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Investing in His Roots
After living abroad in Australia for the past 11 years, the time was right for Singaporean Chan Wai Kheong to return to Singapore in April 2007. After originally moving to Australia for tertiary education, Wai Kheong ended up staying in Perth for over a decade to work first as a tax advisor and then a financial planner. While he and his family enjoyed life Down Under, recently a number of factors aligned to encourage their return to Singapore.
From a career perspective, it was timely to consider a return to Singapore given the prospects for the local industry. “Singapore has a very young financial planning industry that is poised for tremendous growth. The rapidly ageing population, increased longevity and the large proportion of CPF savings that still remain in cash collectively set the stage for the huge growth in retirement planning and investment advisory services,” explains Wai Kheong.
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A job with the right fit
After taking three months to consider the move and look for a job here, Wai Kheong joined ipac financial planning. The Australian firm set up its Singapore office in 2003 and introduced its unique lifestyle approach to financial planning in the Singapore market. The job with ipac presents Wai Kheong with a great opportunity to transfer his experience from Australia to new opportunities in Singapore, although he has had to adapt to the different mindset of clients here: “I have discovered Singaporeans are not yet familiar with true lifestyle financial planning and are a little more guarded about money matters. But that’s understandable as many locals expect to be sold a product and are surprised when I take them through the lifestyle financial planning process—talking about their goals, both short term and for the future.”
Family first
Another important consideration in the decision to return to Singapore was family, both young and old. With his aging parents living here, Wai Kheong felt a need to be closer in order to offer them care and support. With three young children—one boy and two girls aged four, three and nearly two—Wai Kheong and his wife Kelly are also grateful to have help from his parents in looking after the little ones, and the grandparents are thrilled that they can spend time with their grandchildren.
Planning for the future
Looking to the future, the young couple also saw a move to Singapore as a positive step for their children’s education. Expanding on the point, Wai Kheong says, “I have a strong belief that the foundation level of education here is stronger than in Australia. Singapore’s schools are very good at teaching subjects such as math and science at the primary and secondary levels. We also have traditional values, so we are eager for our children to learn Mandarin so that they understand our culture.”
For professionals with families, Wai Kheong advises that they should be prepared for adjustments in lifestyle and climate that both parents and children will face. As for what he enjoys most about Singapore, Wai Kheong sums up the highlights in his final words: “The lower tax and the glorious food!”
