My Work As A Financial Advisor

            Before getting married I was a Financial Advisor/Planner working in AXA Philippines. My work deals with counseling Metrobank clients with long-term investment opportunities, giving them the best financial solutions to their problems, educating them in income protection and wealth management, assessing their tolerance for investment risks and constantly monitoring the investments in client's portfolios and being on top of new investment strategies and investment vehicles. I love the stock market. I'm very much interested in learning the ups and downs of it. I was assigned in three Metrobank branches: first in Xavierville, second in Barangka, and lastly in Marikina Center. I strongly believed that I was able to penetrate and tap the clients in those branches. Work was easy but stressful, tiring but rewarding. All my hardwork paid off when I received an award for having the most number of case counts for the month of January 2008. From then on, expectations started to screw up.
         I can still remember the most challenging days of my financial planning years. It was during the American financial turmoil - the collapse of the Lehman brothers which began as a mortgage market crisis in the summer of 2007. The fears were based on the fact that the firm was a major player in the market for subprime and prime mortgages, and that as the smallest of the major Wall Street firms, it faced a larger risk that large losses could be fatal.The bank's demise set off tremors throughout the financial system. That contributed to credit markets freezing, forcing governments around the globe to take steps to try to calm panicked markets. This really caused me too much falling hair. Clients go in and out of the bank worrying about their investments and wanting to withdraw all their money. Pacifying panicking clients was the hardest part especially when the market value of their investments were starting to go down.The experience was very hard and challenging but in that time I have learned a lot-professionally and personally. 
         I decided to leave my job when my company asked more than what I can give. I have nothing against my previous employer. It was just that during the lowest time of the economic crisis, I didn't like the way they handled their people. That's why even though I love my job I was forced to let go. I wanted to be more of a financial planner/advisor than a sales person. But, still I am so thankful for all the things that I've learned, experienced and of course for the friendship and camaraderie that I've built with my workmates.