A decade of dedication to financial solutions that care

For almost a decade, Altruist Financial Group Limited (Altruist) has served the financial planning needs of 50,000-plus individuals and families charting their path to a happy retirement, supporting the education of children, and building up savings for medical expenses in the event of an accident or sudden, unexpected illness.

In the spirit of altruism, the company has provided a variety of services for the welfare and happiness of customers in the 10 years since its inception in 2001.

The decade of providing excellent financial planning services has earned public recognition. Altruist has been the only one in the financial planning sector that has won the Hong Kong Business High Flyers Award since 2005.

A multitude of factors has contributed to such recognition.

For one, the company, founded by President Mr. Albert Lam, is a pioneer. Mr. Lam led the evolution of the insurance industry by detaching the agency force from a life insurance company and establishing it as
an independent financial consultancy. “This transformation has enabled us to provide more independent and impartial advice to our clients. On behalf of our clients’ interest, we now have more choices of financial solutions [from over 40 renowned product providers] to meet their changing needs,” says Mr. Lam.

He emphasises that the root of financial planning is insurance.

Over the past decade, Hongkongers have experienced the volatility of financial markets – more so following the financial tsunami that engulfed the world in late 2008, and whose unsettling effects are still
being felt.

The devastation that epidemics such as the SARS virus would cause in Hong Kong, also became a reminder of the value of financial security.

Altruist has sailed through these storms because it firmly believes that insurance is the root of financial
planning.

“Men need life insurance because they die too soon, or live too long for any other types of investment to
do the job that they want done. Most other industry practitioners focus on short-term, speculative investment and overlook the importance of life insurance,” explains Mr. Lam.

To provide all-round insurance coverage, Altruist has aligned with more than 20 insurance partners. This
allows the company to provide a full range of life and general insurance products.

Altruist has also been granted the exclusive rights by CIGNA and Standard Life to distribute one of their
variable life products. This exclusive right does not only represent the trust Altruist has gained from its
partners, but also recognises the high quality of its business practices.

The company’s success can also be attributed to continuous innovation and commitment to serve clients better. In addition to being a financial expert, Altruist also extends its care to the health of its clients through dental care services, health check programmes and even health products.

Wealth, health and wisdom, are three very important elements to every single individual. Altruist is the only consultancy in Hong Kong, which delivers a total well-being solution to make clients’ lives happier. This commitment to altruism provides the company a very unique edge in the market.

A caring approach has helped Altruist to foster a faithful customer base, which is served by a cadre of loyal financial consultants.

People are important assets at Altruist and the company cares for them just the same way it cares for its clients. More than 50 per cent of staff and consultants have worked in Altruist since its establishment. This dedicated group of staff has proven their quality by obtaining different professional designations, and local or international awards. More importantly, the quality of their business conduct is reflected in the leading high persistency of more than 90 per cent, measured over
24 months.

This high degree of professionalism and integrity in financial planning has translated into goodwill from customers.

Clients continue to refer new customers. In some cases, Altruist has even served three generations of the same family.

As the company grew, Altruist has spread its footprint beyond Hong Kong’s geographical borders. Altruist has been granted the first joint-venture insurance agency license in Shenzhen and Ningbo respectively.

This has enabled the company to provide a wide range of financial planning services to mainlanders, the large majority of whom do not have the correct concept of financial planning.

Clients are not the company’s only concern. Altruist is also engaged in the local community at different levels.

By organising a charity photo-shooting contest, joining the Community Chest Walk for Millions, or offering scholarships to students of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, it has demonstrated the steadfast belief of
Altruism — the core value at Altruist which makes it different.