DBS to double recruitment of financial planning advisors in 2021; introduces industry-first insurance consultant role
Singapore, 01 Feb 2021 - As part of DBS’ commitment to help all customers, regardless of their income level or life stage, improve their financial wellbeing, the bank today announced plans to double the recruitment of financial planning advisors this year. The bank aims to hire more than 650 wealth planning managers and insurance consultants by end-2021. The insurance consultant role by DBS is newly created and is supported by financial planning solutions provider Manulife Singapore. The role, which is an industry-first, allows for the flexible hours and independence of a traditional financial advisor, while providing the institutional support and benefits akin to those enjoyed by DBS’ wealth planning managers.
Said Brandon Lam, Singapore Head of DBS Financial Solutions Management Group, “With 2020 behind us, we hope to help hasten our nation’s road to recovery by creating new roles that support our local workforce and address the growing preference for work flexibility. The past year has also brought home the importance of being financially prepared: a 2020 DBS NAV Financial Health Series report showed that 64% of individuals who experienced a significant fall in income had less than three months of emergency funds. We hope this initiative can help pave the way for more innovations to come in the financial services space, as we continue to pursue our aim of providing financial planning for all.”
The bank has seen a steady rise in demand for financial and retirement planning and solutions over the past few years, which further picked up in 2020 with the onset of Covid-19 and the introduction of SGFinDex, the world’s first public-private open banking initiative. Post SGFinDex’s rollout on 7 December 2020, DBS NAV Planner, the bank’s hyper-personalised financial and retirement planning solution, saw a surge in new visitors, with 200,000 trying DBS NAV Planner for the first time in December 2020
[1]
. Between April and December 2020, customer interest in protection surged, with the protection feature of DBS NAV Planner attracting more than 300,000 visits. The solution has now passed a key milestone, hitting 2 million users since its introduction in April 2020. Retail investment also hit a record high in 2020 – investment and trading activities tripled compared to 2019.
Benefits of insurance consultant role
The new role of insurance consultant was created in response to drastic shifts in workforce preferences
[2]
due to the pandemic and is in line with the series of transformation initiatives DBS has rolled out in 2020 to realise new ways of working.
Jonathan Yen, Chief Bancassurance Officer of Manulife Asia, said, “The events of the past year have revolutionised traditional ways of working and accelerated digital adoption. We’ve witnessed first-hand that the way customers want to interact with us is changing and we need to keep pace with that. Partnering with DBS to introduce these new roles will further add to our successful partnership and help us serve the evolving needs of our customers.”
Insurance consultants, unlike any others within the financial planning industry, will have the independence and flexible hours of financial advisors and insurance agents, and at the same time benefit from support and resources similar to those provided to full-time wealth planning managers. The consultants will have access to a wide range of resources from DBS and Manulife to help them better meet customers’ financial planning needs. This includes the use of cutting-edge financial planning tools; intensive training programmes that ensure consultants uphold and adhere to the same stringent consumer protection standards applicable to the bank’s employees; the ability to leverage DBS’ broad customer base; and access to DBS meeting spaces in branches. Consultants will be able to leverage insights from DBS NAV Planner, with the customer’s consent. With DBS NAV Planner’s AI/ML capabilities and SGFinDex integration, consultants will gain valuable and comprehensive insights on their customer’s finances and be better equipped to counsel customers on their financial planning needs holistically.
The role will allow consultants to determine their own work hours, comes with a range of benefits and progression opportunities, as well as competitive renumeration in line with the industry. For further information on the wealth planning manager or insurance consultant role at DBS Bank, click
here
.
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DBS NAV Planner was made available to all Singapore residents, including non-customers, in December 2020.
[2]
An October 2020 survey of nearly 1,800 people by The Straits Times found that 8 out of 10 workers prefer to continue working remotely or have flexible working arrangements.
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About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings are among the highest in the world.
Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “
World’s Best Bank
” by Euromoney, “
Global Bank of the Year
” by The Banker and “
Best Bank in the World
” by Global Finance. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “
World’s Best Digital Bank
” by Euromoney. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “
Safest Bank in Asia
” award by Global Finance for 12 consecutive years from 2009 to 2020.
DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.
With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of our 29,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit
www.dbs.com.
DBS Bank Ltd | 12 Marina Boulevard, DBS Asia Central @ Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3,
Singapore 018982 | Co. Reg. No. 196800306E
Tel: 65.6878 8888 | www.dbs.com
