Are There Too Many Financial Advisors in Singapore?
Is the financial services industry saturated?
Most people asking this question are probably contemplating a career in the financial services industry. Especially after it was ranked the highest in the "Best Job Index" by Indeed.
I asked the same question when I first explored this industry because I wanted to get a sense of the viability of this business. Having been a FA Representative for 15 years now, let me try to share some perspectives.
Financial Advisors Are Everywhere!
“Everywhere I go I see insurance roadshows. My social media feed is flooded with their content. I also know many people who are financial advisors!”
While these are valid observations, it does not speak about the viability of the business, and is confirmation bias in action - taking what you observe at face value to confirm your viewpoint. With the same observation, someone could also think - “So many people is doing this, must be quite lucrative!”. Both are examples of confirmation bias.
My favourite way of overcoming confirmation bias is to look into numbers.
How Many Financial Advisors Are There in Singapore?
For the purpose of this article, "Financial Advisors" mean Tied Representatives (aka insurance agents) and FA Representatives.
In 2025, there were 12,389 Tied Representatives in Singapore, and FA reps are estimated to be 5,000. Singapore's resident population Age 20 and above is 3,421,200. This represents is an average of 197 people per financial advisor.
The number of agents have been trending down since 2015, and that is mostly attributed to continuous professionalisation by MAS - higher academic qualifications, balance scorecard, minimum performance standards, etc. This results in part-time agents and non-serious agents falling out over the years. Still, we observe 10-15% “idle representatives”, leaving us with approximately 231 people per Financial Advisor.
You probably heard stories of insurance agents servicing over 1,000 customers. Let’s be honest, no one can service 1,000 people well (until AI augments our work maybe?), we prefer to focus on doing a good job and being a trusted adviser for 200 clients (not customers). A serious Financial Advisor can acquire 1 client a week, so it may take you 4 years to acquire 200 clients. Can a Financial Advisor thrive with only 200 clients?
What Are The Financial Gaps Singaporeans Have?
Next, let’s attempt to understand the financial gaps Singaporeans have. People have many financial concerns. We zoom into the top 2 financial concerns that you can help with - Healthcare and Financial Freedom.
The 2022 Protection Gap Study has a treasure trove of information about life insurance needs of Singaporeans. Singlife Financial Freedom Index 2024 provides insights on the retirement needs.
TLDR:
- $405bn Mortality (Death) Protection Gap and $599bn Critical Illness Protection Gap. On average, this translate to:
- $179k Death and $265k Critical Illness needs per person.
- 77% feel financial freedom is important. Only 29% feel “financially free”.
- Median savings of $1,682/m. Retirement needs of $2,856/m for daily living expenses. This is a huge gap!
The Opportunity as a Financial Advisor
Now that we know the reasonable number of clients we have, we can work out the revenue potential of working with them, aka your Business Opportunity.
The business opportunity depends on the business and revenue model of the Financial Advisory firm you are exploring with. Have a frank and detailed conversation with your recruiting manager about this. You will have to make some assumptions too. For example, the profile of people you will be working with, and a realistic number of clients you may acquire during your first and second year. Some scenarios could include:
- If I can help 50 people (quarter of 200) close their CI protection gap of $265k this year, how much revenue are we looking at?
- If I can help 100 people (half of 200), invest $600/m (out of $1,682/m savings) over the next 10 years, how much revenue are we looking at after 10 years?
Just using (2) as an illustration, 100 people who invest $600/m with you means the assets under your advisory is over $6.84M after 10 years (assuming no investment growth). With a 1% per annum advisory fee, the revenue is $68,400 per year. Depending on the revenue model, a FC with 65% cut will receive over $44k per year.
Understanding this is crucial. Because your livelihood depends on this! There are different “levers” you can move to increase your income focusing on investments. Using the above example, your income can increase by:
- Increasing clients’ wallet share with you,
- Having more clients invest with you,
- Generating positive portfolio returns,
- Charging higher advisory fee,
- Increasing your revenue cut.
What are the different levers within your control in the business and revenue model?
The Most Important Question
I have interviewed and coached many mid-career professionals exploring the path as a financial advisor. The common push factors and complains they have about their current jobs are:
- No work-life balance - There is too much work and deadlines to meet and so little personal/family time, especially during peak periods.
- Stagnant income - The pay increment yearly is mediocre, if any. The effort put in isn’t worth the pay. Fear of being retrenched also.
- Tired of the rat race - "Same shit different day". Little appreciation, opportunities, and fulfilment.
However, most of them do not realise that these push factors are inherent to being an employee and having a job. This cycle repeats wherever they go…
Decent work-life balance with your current supervisor now? Once a more “gung-ho” supervisor comes in, this balance tilts.
Hopping to a job that pays 15% higher pay? Only to fear being asked to leave at the next retrenchment exercise.
Changing a job, career path, and environment may provide temporary relief. When these don’t work for you, bet on yourself and consider changing your employment mode - move out of being an employee to being self-employed.
Adopting the Right Mindset
Becoming self-employed requires a paradigm shift. Are you exploring this opportunity with an “Employee mindset” or a “Business mindset”?
When exploring a career as a financial advisor, it is obvious what mindset a candidate is adopting from the questions they ask.
| Employee Mindset | Business Mindset |
|---|---|
| Can I do cold prospecting instead of warm? | What form of prospecting will give me the outcome that I want? |
| How many hours am I expected to work during the weekends? | How can I get more people to meet me during my business hours? |
| How much allowance can I get? | What is the revenue model and how can I grow my revenue? |
Your concerns and perspectives are important and I will never dismiss them. But This is NOT a job. Challenge yourself to view this opportunity as a business and learn to evaluate it as a business. Else, you will only perpetuate the same problems you face at your job when you continue to adopt an employee mindset.
The financial advisor career is not for everyone. For this opportunity to be viable and rewarding, you must also be in the right business and revenue model. DM me to have a frank and honest conversation about this business opportunity and assess if you have what it takes to thrive with us.
