My Story

My Story

Childhood

I grew up from a humble background. My parents worked tirelessly as a popular hawker outlet in Whampoa Market, selling Fried Bee Hoon and Fried Kway Teow, to raise me and my 3 siblings to provide for our education and basic needs. I grew up in Whampoa where I attended Moulmein Primary School, which had sadly closed down. Since young, I have a passion for Math and Science, which I was always able to get decent grades for. Coming from a Chinese speaking background, I don’t have the flair for languages, and in fact, I fared quite badly for them. Hence, in my mind, specialization which requires a lot of writing will never be in my consideration. True enough as it turned out, I subsequently did Triple Science and Double Math in Saint Andrew’s Secondary, and Double Math and Physics in Anderson Junior College. (I dropped Economics after 6 months, it was a real tough subject!). Even as up till after JC, I did not have a real idea what my ambition would be. And due to my academic inclination, I settled for a place in Engineering in NUS, and eventually graduated with a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering.

Interests

My key interests would be in Track, Cross-Country and Soccer. Because of my thin frame, I seemed to have a potential in running. My extra-curricular activities would mainly be involved in Track and Cross-Country training during my Secondary and Junior College. In fact, most would remembered me as the best runner in my Secondary and JC. To think about it, that could actually have a tremendous impact in my life, because I realized that I am a competitive person by nature. I would always put in my best effort in any challenges to make sure I deliver my best results. I loved soccer, but was never natural in it. In fact, I only really picked it up in JC when we started to train for the college team. I was real bad back then, and could only juggle a soccer ball 3 times on my master leg at the start. Fitness-wise I have a big advantage over the other guys, but because of the lack of skills, I would never get selected for any previous teams/trials. I was determined and I put in extra hours to brush my control of the ball. Getting selected for AJC first eleven was the start of my “soccer career”, as I moved on to represent NUS at the Inter-Varsity level and eventually captained the side when I was in my final year. Some of my notable achievements in the sporting arena includes AJC Individual Overall Champion 1998, 1st Runner Up for 1500m 1998 and NUS Soccer Most Valuable Player 2004/5. During my NS days, I was OCS 35/99 Cohort Best Physical Trainee. I represented OCS in Army Half-Marathons and was known to many of my fellow colleagues as “the man with no lungs”. Till today, though there wasn’t a real recognition for it, I think my SOC timing of 6:15 min was quite a record during my 2 years (1999 to 2001) in OCS. To sum it up, being a sportsman probably shaped the way I think and behave in situations, facing up challenges and towards work. I would always make sure I put in my best effort to my best ability.

Work

I joined a local Industrial Automation as an Electrical Designer shortly after graduation in 2005. I was involved actively in projects and started to lead bigger ones. Because of my positive attitude and deliveries, I gained recognition and was selected for several key overseas assignments in US and Austria. I moved on eventually to become a Project Manager and also leading a team of 20 Assistant Engineers in the Assembly Department.

Family

My wife and I would get married in 2008. Many things seemed to fall in place nicely according to plan. We were planning for about 2 years of being a young couple, our BTO would then be ready in 2010 for us to move in, and to start a young family. Hence it was in 2008, when we were referred to my wife’s best friend’s Financial Advisor. We did a comprehensive financial planning, and started to implement some plans. In fact we didn’t really knew too much, but being a referral from a trusted source and his approach in our situation, we started to place our trust in him for our financial plans.

Life’s Unforeseen Circumstances

As according to plan, our first baby was to be due in end-January 2010. It would be an exciting journey ahead as we eagerly anticipated the arrival of our daughter, Brylea. But as it turned out, things were not meant to be. Brylea was diagnosed with a rare Inborn Error of Metabolism, which was known as Sulphite Oxidase Deficiency. She stayed in the ICU for almost 2 months. Our world fell apart in a matter of weeks as we come to grip of our situation. It must be the strong personality of my wife, and the support we received from family and friends that kept us going. Brylea’s prognosis was not good as her genetic disorder could not be cured. She had to be on long-term special nutrition because her body cannot break down the protein found in normal milk and the damage to her Central Nervous System was irreversible. We found ourselves visiting the hospital frequently and often staying overnight and leaving from the hospital for work. It was a very difficult time for us emotionally, not to mention the huge medical bills that were building up. Unfortunately, Brylea was not able to be covered by insurance as her condition was congenital. Eventually, it was hard for us to balance between work and family, and I made the decision to leave my previous company to look after Brylea in June 2010. She would eventually leave us at the end of the same year.

My Next Career

Life has to go as I search for a new career. Having been in my previous company for 5 years, I wanted to have a look at what other places could offer. Engineering and Project Management was a natural choice, but I wanted the perspective from a global company point of view. I was also curious about the Banking and Financial Industry, and hence I took a Financial Bridging Module under FICS. Of course, my Financial Advisor discussed the opportunities with me in Insurance and Financial Planning. Honestly, it had never crossed my mind to be a sales person, never mind a Financial Advisor. I was too quiet and introverted to imagine myself doing that! So eventually, I managed to secure a contract job in a bank in their Derivatives and Settlement Department. Funny as things turned out, 2 weeks in, I was offered a permanent role as a Project Engineer by a global consulting firm which was able to match my previous pay without relevant experience. I was in a dilemma whether to do a U-turn back into my Project Management expertise, or to continue with my existing contract.

By chance and by choice, I entered Financial Services in April 2011. Having experienced the huge cost of medical expenses, I have a strong conviction to make sure that my friends and clients will never have to go through the same financial stress as we did. On top of that, I wanted to build a career that I can call my own.

It had been more than 10 years since I started out. As I continue to strive to for excellence, I made the switch to run my practice that enables me to adopt a holistic and advice-driven process, that can best benefit my clients, to be the preferred Partner in their “Journey to Financial Clarity”.

© Wee Khai
Wee Khai is an avid soccer player, who is also a finisher of 13 half-marathons and 5 full marathons.