Learning about Financial Planning with Public Mutual Berhad consultants

On 9 March 2023, UTAR Centre For Foundation Studies (CFS) Sungai Long Campus held a talk titled, “Awareness of Financial Planning”. The talk, which took place online over Microsoft Teams and at the Sungai Long Campus, aimed to teach the participants three aspects, which were, the awareness of financial planning which includes managing savings and spending in the long term, the power of compound interest, and the different channels of wealth accumulation through passive income.

Invited to speak about financial planning at the talk were three Public Mutual Consultants from Public Mutual Berhad; Public Mutual Agency Manager Ms Grace Yap, Group Agency Manager Ms Shirley Yap, and Agency Supervisor Ms Shi Chee. Also present at the talk were CFS Head of Department of Management and Accountancy Ms Goy Ling Ling, and other CFS lecturers. There were also over 200 participants in attendance physically and over Microsoft Teams at the talk.

Ms Shirley Yap, the first speaker, advised the participants on how to properly plan their finances at a young age, in order to have sufficient funds in the future, after retirement. She touched on topics such as having a passive income to generate money without working, how unit trusts work, and the different financial objectives that a person should focus on at certain stages of their life. She also spoke on three types of mutual funds, saying, “There are three kinds of mutual funds that you should consider, which are money market fund, bond funds, and equity funds. Money market funds have a very low risk level, no equity exposure, and lasts for a period of one to two years, while bond funds have a low to moderate risk level, 40 to 60 percent equity exposure, and is for a period of three to five years. Finally, there are equity funds, which are very risky, has an equity exposure of between 70 to 98 percent, and spans for more than 15 years.”

Ms Shirley Yap advising the participants to manage their finances accordingly

Following Ms Shirley Yap’s insightful discussion on financial planning, Ms Grace Yap livened up the talk even more with her financial planning game. The game required the participants to simulate planning their expenses and carefully choosing their purchases in order to avoid bankruptcy at the end of the game. The aim of this activity, was to help participants understand the importance of financial planning for the future, and to allow them to have practical experience of financial planning, while helping them relieve themselves from the stress of everyday life.

Ms Grace Yap playing the Financial Planning game with the participants

Finally, the last speaker, Ms Shi Chee, briefly shared her experience about working in Public Mutual Berhad and learning about financial planning herself. She noted that throughout her time in Public Mutual Berhad, she has gained a lot of knowledge on investment and its importance in retirement planning. Not only that, she stressed the importance of saving money from a young age in order to have more retirement savings in the future.

Ms Shi Chee sharing her experience working at Public Mutual Berhad

The talk ended with group photography and souvenir presentation sessions.

Ms Goy (right) presenting a souvenir to Ms Shirley Yap (left)

Ms Grace Yap (left) receiving a souvenir from Ms Goy (right)

Ms Shi Chee (left) receiving a souvenir from Ms Goy (right)