Financial Advisor vs Insurance Agent

So you've just received a call for an interview for the position of a Financial Consultant / Financial Planner / Management Trainee with a Financial Services / Financial Advisory Firm. Congratulations!

Why so many name variations ? Actually they all mean exactly the same thing.

Recruiting managers from life insurance firms and financial advisers tend to be very creative with names.

They don't want you to miss out on this fascinating career of a Insurance Agent or a Financial Adviser Representative (FAR) just because of your pre-conceived notions.
After all, how can you be interested in something you have not tried?

How did they get your number even though you didn't send in any resume? 
Well, either they have bought leads from a leads seller to cold call you, or you have passed by their booth in NUS /NTU/ SMU career fair and left your number. 
Graduating students are hot favorites of cold-calls by recruiting managers from life insurance agencies and financial advisory firms. 
If Singapore tertiary students need sponsorship for any kind of events and don't mind hounding recruitment calls, approach insurance agencies and financial advisory firms for sponsorship.

Life Insurance Firm vs Financial Adviser

How to tell if you've been called to interview by an insurance firm or an advisory firm?

Financial services / Life insurance firms are like Prudential, Great Eastern, NTUC Income, Aviva etc

Financial Advisers are like IPP, PIAS, Finexis, Providend etc.

Here is a source where you can find a good list of them.

If somebody calls you up from an insurance firm, the person will introduce himself as someone from Michael Tan & Associates or Michael Tan Organization. When you ask the person over the phone what they do, he/she is not be upfront with you and tell you life insurance. Instead, it will be financial services.

And if somebody calls you up for an interview from a financial adviser, the introduction will also involve something like e.g. Michael Tan & Associates or Michael Tan Organization. When you ask  a bit more about what they do, he/she is also not likely to be upfront and tell you life insurance either. 
If you probe a little further, he/she will be quick to add that besides life insurance they also do investments and financial planning for corporations,
work with hundreds of life insurance firms, 
general insurance firms, 
fund managers and offshore investment firms. 
This is what typically most people know as a financial advisory firm.

Insurance Agent vs Financial Advisor

The birth of the Financial Advisers Act (FAA) in Singapore also gave rise to the existence of Financial Advisers Representatives (FAR).

Insurance agents work very hard to be seen on the same level as FARs. 
FARs work very hard at differentiating themselves from insurance agents.

It isn't easy.

Insurance Agent is an easy name to understand, remember and repeat. But it hasn't gained the best reputation over the years.

FAR is such a mouthful. Nobody ever remembers the name, much less repeat it. 
So even though its the only name insurance agents are not able to use, the FAR usually doesn't use the FAR title.

However, the closest title 'Financial Consultant' is used on practically every insurance agent's name card.

What exactly is the real difference between being an Insurance agent and a FAR?

Frankly speaking, not much difference.

That difference is only on the client's end.

The FAR's clients get to benefit from the FA firm's much much much wider range of financial products.

Aside from that, everything else is the same for the FAR and insurance agent.

Both are mostly remunerated by commissions ONLY.

The very few insurance agents who are paid a monthly salary either have a really low basic pay with some compromised commission structure, or are signed on to a program conjured by recruiting managers with too many terms and conditions about the monthly compensation.

There are also the minority independent FARs who don't receive commissions and charge clients fees instead.

Both have to find their own clients.

There are many ways to go about doing that . Approaching friends and family, asking for referrals, going for roadshows, cold callings, cold canvassing on the streets, doing surveys, and for some, getting professional introducers.

Other similarities and differences are minor in comparison.

At the end of the day, their job scope and environment is largely the same. Not one them is more superior than the other.

The question is, can you deal with 
1) constantly having to find clients and 
2) being remunerated  based on commissions only?

If you can't, save yourself the time, save clients the trouble. Pursue something else instead.

If you can, great, simply read on for the interview.


XQPYQBTR7MS6