With the proliferation of financial products from basic risk protection to more sophisticated financial products for retirement and asset accumulation, it is important for consumers to have access to professional advice to help them work through the wide range of financial solutions which involve increasingly complex structures, and to avail themselves on solutions that will best suit their needs and capacity. For this purpose, Bank Negara Malaysia has introduced the framework for the licensing of financial advisers in 2005 in response to the increasing demand from Malaysian consumers for professional and specialised advisory services to meet their financial needs. The growing affluence and sophistication of consumers have created the demand for more complex financial products and services, specifically insurance products. The introduction of financial advisers, as a new distribution channel for the insurance and takaful industry, will complement the services of the existing professional intermediaries in the financial markets in providing holistic financial advisory services which range from insurance protection, savings for education, investments and retirement planning. In the long term, financial advisory business is only sustainable if its operations are transparent and focused on providing value added services rather than simply selling products. Financial advisers must provide the highest service levels and professional standards in order to sustain and prosper. Apart from the growing appetite of our consumers for more sophisticated products and services, another factor which had prompted the introduction of financial advisers into the financial services sector was the country’s relatively low insurance or takaful penetration rate.
Currently, the new life insurance premiums transacted through financial advisers were still insignificant compared to the premiums transacted through agency forces and bancassurance. Any effort to improve the performance of financial advisers must include the takaful sector, which has evolved considerably over the years to become a thriving global business to complement conventional insurance. On that note, Bank Negara Malaysia has recently approved the inclusion of takaful products and services within the scope of business which can be distributed by financial advisers. The inclusion of takaful products is a significant initiative as it will allow financial advisers to capitalise on the potential for growth of the takaful sector given that the market penetration rate for takaful products is low at 7.7% and the large number of untapped Muslim population in Malaysia who are usually more inclined towards Shariah-compliant products. However, to undertake the marketing of takaful products, financial advisers’ representatives must first equip themselves with the necessary knowledge in takaful and understand the Shariah requirements and the differences between takaful and conventional products. In this regard, I commend FPAM and MFPC on their timely effort to formulate and develop Islamic-based professional qualifications in order to satisfy the growing needs among professionals within the financial advisory fraternity. FPAM, together with the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Malaysia has jointly developed Islamic Financial Planner module whereas MFPC has recently launched a Shariah Registered Financial Planner module.