Altruist Financial Group puts people first

Launched in 2001, in its short span of establishment Altruist has won the Hong Kong Business High Flyer Award for 10 consecutive years. When asked what is the key to their success, Chief Operation Officer Glenn Turner simply answers, “The quality of our people.”

With around 100 Independent Financial Consultants providing one-stop services around Hong Kong, Altruist differentiates itself in the market by concentrating on the quality of consultants, whom they trust to take care of their clients. Over 50% of this loyal team of consultants have been with Altruist for over 15 years.

When you get a consultant, you find ways to keep the consultant. Similarly, Turner notes that when you get a client it’s about keeping the clients. To keep clients, you must have a high level of skill, empathy towards your clients, belief in the product and most important of all, good integrity and after-sales service. These are the qualities in a human being that Altruist looks for when considering an applicant consultant. “Of course in our industry, you need to feel pride serving your clients with a life-time commitment while believing in the products you use as solutions. The objective is to do everything you can to help a client and in turn, the client remains,” says Turner.

It’s no secret that after the industry-wide scandal of the Lehman Brother’s bonds, it has precipitated a ripple effect of intense governance in the form of new rules and regulations from the Insurance Authority, SFC, MPFA and the like to safeguard the public against malpractice. This is a challenge in the immediate and foreseeable future for all institutions around Hong Kong and admittedly, those at Altruist are also feeling the burden, yet to a lesser extent.

Current challenges
Turner divulges the challenges in the current terrain and says that there is an evolving rule of regulation that is supposed to help protect people from the 10 percent irresponsible industry practitioners. “We, at Altruist, don’t feel we’re any part of the bad eggs, yet we still have to obey the slew of new laws and guidelines that are coming through from the regulators. It’s quite a difficult thing to feel this kind of “punishment” when you’ve shown industry leadership in quality,” he adds.

Speaking of industry leadership, Altruist has adopted a very active role by participating in the industry trade organizations such as the LEGCO representation of IFPA, HK Executive Board member of LIMRA and past chairmanship of IFAA etc. “Leaders demand quality. Having been granted the founding membership of both IFPHK and IFAA, Altruist simply stands out in the market by its testimonial of good quality,” says Turner.

Having the 3 licenses with CIB, SFC and MPFA, it enables Altruist to carry over 300 types of products and services provided by over 60 business partners. Keeping the client is the core principle which is working out for the business model at Altruist. As Turner confidently declares “We have about fifty thousand clients and of those 80 percent have bought from us in at least four different ways, so the benefit of keeping the client is that they stay there and keep buying more products from you as time goes by. Another advantage is that if we’re under attack by another salesperson, that person has to dismantle the relationship in four different ways instead of a single one.”

“We start a relationship with a client by using the needs selling approach, then followed by tailor-made solutions coupled with personalized after-sales service. This simple yet effective formula has enabled us to serve the third generation of our client base. We retain in excess of 95% of our clients within the first 24 months, a persistency which is unique in Hong Kong,” explains Turner. “Only by being able to retain our consultants shall we be able to keep the clients with us at the same time. We are committed to creating an environment where we work together as a team with mutual trust and respect amongst our company.” With no doubt, all business partners are impressed with this exceptionally good quality of book of business.

Quality speaks of itself by simply showing to clients the co-branded master card with Dah Sing Bank. “The trust that a bank endorsed to us is as important as the trust that our clients endorsed to us by giving referrals to our consultants.” Today, Altruist brings to their clients a total well-being solution of “Wealth, Health and Wisdom”.

Altruistic spirit
As its company name symbolizes – a group of people working for other people’s happiness and welfare, Altruist is dedicated to fulfilling its corporate social responsibility by giving back to the community by offering scholarships, donations and voluntary work etc. In recognition of the long-standing support for PolyU, President Mr. Albert Lam has been invited as the Honorary Life Member of PoyU Foundation.

The core values of “integrity” and “altruistic spirit”, which have been embedded in the heart of each altruist, will surely reinforce its high-flyer positioning in the next 15 years.