Thursday 12th March rained cats and dogs. If this wasn’t bad enough, our dog Rascal, a cold-loving Husky, slipped out of the gate and had a splashing time. He had done this before and had either found his way back or was escorted back by one of us who went after his heels.

But no one was free to chase after him this time, and hours later after the rain had stopped, he was nowhere to be found.

When my sons and I returned from work, we searched the neighbourhood. It was to no avail. There was no sight or sound of him.

Many thoughts came. Perhaps someone had taken him in and sheltered him from the rain. If so, they would return him once the rain had stopped.

Perhaps his sense of smell was affected by the rain and he couldn’t trace his steps back. I had always wondered about his eyesight too for he couldn’t see that well now that he is eight years old.

We decided to give SPCA a call on Saturday to report that our husky had gone missing. No one manned the phone as it was a weekend.

On Sunday, I decided to go walking around the neighbourhood and went as far as a mile’s radius to see whether Rascal could have really lost his bearings and was waiting somewhere for rescue. After an hour’s search, I called the search off. But what had made me mount another search?

It was the Biblical parable of the shepherd and the lost sheep. The shepherd left the ninety-nine sheep somewhere safe and went searching for the lost sheep. He was delighted and carried the sheep back and even threw a party for the neighbours, for he who was lost has been found.

The parable of the prodigal son or more correctly the loving father, was even more dramatic. The sheep could not be really blamed for losing his way, but the wayward son had asked for his share of the father’s estate even before the father’s death, and had squandered it in riotous living. It was only when he had come to his senses that he decided to return home and admitted he had sinned against his father and was not deserving to be accepted as a son, but could he be a servant?

The beauty and glory of the story was in the way the father greeted the return of his son “who once was lost but now is found”.

For the complete story, see Luke 15.

In light of these two parables, I prayed for my dog to be found and brought back. If not, may he find a dog lover who would take good care of him.

Wonder of wonders, after five long days when there was a strange quiet in our home, we received the good news – a man had brought him to SPCA on Tuesday morning. It wasn’t a chore at all to pick him and drive him back.

Not every story of a pet or a person lost ends with good news. But in a marvelous way, I am reminded of the greatest rescue mission which God launched to rescue lost mankind who like sheep had gone astray.

The father in the parable stands for God the Father and the prodigal son represents those who had chosen to go away from the Father, but who fortunately realized their mistake before it was too late.

There is always forgiveness for the son who returns. The tragedy in the parable was the elder brother who was not forgiving and begrudged the father celebrating the younger son’s return. He had not experienced grace and love. Otherwise, he would have been able to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep”.

What is a story of a pet who was lost and was found doing in this business blog?

Many have lost a fortune or much of their life’s savings in the current economic crisis. Hopefully, there will be a way to recoup the losses. For those who will not be able to recover their losses, the way forward is to come to their senses and learn from their mistakes.

Good advice is important in matters which we don’t understand well. We take pains to select good doctors, good educators, good contractors etc.

We must take pains to get good advice on matters like financial planning and investments. And we must find caring planners and advisers who will feel for you when you lose – advisers who will search for ways to help you find that which was lost. Advisers with a heart who will always take care of your interest and will not find rest until you do well and are safe, and your investments are safe. Advisers who watch the investment landscape and horizon for you and who watch your back also. Advisers with the shepherd’s heart, not the thief or the robber who come to prosper themselves on your account.

Decades ago, the line of a pop song read: I.T.A.L.Y. means I trust and love you.

You don’t hear many women or men singing this “sentimental nonsense” anymore, lamentably. For trust, like love, is a many splendoured thing.

Sadly, we see more distrust than trust in recent years and the recent news of the Ponzi Scheme used by Bernard Madoff to swindle thousands of clients of billions of dollars does not help.

Back home, we hear of Raffles Education painfully writing off $34.6 million of its investment in Oriental Century which had inflated sales and cash balances and diverted money elsewhere.

Arising from this and other fraud cases, investors have begun to doubt whether claimed cash balances are really there, not only in S-chips but other companies, too.

The talk in most circles focuses on whether such cases of fraud could have been prevented and zeros in on what directors, especially independent directors, should have done to live up to their fiduciary duties.

Several big cases of fraud in the USA also brought into question the thoroughness of external auditors and their independence. One case some years ago brought into question the independence of an insurance brokerage of world renown. While it is necessary to put in place “checks and balances”, and hold directors and auditors accountable, we must recognise that fraud happens because of man’s greed, dishonesty, and thievery – three of the “thou shalt nots” of the Ten Commandments.

The axiom that business is built on trust should not be forgotten. When there is no trust, there is no trade. We have heard of “In God we trust, others pay cash”. How sad it will be if we retrogress to this state. The use of credit has enabled business to thrive as it is convenient, but it is ultimately based on trust. The credit crunch which has caused much business to seize up in the recent months is due mainly to fear that money lent out will not be paid and is hard to recover.

Banks which had been bastions of financial stability and were trusted institutions have come under question for not heeding their own advice to be prudent. Many have gone into the fee business and product selling, and got themselves into sticky situations of being accused of mis-selling and misrepresentation and having to make good. The Lehman Brothers’ failure brought product pushing to the surface after many years when the banks had it good and cornered 30 per cent of the insurance and investment market. Many customers had trusted them more than agents or advisers, but now have realised that they ought to be more careful. When anyone or any institution is driven by profits, there is a basic conflict of interest with customer’s interest, and customers must beware.

The customers must also recognise the fact that legally, bank employees represent the interest of the banks and not their interests, just like insurance agents represent the interest of their insurance companies and not the interest of the customers. The only ones who legally represent the customers’ interest are the independent advisers or brokers. Even then, care must be taken to select the ones who can be trusted, for they are only human.

How many “independent” advisers or brokers are truly independent? How many are truly objective and fair in their advice and product recommendation? Or are they influenced by some extra commissions given either overtly or covertly by one or two insurance companies? How many are influenced by the higher fees which they can get by persuading customers to “buy and sell” their unit trusts more frequently?

The notorious churning of customers’ investments by certain companies and advisers using CPF funds with rebates to customers has led to thousands of customers losing substantial amounts of their hard-earned CPF money. These customers may be gullible but were certainly taken advantage off by unscrupulous agents and advisers. The point is that customers must be careful to pick their advisers and appoint only those who can be trusted.

Now, who can be trusted? That is the question.

All citizens and residents in Singapore must have celebrated when the Straits Times carried the news that MAS would be introducing the FAIR DEALING GUIDELINES by the end of March 2009.

The essence of the Fair Dealing Guidelines is that the Board and Senior Management of Financial Institutions should bear primary responsibility for embedding a culture of dealing with their customers fairly. This means that there should be five fair dealing outcomes:

(a) Customers have confidence that they deal with FIs where fair dealing is central to the corporate culture

(b) FIs offer products and services that are suitable for the customer segments they target

(c) FIs appoint competent Representatives who provide customers with advice that meet their financial objectives and suit their personal circumstance

(d) Customers receive clear, relevant and timely information to make informed financial decisions and

(e) FIs handle customer complaints promptly and in a consistent manner

The key words are “fair”, “suitable”, “competent”, “informed”, “prompt” and “consistent”.

We have to see whether these words are going to be defined further and more specific examples given.

It is also interesting to see how the Financial Institutions are going to implement these “Guidelines” which is another word which lends itself to wide differences in interpretations. For most people, guidelines are unfortunately just guidelines and they carry on with what they have been doing. Guidelines obviously are founded on moral and ethical principles of what constitute fairness to customers. But what is fair?

The idiom “fair and square” points to the idea of equality and equity. “Tit for tat” and “an eye for an eye” point to justice.

The six Americans who were charged $491 for a meal by Tanglin Best BBQ Seafood on 17th March 2009 at Newton Hawker Centre complained of being “overcharged”. At the centre of the complaint was the bill for the prawns which came to $239 – about $30 a piece.

The National Environment Agency found the complaint justifiable and slapped a three month shutdown for the stall, and a layoff of the worker for one year.

But what if the stall worker had mentioned the price and the tourists had agreed to it?

In this instance, both issues were present – the price charged was high and the price was not made known. But what if the Best BBQ Seafood prawns is really the best? It is obvious that besides the size (quantitative) factor, there are also qualitative factors like service, quality of the food and taste.

In the case of financial services and products like the Lehman Brothers and Minibonds saga, what must be missing before something is judged mis e.g. misspelling and misrepresentation?

Is single product pushing misspelling because the Representative does not inform the customer of other available products in the market? I think so. But what if the company’s Representative is a tied agent and does not know or does not bother to know about the other products available? I think the practice of tying an agent or Representative down to only one firm is unfair to the Representative in the first place, and more so to the customers.

Wouldn’t outlawing tied agencies go to the root of solving the problem of wrong products or uncompetitive products? In the UK, every customer has to be made aware that he/she can consult an Independent Financial Adviser before committing to a purchase. Shouldn’t this be done here also if the tied agency or single company representation is not prohibited?

In some States in the USA, besides the option to become independent brokers, agents are also allowed to be General Agents to represent many insurance companies.

How much information should a customer be given and understand correctly for him/her to make an “informed” decision?

The consultation paper on proposals to strengthen the regulation of the sale and marketing of Unit trusts, life policies, debentures and structured deposits mentions a few important measures:

(1) Product issuers to prepare a short, user-friendly Product Highlights sheet in addition to the prospectus, benefit illustrations etc.

(2) Requirement of advice for “complex investment products” (those with derivatives) and health warnings (to understand the product before buying)

(3) Representatives obtaining “enhanced quality of information from customers” to achieve right analysis and give suitable recommendations

All communications have to be understood by the customers in a language known to him/her in particular. The customers have to understand the risk nature of the product and how they will meet their financial objectives.

What is a “suitable” product for the customer segments?

The Financial Institution is required to do due diligence in coming up with suitable products.

Who is to judge whether the product is suitable and on what criteria?

The bridge between the customer and the Financial Institution is the Representative. If the Representative has access to many products, he/she can do the matching of customer needs and products.

If the Representative does not have choices, he will be forced to adopt a one size fits all approach and product pushing.

The key to ensuring that products are suitable and competitive is to have an open architecture where all product providers make their products available to all Distributors and Representatives who would then be depended upon under Professional liability rules to meet customers’ needs. When this is achieved, the only issue left would then be to ensure that Representatives are competent. If they are all licensed and/or the same strict regulations for compliance and CPD are enforced, then it would be easier to raise standards of their competence.

The centre of attraction in the Fair Dealing Guidelines is Senior Management which is correct. It is Senior Management who set the standards of Representatives’ competence, suitability of products and professional sales practice and customer service.

It will be interesting to see what action really can be taken against any Board member or Senior Manager who is found wanting.

The title of a corporate coffee table magazine of a large pharmaceutical company attracted my attention the other day.

“LIFE’S QUESTIONS”

A good seventy five per cent of the magazine carried close-up shots of people – from baby to youth, to the middle-age and the old – with pithy questions which captured their concerns about health issues e.g. Will I make it? Is there time?

The closing twenty five per cent of the magazine tastefully listed how the firm and its products provided the answers to the questions.

Questions always come first before answers.

I am reminded of the famous words on stickers and tee-shirts in the 1970s – Jesus is the answer, and the equally infamous rejoinder – what is the question?

I believe Jesus is indeed the answer to life’s many perplexing questions, but the point is that we should start by asking the questions before looking for answers.

The best answer to the wrong question will bring no marks – many over-excited students have found this out in major examinations.

In the university of life, we must ask the right questions or we can end up pouring blood, sweat and tears finding answers to what may end up as trivial questions – the proverbial gaining the whole world and losing your own soul.

Many motorists in familiar territory pay more attention to the speedometer than the compass or GPS. But venture abroad to unfamiliar ground and the compass or GPS takes higher priority. You will only arrive faster at the wrong destination if you pay attention to the speedometer and neglect the compass.

I am reminded of an advice given when I started out in life – you can be sincere but sincerely wrong. Like the man who painstakingly climbed up the ladder to find that it was leaning against the wrong wall.
So the order of things is asking the right questions first and then finding the right answers.

One of the most helpful books I have read is the Book of Questions. It was about questions of general application to life. Another more recent book I read is entitled “The Race” by the current Bishop of the Methodist church in Singapore, which asked what is the right race in life and provided answers.

I like to focus here on asking the right questions in the area of financial planning, investments, insurance etc.

Too many people don’t think of asking the right questions and end up getting all the wrong answers – ill fitting advice and unsuitable and uncompetitive products which didn’t really solve their problems (questions).

The top 10 questions I would ask are:

1) Who is the best person (adviser) who would consider my interest first and can be trusted to help ask the right questions and find the right and best answers to my financial needs?

2) What are the things that can happen in my life now or in the near future which will be catastrophic to me and my family?

3) Which is my single greatest need if I don’t come back from work to my family today?

4) How much do I need to save for my children’s education?

5) How much do I need to save for my retirement?

6) What do I need to do to remain employable and to do well in my work and career?

7) What should I do in the area of investments?

8) What do I have to do in the area of legal liabilities exposure?

9) What must I do to manage my tax matters better?

10) Have I taken care of the matters which will arise should I die?

Finding the answers to these questions is not difficult. The key is finding the answer to the first one.

Find the right adviser and he has the answers to all the other questions.

Now who is the best adviser?

That is the Question.

SAVED BY GRACE

By the grace of God, my spiritual eyes were opened in 1962 when I was in Secondary 2 and heard the gospel preached by a Presbyterian missionary. I realised how horrible and sinful I was although my report card said “very good conduct” for many years. I was born again and experienced the joy of the Lord and major changes in my life.

God’s grace has been my portion right through and I continue to enjoy God’s grace and keeping power. Thanks be to God.

It is not that I have never experienced spiritual coldness or lukewarmness. After a few years of post conversion euphoria when God energized me to do well in my exams, I began to doze off spiritually. God gave me a wake up call during my HSC exams. I was flying high in the exams until I was brought down to earth in the last paper. It was a clear message to reorder my life.

STRENGTHENED BY GRACE

By God’s grace I rededicated my life through the preaching and teaching of a Methodist minister in 1967 at a Teachers’ Conference. The years in non-denominational Varsity Christian Fellowship and National Service gave me opportunities to experience God’s grace in the academic pressure chamber and physical torture chamber and to keep on smiling. Those were good growth years and anchored me to a Brethren church.

In the course of my life as a Christian, I have found that God keeps on asking questions of me. As bosses, we business owners are used to asking questions of others rather than being asked questions. But God asks the questions as I studied the Bible, attended church and read Christian books which I devoured. Let me share my personal journey by going through a few questions asked of me.

SERVE BY GRACE

Question 1 – WHOSE LIFE?

Knowing that I was saved by grace, and grace alone, and that Christ has bought me with the ransom prize of his sacrificial death, the answer is obvious.

“I am His” and should no longer live for myself but for Him.
(1 Corinthian 6:20, 2 Corinthian 5:15)

One bookmark my sister gave me in the 70s had these words:
“Only one life and it’ll soon be past
Only what’s done for Christ will last”

This gripped me and I read devotional books by J O Sanders, Alan Redpath, Michael Griffiths, F B Meyer, Watchman Nee and Keith Miller and biographies and autobiographies of many missionaries. One book in particular gripped me – Living For What Really Matters.

“Only three things are eternal – God, the word of God and souls of men.

Only these matter. How can I live for the greatest glory of God and the greatest blessing to men?”

It was around 1982 in my office when I read Luke 2:49 – “I must be about My Father’s business”. The words took special meaning and I felt a stirring in my heart. I was in SBS and definitely not in my Father’s business because I could not do a lot of things. Besides heading the Christian Fellowship after working hours, my time belonged to the company. Often, I had time to spare, but my conscience did not allow me to use company time to do my Christian thing.

SPURRED BY GRACE

This led me to the second question – WHO SHOULD I WORK FOR?

In 1984, I became an elder of my church at the age of 35 and the pressure began to build as I had four children by then, the last two being twins born in 1984. I knew that God’s calling for me is to be an effective elder. I knew I needed to have more time in the day, as the nights were pretty used up. This led to a serious consideration to go into full-time ministry. But for various reasons, this was not to be. God led me to the concept of being a tent-maker within Singapore through listening to a cassette tape about the life of Paul, the tent-maker.

Having been in the administrative service and being more civil than commercial in nature and experience, I explored lecturing and consultancy. But doors were closed. To teach me humility, and what it feels to be rejected by men and women, I got into insurance in 1985. I just wanted to do sales and control my time.

My aim then was simple, and in retrospect, far from correct. Make $3,000 each month in the shortest time possible and use the time saved to serve in the church. I was hoping to be able to do it in half the time. But being more a manager-type rather than an out-and-out salesman (nothing wrong with that), I soon found myself running my own business and managing others.

SUPPLIED BY GRACE

I felt led to choose the name “Promiseland”, a name which a few of my friends later said did not sound too professional. Nevertheless, by God’s grace, the business grew and competed for the use of my time. I was asked continually – Whose business is it? Who is the Boss?

There were many high points but also a few low points. Every year as I reviewed my life and my business, the answer was clear.

Psalm 127:1, 2
Unless the Lord builds the house, the labourers labour in vain.

As I built the business, all along one anchor point was that I will not neglect my ministry as an elder. In fact, I set my target that I must be able to spend more time in my ministry as an elder over the years. Thank God that somehow He enabled me to keep to this over the last 22 years and I still enjoy my church ministry.

STEWARD OF GOD’S GRACE

Over the years, I have learnt that, as a business owner, I am a steward of God-given resources and must be faithful in my duty. I am also an under-shepherd and take care of the people God has entrusted to me. Wisdom is required to do these duties as steward and under-shepherd in our pluralistic and multi-religious society.

By God’s grace, over the years, a few of the staff and advisers have become Christians. Presently, I am having Bible study with two recent converts.

The other question that I am continually asked is – WHOSE MONEY IS IT?

I am unlike most businessmen who set up business to get rich and are driven by money, but along the way the temptation to get rich has been very strong. When I see clients, friends and competitors getting very wealthy, I feel a pang and I have to go to the Lord in prayer to centre my soul on Him again. It is because I know I can get ultra rich if I play the game. The books – Money, Sex and Power; Celebration of Discipline and Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster – were much needed antidote. I have learnt over the years that “The Sermon on the Mount” is the best antibiotic against getting the money bug. To settle the matter, I researched and preached about wealth.

Just last Christmas Eve, when I was watching the Nativity Story on HBO, the warning in Luke 1:53 kept ringing in my ears – “The rich he has sent away empty”. It is a warning that it is possible to gain the world and lose your soul.

I am now 59 and have committed to serve as chairman of my church council to 2016 when I will be 67 years old, God willing. Thank God that He has provided more than I need and I will soon see the younger three boys finish their tertiary education and start working. He has been extremely gracious to me and my family, and my special joy is that everyone in my parents’ household and my household has laid hold on eternal life. My joy now is to groom others in their 30s and 40s in the business who have the same desire to serve God and yet support themselves.

SOUL PROVIDER

In closing, HOW HAVE I KEPT MY SOUL? By God’s grace, I was able to create time and space for Him. For many years, I drove my four sons to secondary school and to National Service and got to office very early. I was then able to read the Bible and pray, and do some writing for my speaking or teaching ministries.

Often, I would prefer to go to a park in the cool of the morning to spend a time of quiet. MacRitchie, The Botanics, and East Coast Parkway are my favourites.

I have also kept up my reading of the Bible and Christian books which have helped greatly to enrich my souls. Of course, I have changed authors over the years. John Piper and Max Lucado are just two of my current favourites.

The most important factor is accountability to a group of Christians – my fellow elders and the church. You can rationalise away a lot of sins. There are many things in business which are illegal, unethical and non-expedient.

Business is very absorbing and there are many temptations and pitfalls. Beware of defending and rationalising away all these sins. It is good to have Christians praying for you and keeping you honest.

For what shall it profit a man if he gains the world and loses his soul?