ISLAMIC FINANCIAL PLANNING AND
WEALTH MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
9 & 10 NOVEMBER 2009
SIME DARBY CONVENTION CENTER
BUKIT KIARA, KUALA LUMPUR
WELCOME ADDRESS
BY
MR. WONG BOON CHOY
PRESIDENT
FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA
Yang Berhormat Senator Dato’ Dr. Awang Adek bin Hussin
Deputy Finance Minister of Malaysia
Yang Berbahagia Datuk Ibrahim Muhammad
Organising Chairman of today’s Conference
Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Dr Adnan Alias,
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
IBFIM
Members of the Board of IBFIM and FPAM
Distinguished Guests and Speakers
Esteemed Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A very good morning to all of you.
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INTRODUCTION
It is my pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the opening of the
inaugural Conference on Islamic Financial Planning and Wealth Management, in
short, IFPC 2009. This conference is jointly brought to you by IBFIM and the
Financial Planning Association of Malaysia.
IFPC 2009
The theme of this 2-day conference is “Malaysia-International Centre for Islamic
Wealth Management. The conference has been specifically designed to contribute
to the development of Malaysia as an international centre for Islamic finance as
well as to explore the opportunities, latest trends and developments in the Islamic
financial planning and wealth management industry. The organising committee has
lined up an impressive list of speakers drawn from a wide section of the Islamic
financial sector, both locally and internationally, with extensive experience and
depth in their particular fields to provide delegates with the necessary learning,
information and case studies.
Partnership with IBFIM
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This Conference marks another milestone for the IBFIM – FPAM partnership
which first began when we agreed to jointly develop the Islamic Financial
Planning or IFP programme. The decision to work with IBFIM is an easy one
given IBFIM’s acknowledged reputation as a repository of knowledge and
expertise in Islamic finance including Shariah matters.
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The IFP programme imparts an added dimension of knowledge, expertise and
competence to licensed planners, advisers and financial executives. Consumers of
Islamic financial products and services, be they Muslims or non Muslims, can
thereafter benefit from the quality of professional advice received.
The collaboration to undertake this Conference was with the objective that it will
launch discussions and initiatives that will consolidate and grow the Islamic
financial planning and wealth management sub-sector in the country so that it can
take its place of pride alongside other thriving Islamic finance sub-sectors that
have been successfully nurtured.
We believe the next stage of collaboration will involve the fact that IBFIM is
regularly consulted and called upon by the international community for advice and
training on Islamic finance. The IFP certification programme will certainly see
demand from the international community over time and acquire an international
dimension given the momentum that Islamic finance has gained.
We hope the collaborative efforts of IBFIM and FPAM will continue and that our
efforts have and will contribute to the work and initiatives of the MIFC.
Birth of IFP
Ladies and gentlemen,
While the IFP programme was jointly conceived by IBFIM and FPAM, its roll out
was made possible only with the assistance and support of numerous parties and I
would like to express our deepest appreciation to these parties.
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Firstly, to CMDF who provided us with a grant to develop the programme making
it possible to implement what we had conceived.
Secondly, to numerous individuals comprising Shariah scholars, academicians,
industry figures, practitioners and consultants who have volunteered their services
in drafting as well as in providing helpful comments and insights on the syllabus,
teaching materials, reference articles, case studies and other materials.
Last but not least, I would also like to thank the Board of FPAM and IBFIM which
have supported the programme’s development throughout, and to the staff of both
organisations who had worked tirelessly and contributed to the realization of the
programme.
The IFP is now recognized by both the Securities Commission and Bank Negara
Malaysia for the issuance of the Financial Advisers licence and the Financial
Planning licence issued under the Capital Market and Services Act. It is also
recognised by MIFC as part of the human capital development initiative.
Candidates for the programme comprise both Muslims and non Muslims and are
drawn from a wide cross section of the industry as well as from various executive
levels, indicating wide industry acceptance.
We have also entered into a memorandum of understanding with several private
and public universities who are keen to adopt the IFP syllabus and content for
incorporation into their undergraduate and executive programmes. This exercise is
ongoing.
At the same time, there have also been requests for the IFP programme to be
conducted in Bahasa Malaysia, as well as expressions of interest from
organizations and institutions overseas.
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Graduation ceremony
Ladies and gentlemen,
The second graduation ceremony for IFP graduates will be held this evening, in the
hall downstairs. It will be graced by Yang Berhormat Senator Dato’ Dr Mashitah
Ibrahim, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department who will also launch
a booklet introducing Islamic financial planning to consumers, another joint
IBFIM-FPAM project sponsored by CMDF. To those graduates attending this
evening’s ceremony who are here in the audience, I congratulate you and hope you
will take the opportunity to fully apply what you have learned
About FPAM
When the Financial Planning Association of Malaysia was established in
December 1999, it also marked the formal establishment of financial planning as a
profession in the country.
FPAM is today the leading association body for financial planning. It has more
than 10,000 individual members and 40 corporate members, which include many
of today’s leading financial institutions.
As an affiliate of the Financial Planning Standards Board, we belong to an
international network of 23 countries that promotes the Certified Financial Planner
(CFP) programme, a certification mark that is globally recognised as the gold
standard in financial planning.
While many in the country regard financial planning as an emerging profession, we
actually have cause to be proud of our efforts in this field. Among the FPSB
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affiliate countries, which include some of the major economies of the world such
as the USA, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Germany, China and India,
Malaysia ranks 8 among the 23 countries in terms of membership size. Malaysia
also has the distinction of being the first country in the world to legislate financial
planning which came into effect as early as in the year 2004. And this fact is
documented for posterity in the book entitled “The History of Financial Planning”
which has just come hot off the press in the United States. For those who are
interested in purchasing a copy you may want to visit our website in the next few
days as we try to get the details posted in our website, www.fpam.org.my.
The IFP qualification which FPAM and IBFIM introduced in 2007 marks another
international first as none of the FPSB affiliate countries, and indeed in many other
countries, have as yet a government recognised Islamic financial planning
certification programme such as the IFP in Malaysia.
Growth Opportunity
Ladies and gentlemen,
A recent PriceWaterHouseCoopers survey of private banking indicated that assets
in Asia Pacific are set to grow by 30% by 2012.(1)
In Malaysia, the private
banking arm of a leading Malaysian bank affirms a similar situation. By 2012, it
expects Malaysia to have about 70,000 households with a minimum USD 500,000
in liquid assets, putting the private banking and wealth management sector in
Malaysia alone at an estimated USD 73 billion.
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While this number is not a trifle one, it pales in comparison to the USD 9.5 trillion
estimated by a Merrill Lynch / CapGemini report on the combined financial assets
held by High Net Worth individuals in selected Asia Pacific countries.
For those who feel that this item may represent too wide an interpretation of
potential market size, then let me share with you that worldwide, deposits in
Shariah compliant accounts are estimated to reach USD 1 trillion by 2010.(2)
The global potential for Islamic wealth management and financial planning
therefore has substantial scope to warrant us to further study how best Malaysia
can be involved in it and indeed, how best we can lead it as we have done in many
other sectors of the Islamic financial services industry.
Malaysia has introduced, ahead of many other jurisdictions, the infrastructure that
supports the growth and development of Islamic financial services.
As a result of the concerted joint efforts and focus by the Government in
partnership with the industry, Malaysia is today recognised as a leading Islamic
financial centre. It has a vibrant Islamic banking, equities, unit trust and takaful
and re takaful sector. It has introduced numerous innovations in Islamic financial
instruments and services such as Islamic REITS, Islamic ETFs and Islamic
structured products and recently, it launched the Commodity Murabahah House.
This same focus, drive and close collaboration between the Government,
regulators, industry and associations can help, we believe, develop Malaysia into
an Islamic financial planning and wealth management regional, if not global, hub.
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It is the desire of FPAM and IBFIM to see that the hard earned expertise and
knowledge acquired by the graduates of the IFP programme are fully utilised. We
know it will upgrade their professional competence and help them to better serve
the needs of their clients. We hope that it will help their employers and principals
become more competitive and we hope that, eventually, it will contribute to
Malaysia becoming a leading Islamic financial planning and wealth management
centre.
The Islamic financial planning and wealth management sector remains one of the
Islamic financial services sectors that have remained relatively unscrutinised to
date. Although a variety of Islamic financial products and services are available, its
true potential has yet to be realised.
Conferences such as the one we are having for the next two days are therefore very
important in gathering together all the players in the industry to discuss, share and
chart the possible routes of development that can be adopted by individuals,
financial institutions, regulators or indeed by the Government.
Thank You
Ladies and gentlemen,
This Conference is only made possible with the help of a number of parties.
Firstly, I would like to thank Yang Berhormat Dato’ Dr. Awang Adek bin Hussin,
Deputy Finance Minister of Malaysia for making the time to officiate the opening
of the Conference.
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My appreciation to all the sponsors especially the platinum sponsors, Maybank,
Maybank Islamic and Maybank Etiqa Takaful, CIMB Bank, CIMB Wealth
Advisors and CIMB Islamic.
I would also like to thank all the speakers, panel members and moderators, some of
whom have travelled from afar, for sharing their time and knowledge with the
conference participants.
Thank you to the organising committee headed by Datuk Ibrahim for the hard work
they have put in, as well as all who have lent their support in one way or another.
Last but not least, thank you to all of you who are attending the Conference for
your enthusiasm and continuing interest. I hope you have a most fruitful two days
at the Conference. Thank you
Footnotes
(1) ( Star: 12 Sept. 2009: )
(2) (IBFIM’s numbers ) [Asst Governor Muhammad Ibrahim’s speech :13
October 2009: global Islamic financial assets by 2012 estimated to be USD
1.6 trillion]
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