Videos and speaking points from the presentation today at 14th AFA Conference and Awards Recognition. (Powerpoint slide ada technical issue earlier)
Part 1: How It All Started
(Use: Picture/Video from start of hiking trail)
My journey began in 2012—not on a mountain trail, but in a corporate office. I remember overhearing a group of young executives complaining about how they weren’t paid enough. They earned RM3,150 per month, with additional benefits—RM300 for petrol, RM200 for Touch ‘n Go, RM250 for parking, and RM100 for mobile.
On paper, it looked manageable. But I was curious. So, for a week, I quietly observed their habits. They ate at air-conditioned restaurants at The Curve, had the latest iPhones, and drove Toyota Vios or Honda City cars. Meanwhile, I was driving a Perodua Kelisa—despite earning 6 times their income.
After a week of ‘financial stalking’, I finally had my answer. It wasn’t the income that was the issue—it was their lifestyle.
So I sat down with them and offered to conduct a sharing session on how to manage personal finances. They were interested, and I opened it up to the whole company. About 40% showed up. What was supposed to be a 1.5-hour session turned into 3.5 hours.
At the end, one participant came up to thank me. He said it was insightful—and encouraged me to keep doing this.
That moment became my AHA moment. I started doing some soul-searching (I was already feeling unfulfilled at work), and that’s when I stumbled upon the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification.
The seed was planted.
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Part 2: The Initial Stages
(Use: Video of hiking – reflective/thinking)
To get my CFP, I learned I needed 3 years of relevant experience—which I didn’t have. So, I reached out to a friend to become a takaful agent. She registered me, sent me TBE reading materials, and I was coded with one of the takaful providers in less than a month.
But since she was based in Penang and I was in KL, I didn’t get the guidance I had hoped for. Zoom wasn’t a thing yet. I got terminated within a year.
Then, I met someone from an asset management who convinced me to become a unit trust agent. I joined, but our philosophies didn’t align. I didn’t want to push products—I wanted to help people. When I asked his opinion about pursuing my CFP, he said, “There’s no benefit—it won’t help your sales.”
That was a low point. I felt alone. No one shared my vision. No one to talk to. No mentors.
But I didn’t give up. Deep down, I believed this was what I was meant to do.
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Part 3: Starting My CFP Journey
(Use: Video of misty/kabus hike or hiking in rain)
In 2015, I finally signed up for my CFP.
And that’s when I realised—getting the certification was only the beginning. To start my own firm, I’d also need 10 years of relevant experience. Again, something I didn’t yet have.
But then I met Sam Yeoh. She was my classmate in Module 3. One day, our lecturer asked a question about Unit Trust sales charges, and my answer caught her attention. She knew I was from the same asset management company, and that’s how we connected.
We got to talking, and when she found out I wanted to start my own firm, she shared her fact-finding tools and invited me to her office. One thing led to another—and the rest, as they say, is history.
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Part 4: Setting Up the Firm & Practicing Financial Planning
(Use: Video of scenic view after long hike)
By 2017/2018, we finally got our licenses.
We had one tool—our fact-finding template. That was it. No financial plan samples, just what we remembered from CFP Module 4, Paper 2. But that didn’t stop us.
I messaged 100 people through WhatsApp. Explained what I was doing. Asked if they were interested to chat.
Only 10 said yes.
30 said no.
60 never responded.
It could’ve been demotivating—many of them people who I would consider close. Could have stopped there, but instead I focused on the 10.
In March 2018, I got my first fee-paying client—RM3,000. I didn’t even have a proper financial plan template yet. Just a spreadsheet I built from scratch combined with the fact-finding tool we were already using to collect our clients’ financial data.
At the same time, I had started to post of Facebook religiously. Social media was starting to be the place where people share their views and also market their services. With almost consistent posts every day, I started to gain some traction, and starting gaining new leads from my postings.
Later that year, I was invited to speak at the 2018 FPAM Annual Symposium. I shared something I still believe to this day: The reason more financial planners don’t practice real financial planning isn’t because clients aren’t ready—it’s because planners themselves aren’t ready to provide it.
By year-end, I had signed 24 clients. It was tough, but I was happy with the results. It showed that I didn’t have to wait until everything was perfect before I could start practicing. It also proves that there are people out there that are just waiting for Financial Planners to approach them.
In 2019, things changed. We built a paraplanning team to help create financial plans from the data we collected. That gave me time to serve more clients—and for the first time, I hit RM100,000 in fees collected in a single year. Starting in 2019 is when I first had referrals coming in from the earlier clients and that helped me build my advisory practice forward.
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Part 5: What’s Next
(Use: Video of summit or final hiking shot with a wide view)
Today, I run a hybrid financial planning model—fee-based and commission-based. While we charge annual fees, we also earn commissions when clients choose to implement our recommendations. But we always aim to reduce commissions wherever possible, passing on the savings to our clients.
In the early years, professional fees made up 50–75% of my income. By year 4, commissions took a larger role, especially through Asset Under Management (AUM).
Client servicing remains key. I retain around 75% of my clients yearly, and for every 4 clients, I typically get 1 referral. That’s how I’ve grown—and why I’m honoured to receive the Diamond Award from AFA and collecting more than RM 200k in professional fees in a single year.
But I couldn’t have done it alone.
Without my back-office team—Paraplanners, Sales Admin, and my Full-Time Assistant—I’d probably only manage 20–25 clients. They allow me to focus on what I do best: advising.
To those of you just starting out, know this:
Fee-based Financial Planning is still a Blue Ocean.
There are thousands of people out there looking for someone to guide them. The only question is—will you persist through the rejections to reach them?