MalaysianIndianBusiness March 201130

Wealth management - new mantra in financial scienceTwo ‘Licensed Financial Planners’, well qualified and experienced in the field of financial planning offer some advice and guidance about ‘Wealth Management’.

Wealth Street Sdn Bhd is a certified and licensed firm by the Securities Commission for financial planning. There are only 33 such certified financial planners in the country and only two of them are controlled by Indians, one of it being Wealth Street Sdn Bhd.

K.Gunasegaran and Festus Jaya, the partners of Wealth Street Sdn Bhd, in an interview with Malaysian Indian Business shed some light about wealth management, dismantling some of the common notions and beliefs often associated with this industry.

§ R. Mutharasan

money matters

Guna and Jaya argue that Wealth Management is fast growing into a huge industry by itself and is becoming sophisticated - and it is therefore important that young and budding professionals and businessmen plan their financial dealings and provide for future contingencies - so that their hard earned money is kept intact and within family members.

K.Gunasegaran Festus Jaya

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There are currently only 33 firms in Malaysia licensed by the Securities Commission and only two of these firms are controlled by Indians. We are one of them.

How long have you been in this business?

What is meant by Wealth Management?

The common belief among people is that wealth management means a group of people selling insurance and unit trusts but in today’s modern world highly driven by economic issues, wealth management has expanded to include many areas in financial planning.

Wealth Management involves mainly three areas in financial planning. The first is risk management which covers protection and Insurance. The second area is covered by wealth accumulation, which means investments undertaken from your savings and income.

The third leg is wealth preservation and transfer, which covers issues such as wills, trusts, power of attorney etc. Basically, it is a planning on how to preserve your accumulated wealth and how to eventually transfer it to your family members and children in a safe legal manner so that they too enjoy the fruits of your labour.

We must remember that all of us work hard to provide a safe financial future for our children and family members but often we find disputes arising over inherited wealth - and family members engaging in protracted legal and court battles to inherit what is left for them.

Our financial planning also includes solving or reducing instances of such problems unexpectedly arising.

Is your firm, Wealth Management Sdn Bhd officially certified to provide financial planning services?

Yes! By the Malaysian laws, only licensed financial planners can provide these financial planning services. Both of us are licensed and certified financial planners. The licensing is granted by the Securities Commission of Malaysia under the Capital Market Services Act 2007 and it is very strictly controlled and monitored. The licenses are renewable yearly.

Although we have years of experience in this field individually, our firm has been in operations for the last 3 years. We have a fair size of clientele from all races who are mainly middle income earners and professionals.

About 20% of our clients are from the “high net worth category“. By this term “high net worth“, we mean that those having investable liquid assets of more than RM1 million.

In essence, what do you do?

Basically, we write a financial plan and charge a fee but it is not that simple as it sounds. We provide a fee based investment plan. Our fees are reasonable and governed by our licensing authorities. Our clients’ financial information is also kept with utmost confidence and secrecy and will not be revealed to any parties. Our fees are negotiable if the investment plans exceed more than RM 1 million.

We provide unbiased, independent advice. We don’t represent any companies or financial institutions. Our advice is not merely confined to investment plans but as we said earlier, it is about total wealth management which covers even wider area.

Is there a real necessity for such a financial planning and can people carry on with their own plans and ideas without having your services?

Anyone interested can talk to us first with no obligations to find out whether their life’s goals really match with their current wealth management strategies. We do not charge any fees for providing advice and guidance at initial stages and there is no obligation that you must engage our services merely because you have talked to us.

Beginning your life early with a road map for financial planning ensures a smooth transition in life. It provides future financial security and freedom. We have seen many who have accumulated a fair sized wealth over the years, but losing part of it or

“Wealth management is the design, implementation and

monitoring of a comprehensive financial plan and investment

strategy. We believe that a financial plan should be a

dynamic tool that helps you make thoughtful decisions and allows us to provide proactive

advice over your lifetime.”

- From the website of Wealth Street Sdn Bhd

Festus Jaya Chief Operations Officer, Wealth Street Sdn Bhd

Festus Jaya holds a Diploma in Business administration and is a certified financial planner. He is also a Chartered Investment financial practitioner (ChIFP).

Jaya has 10 years of experience in the field of financial services planning.

MalaysianIndianBusiness March 201132

even everything eventually because of poor planning.

Our services are ideal for young professionals and upcoming businessmen and those in their middle age with a middle income. We come in and fill a gap by providing advisory services and guidance in developing a financial road map for them.

It may cost them a little initially for engaging our services but eventually they will realise that it is beneficial in the long term and saves them from many pitfalls and perils later. With us around, people need not learn financial planning by trial and errors.

So anyone interested in knowing more can talk to us with no obligations. People have their

K. GunaSeGaranFounder & Chief Executive Officer, Wealth Street Sdn Bhd

K.Gunasegaran (Guna) has been actively involved in the financial services industry for the last 20 years. For the first 10 years of his career he was working in the risk management sector, in an insurance company which is reputedly one of the top three insurers in the country.

Having served in the risk management industry for 10 years, he then moved from risk management to the Financial services sector. He has been in the financial planning services sector for the last 10 years.

Guna believes in financial

planning that provides a holistic approach to wealth management. He is a qualified chartered financial consultant and a chartered life underwriter from an american College. He is also a chartered Investment Financial Practitioner (ChIFP).

He is certified as a ‘Money Coach’ by the Money Coaching Institute of america and such an accreditation is the first of its kind in Malaysia.

Currently he is pursuing a Chartered Wealth Manager Programme from the american academy of Financial Management.

For the last 3 years he has been practicing as a certified financial planner.

life’s own goals and if our financial planning matches and blends with their life’s goals only then they should engage our services.

We have flexible planning systems. Our planning is also in line with global economic changes as your investment plan may include various types of asset classes which may have strong bearings due to global economic changes.

For further enquiries and information please contact: Wealth Street Management Sdn Bhd at Tel: +603-78760062 +603-78760062 ; 78760018 or Guna at Tel: 012-5084678 Jaya at Tel: 012-2875311

Website: www.wealth-street.com

By delegating the responsibility for developing a coordinated financial plan to a financial professional,

clients are able to:

Simplify the financial planning process

Minimise their risk

Redirect their time toward improving the quality of their

lives; and

Be secure in the comfort that an entire deliverables team is there, to support them both during the process and at times of need in “Bringing

Fulfillment To Life”

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If you have any interesting business stories to share with our readers please contact us:

603-7784 2801, 012-232 6967 info@malaysianindianbusiness.com.my

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