How do I approach the topic of growing my wealth with my financial advisor, especially if I still feel confused with investing and really need personal advice? Is my worry unfounded?

You can remind her that you can buy similar funds out there on your own. It's only a matter of whether you want to learn how to do so, and frankly speaking, it's not difficult if you put your mind to it.

I was in your position once, confused with investing and decided to empower and educate myself by attending paid investment courses to learn from other investors, as well as read widely from financial blogs and forums.

I just want to accelerate my growth in 1 year and it did.

Whether it's ILP, individual stock picks, ETFs or funds, no one can guarantee you the returns. So I don't buy it about ILPs, especially with the high fees that kill the profits.

I know it all too well, because I surrendered one when it broke even after 12+ years, and I bought it as the advisor then (she left haha) also showed me the returns she got, etc. Also, she even brought her boyfriend (then director of their team) to convince me.

Unfortunately, there was no robo-advisors then, or platforms like Seedly to share knowledge and help greenhorns like me.

Expenses are fixed cost, and returns are variable. Investing is both science and art, and sometimes luck plays a huge part too.

Doing your own due diligence is crucial. It's what we call DYODD. However without owning that knowledge yourself, it may be difficult to see through the veil (if any).

Today, it may be your friend. Tomorrow, it may be someone else.

If you want to know more about investing, below are the courses I took since Oct 2019 which you may want to consider. You can also check out the reviews on Seedly for a variety of courses, depending on your goals.

But before that, you can check out Dr Wealth's Personal Finance Online Masterclass.

I think it's great that there's something like this out there for folks like me and you. I haven't attend it but I trust Alvin that he sees a gap of good personal finance education that people can decide for themselves independently, so they partnered with Louis.

• Early Retirement Masterclass by Dr Wealth (focus on backtesting, margin financing and REITs/Trusts)

• Dividend Machines by The Fifth Person (focus on understanding REITs and companies that pay dividends)

• Singapore Bank Course by Bulletproof Investing (more for understanding the banking industry)

• All Stars Portfolio by The Smart Investors (focus on US stock picks)

• Growth Investing Mastery by 10x Capital (focus on growth companies around the world)

If you don't want to DIY in stock pickings, then the robo-advisors could help kick-start your investing journey. Do note the robo-advisors that deal in ETFs are US ETFs which has a 30% withholding tax fee.

If you want to lower this withholding tax fee, you will have to go with Irish-domiciled ETFs, which you will have to DIY.

The Ultimate Stock ETF List for SG Investors

https://theinvestquest.com/ultimate-stock-etf-l...

However, based on what you wrote here, it'd seem to me that DIY ETFs may not be suitable for your risk appetite because it's 100% in equities, unlike the robo-advisors.

So far among the robo-advisors, I only invest my CPF-OA in Endowus (60% stocks/40% bonds). I recommend to check Endowus out. I like them as a company, which comes across to me as people of good faith and sincerity.

You can read more here:

Are roboadvisors good for long term investment horizon?

https://seedly.sg/questions/are-roboadvisors-go...

Hope that by giving my perspective as someone who is not in the finance industry, you can take these information and see how to proceed forward.

All the best to you and many cheers to your future success. ☺

Here's the truth. A lock-in ILP provides one thing a flexible fund cannot. It forces you to invest. That is a psychological factor that tends to stay forgotten by most DIY pundits.

Realistically, most people I have met do not have the temperament to invest through volatility, and statistically, most DIY investors tend to give in to timing that produces returns of 1-3%.

In theory, DIY yields better, in practice, most cannot do it. Emotions get the better of them.

A human touch ensures that you have someone to talk too when you get that emotional swing. And to stay objective.

This is why endowments have proven time and time again, that they are effective for building wealth. Discipline trumps cost when it comes to investing. If you have no basic discipline, forget about saving costs, they mean nothing.

I rarely ever suggest a 101 ILP as what Elijah has mentioned, the costs matter if you are investing in the market consistently. A Roboadviser will work.

Lastly, if you are not keen on ILP, you have every right as the decision-maker to simply walk away and do it via the Roboadviser route. That expectation has to be established early on in the relationship. We are consultants, not decision-makers.

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