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| Australian financial firm in tie-up with Bartleet Group |
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What has largely been considered a ‘Western’ service – the provision of financial planning for society at large – is about to penetrate Sri Lanka through one of the largest networks of accountants, financial advisers and life insurance brokers in Australia, Professional Investment Services, in association with the Bartleet Group.
“There is a burgeoning middle class right throughout South East Asia. The big concern is that as more money is available, you will always get people who will try to rip people off” said Managing Director Professional Investment Services Grahamme Evans, explaining the underlying cause behind the increasing popularity of wealth planning in the Asian subcontinent. Evans went on to describe Sri Lanka as not only a ‘gateway’ to the growing Indian market, but as a great prospect in itself.
In this respect, the Professional Investment Services firm will be providing its services in association with the Bartleet Group in Sri Lanka to get a hold on the potentially viable local market into which they believe now is the right time to venture into.
“We see the opportunistic nature of the economy. Sri Lanka is a country with a whole range of confusing signals, but with very strong potential. We were impressed with the Governor of the Central Bank; we were impressed with the infrastructure; we were impressed with the attitude over all. We have a strong feeling that Sri Lanka will go ahead in leaps and bounds.”
Asked about the impact that the separatist conflict could have on what would usually be considered a ‘non-essential’ good, Evans nevertheless stated that getting a hand in the market is the right step to take.
“We have a longer term view. The best time to do anything is when everybody else is getting out…we’ve got the patience to get involved as things work their way through.” He added that this was by no means an ‘altruistic’ or humanitarian move, pointing out that profits are made by getting into a market early.
The PIS website is user-friendly with an easily navigable interface that is accessible to most individuals – from professional accountants to those with indifferent knowledge of the service, who will find a glossary of terms as well as a “Wealth maker” that maps out the financial stages of the customer’s life with corresponding advice. In spite of this, Evans firmly put technology in second place to personal customer care.
“We are at the closest end to the customer, the most important place to be. Technology is an enabler, but it is no replacement for face to face contact. The website is there for information, many of our forms and presentations are available there, but it’s so important to have that face-to-face contact.”
At the moment Professional Investment Services has nine hundred. Evans sketched out the progress of PIS through Asia, including the company’s rise to the number one FP service in Malaysia and number two in Singapore. He also mentioned the company’s most recent venture into Beijing – China being the home of the ‘youngest millionaire’ at an average age of 43 years – where 1400 applications were filed in within four days of initiation. “We’re really getting traction in those areas,” said Evans.
The features that separate PIS from alternative services were clearly illustrated by the Managing Director. “We’re focused around joint venturing with accounting practices, which is unique in its own right.” The service is also transferable from location to location, and has a system of qualified and proficient control.
“We have a very strong process” said Evans. “We went from nowhere to number one through using the process.”
Retirement planning also came up as a key feature that PIS focus on. Evans talked about the trend of decreasing mortality in the world and in the South East Asian region, referring to the fact that the average life expectancy in countries like Australia and Singapore are now over eighty years.
“We’re keen for people to think about funding their own retirement. We don’t think that people should rely on the government to provide for them” said Evans.The service has the potential to encourage and educate ‘smart’ spending decisions instead of the tendency to jump in and out of the market – what Evans called a ‘gambling mentality’ – that is the prevalent trend in Asian countries.
“We believe that advice is extremely important. You need to think for the long term.” said Evans. ‘It’s not timing the market – it’s time in the market.” As a service that rose to number one on Money Management’s top 100 survey, Sri Lanka appears to be getting the best advice on putting ‘time in the market’ possible. |
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