decision Making. I developed it to compare financial plans side by side, and it is open for anyone to use.
- List what matters to you. For example, access to cash without heavy penalties, cost, flexibility, coverage.
- Weight each factor so the weights add up to 100%. Be honest; this is where the trade-offs show.
- Score each option from 0 to 10 against each factor.
- Compare the weighted totals, and consider blending options rather than picking one.
Two people can weigh the same product differently and both be right for themselves. The point is that you own the decision, and can see how it was reached.
Illustration: comparing two plans
| What matters to you | Weight | Plan A | Plan B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access to cash | 8 | 4 | |
| Total cost | 6 | 7 | |
| Flexibility | 7 | 5 | |
| Coverage | 5 | 9 | |
| Weighted score | 100% | 6.75 | 5.85 |
Questions about financial planning
Most plans start with a conversation about what you want the money to do, and when.
What is the Balanced Financial Planning Package?
It is a financial plan in four parts: a full review of your income, expenses, assets, debts and existing cover; your goals ranked by you; strategies for each goal across investments, insurance and tax-relief schemes such as the SRS; and regular reviews. Options at each step are compared with the FDM method.
What are the six steps of financial planning?
Agree the engagement, gather your information and goals, analyse your position, develop and present proposals, put them in place, then monitor and review. FDM is the method used within step four.
How does retirement planning fit into a financial plan?
Retirement is one goal in the plan, ranked against your others, such as a home or children's education. For the money set aside for it, you set a required rate of return, then compare the options against it, alongside what CPF LIFE and schemes such as the SRS already provide.
Does the SRS give tax relief?
Yes. Contributions to the Supplementary Retirement Scheme are eligible for tax relief, up to an annual cap. Withdrawals are taxed under the scheme's rules: from the statutory retirement age that applied when you first contributed, 50% of each withdrawal is taxable and there is no 5% penalty, so when you withdraw matters as much as what you put in. SRS in Singapore: how it works covers the details.
What is the FDM method?
FDM, Facilitating Decision Making, is a way to compare financial plans: list what matters to you, weight each factor so the weights add up to 100%, score each option from 0 to 10, and compare the weighted totals. Isaac developed it, and it is open for anyone to use. How to compare financial plans side by side has a worked example.
What should I bring to the first meeting?
A rough list of income and regular expenses, your CPF statement, policy documents or annual statements, and any investment statements. Rough is fine; the review fills the gaps.
Start with the review
Send me a message about where you are and what you want to sort out first. The plan grows from there.
Speak to Isaac