Extracted from http://www1.sim.edu.sg/mbs/pub/gen/mbs_pub_gen_content.cfm?ID=2656&mnuid=92By Tan Chee Teik |
In a bull market, remisiers are so busy taking orders that they have little time to visit the toilet. Many of them became very rich overnight. Now with the prolonged bear market, many are giving up their seats to work in other careers. But the bull cycle will certainly return one day so the younger professionals may want to prepare themselves for the exciting job of a remisier.
THE job of a remisier can be very rewarding or it can be very risky when a client places a huge bet and is unable to pay when the stock falls. A remisier is also known as a commissioned dealer’s representative. He is an agent of a stock broking company and receives a commission for each transaction handled. In French, the word “remisier” means an intermediary.
A paid dealer’s representative is a direct employee of a stock broking company and his remuneration structure is based on a fixed monthly salary. In some brokerages, dealers are paid a monthly salary and at the end of the year they will receive a bonus based on performance
The minimum academic qualifications to be a remisier are at least four GCE “O” level credit passes or higher. Apart from this, under the new licensing framework introduced by Monetary Authority of Singapore, MAS, for the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) and Financial Advisers Act (FAA), every potential remisier is required to pass a new modular examination structure known as the Capital Markets and Financial Advisory Services (CMFAS) Examination. Upon passing the various modules, one can apply to MAS for a representative licence under these two Acts.
There are two main categories of the CMFAS modules, namely, the Regulatory Framework and the Product Characteristics. The Regulatory Framework modules cover the laws and regulations and associated codes, notices, practice notes and guidelines governing the capital markets, and life insurance intermediaries. The Product Characteristics modules cover the various products, tools, and strategies needed to analyse them.
For a trading representative for securities, one needs to pass the CFMAS module 1A (Rules and regulations for dealing in securities) and CFMAS module 6 (Securities products and analysis).
Most broking houses do not provide inhouse training on areas of tools and trading strategies with the exception of the launch of a new product by the Singapore Stock Exchange, SGX, or new regulations by MAS. All basic training is expected to be taught during the CFMAS modules courses.
Some brokerages place the trainee for a week in the backroom to learn about the administrative processes and how to handle the trading system.
In areas of non-product or regulations-related training, such as trading strategies and trading tools, most trading representatives will upgrade their skills and knowledge by attending additional courses, workshops, seminars or conferences conducted by external parties such as the SGX, Association of Remisiers, Alpha Alliance Training LLP, and others. It is imperative for trading representatives to constantly upgrade their skills and knowledge in order to serve their customers better.
The exception is when a trading representative’s training is paid for by the broking house as in the case of the Continued Education Programme (CEP). In order for trading representatives to renew the trading licence each year, they are required by MAS to go for continued training annually to earn the relevant points required for their licence renewal. The choice of training topics and logistics will be determined and arranged by the respective broking houses.
Collin Seow who has been a remisier for three years and is a lead trainer at Alpha Alliance LLP says: “Each trading representative has to set aside a S$30,000 bank guarantee or cash deposit. There is no monthly fee that a trading representative has to pay to the broking house except for the sharing of the commission between him and the broking house. In general, he gets 40 per cent of the commission and 60 per cent goes to the broking house. In addition, the broking house may impose the minimum gross commission (usually S$5,000 monthly) that a trading representative has to meet each month. Failing which, he will be liable to pay for the renewal fees for his licence.”
Some brokerages set a target of S$60,000 per year as the remisier’s income failing which the remisier has to pay a monthly fee. For example, if the remisier only managed to have an income of S$30,000 that year, he will have to pay S$500 per month as the fees.
A paid dealer’s representative is a direct employee of a stock broking company and his remuneration structure is based on a fixed monthly salary. In some brokerages, dealers are paid a monthly salary and at the end of the year they will receive a bonus based on performance
The minimum academic qualifications to be a remisier are at least four GCE “O” level credit passes or higher. Apart from this, under the new licensing framework introduced by Monetary Authority of Singapore, MAS, for the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) and Financial Advisers Act (FAA), every potential remisier is required to pass a new modular examination structure known as the Capital Markets and Financial Advisory Services (CMFAS) Examination. Upon passing the various modules, one can apply to MAS for a representative licence under these two Acts.
There are two main categories of the CMFAS modules, namely, the Regulatory Framework and the Product Characteristics. The Regulatory Framework modules cover the laws and regulations and associated codes, notices, practice notes and guidelines governing the capital markets, and life insurance intermediaries. The Product Characteristics modules cover the various products, tools, and strategies needed to analyse them.
For a trading representative for securities, one needs to pass the CFMAS module 1A (Rules and regulations for dealing in securities) and CFMAS module 6 (Securities products and analysis).
Most broking houses do not provide inhouse training on areas of tools and trading strategies with the exception of the launch of a new product by the Singapore Stock Exchange, SGX, or new regulations by MAS. All basic training is expected to be taught during the CFMAS modules courses.
Some brokerages place the trainee for a week in the backroom to learn about the administrative processes and how to handle the trading system.
In areas of non-product or regulations-related training, such as trading strategies and trading tools, most trading representatives will upgrade their skills and knowledge by attending additional courses, workshops, seminars or conferences conducted by external parties such as the SGX, Association of Remisiers, Alpha Alliance Training LLP, and others. It is imperative for trading representatives to constantly upgrade their skills and knowledge in order to serve their customers better.
The exception is when a trading representative’s training is paid for by the broking house as in the case of the Continued Education Programme (CEP). In order for trading representatives to renew the trading licence each year, they are required by MAS to go for continued training annually to earn the relevant points required for their licence renewal. The choice of training topics and logistics will be determined and arranged by the respective broking houses.
Collin Seow who has been a remisier for three years and is a lead trainer at Alpha Alliance LLP says: “Each trading representative has to set aside a S$30,000 bank guarantee or cash deposit. There is no monthly fee that a trading representative has to pay to the broking house except for the sharing of the commission between him and the broking house. In general, he gets 40 per cent of the commission and 60 per cent goes to the broking house. In addition, the broking house may impose the minimum gross commission (usually S$5,000 monthly) that a trading representative has to meet each month. Failing which, he will be liable to pay for the renewal fees for his licence.”
Some brokerages set a target of S$60,000 per year as the remisier’s income failing which the remisier has to pay a monthly fee. For example, if the remisier only managed to have an income of S$30,000 that year, he will have to pay S$500 per month as the fees.
Job Satisfaction
According to a seasoned remisier who wants to be known as John, job satisfaction depends on the individual remisier: “There is enjoyment and job satisfaction if remisiers have learned how to read the market well. They can then help clients to make some money or to avoid pitfalls. The learning curve takes a few years to be be competent in this.”
Collin says: “I choose to be my own boss instead of being a salaried employee. In this business, I have the flexibility of time and my choice of how I wish to organise my work and serve my customers without being ‘bonded’ by corporate practices or cultures. I am able to arrange my daily schedule among trading, market analysis, meeting customers, spending time with family, and conducting occasional training courses which is my passion to impart knowledge.
To be able to set my own goals and activities, meeting the customers at the end of the day or even to receive affirmation from them about their satisfactory trades, makes this decision to be my own boss a right choice.”
Robert, a schoolmate of mine, who has been a remisier for more than 40 years for the same brokerage says: “Every client is your towkay. Sometimes you get brickbats and sometimes you get a bouquet of flowers from them. You need to have good public relations skills to handle your clients.”
It is true that many remisiers because they think they know the market so well are tempted to trade on their own behalf. According to Robert, he is very conservative in such kinds of trading. He knows of other remisiers who are risk-takers and punt in a big way.
John observes that the tendency to trade in this line is very strong. Most remisiers and dealers trade using their own accounts and many end up losing money.
He says: “They trade because they receive a low commission, especially when they are new and do not have a strong customer base. Some brokerages have certain quotas in terms of commission earnings for a six- month to a 12-month period. This can induce a remisier to trade on their own accounts. Consistent poor performers are sometimes asked to leave the company.
“During very bad months, when most clients stay away from the stock market, in order to make ends meet or to supplement their income, some remisiers will resort to trading on their own. Experienced remisiers can have problems with a shrinking client base over the years due to the ageing or retirement of customers or simply those who have lost money will stop trading. This group of remisiers will revert to trading on their own to make a living.” During Collin’s earlier years as a trading representative, there was a tendency to trade on his own as he analysed and monitored the market daily. The temptation was very great and real. But subsequently, he realised that there is much more in the job than just trading for himself.
He says: “To be successful, I must build a strong customer base and provide good support for all my clients. Eventually, I made a decision to change my trading styles and created a new system of building and supporting my customers.
“I implemented new trading styles with a trading time frame for a longer term trades ranging from two weeks to two years. Trading without a powerful trading tool and trading strategies is suicidal, so I researched and invested in a powerful software called MetaStock to design my own trading systems and strategies for various products and market conditions. With new trading styles proven over time, inhouse developed trading systems, and constant review of the trading strategies according to market movements allowed me to guide my customers to implement the same system in their own trades. As I improved, my customers grew with me by making wise and decisive trading decisions.”
“To continue with this practice,” he says, “I have also created my own blog to share information with my customers and the general public. However, I believe in community networking and sharing of information, so I added a forum and a chat room as part of my blog to encourage my clients and other traders to network and share their knowledge.
“With the harnessing of technology, I began my own SMS market alerts to my customers and my trainees, pointing them to various market conditions to watch for throughout the trading day. As I constantly work on improving my customer support, I began to move away from the temptation to trade on my own.”
Risks and Benefits
The remisier’s monthly income may not be stable in comparison to a salaried job. He has to ensure constant and continued trades by the customers. The other major risk is that the remisier is responsible for any losses incurred by the broking company through any securities transaction under the remisier’s customers’ accounts. If the client is unable to pay for the losses or default in payment, the remisier will have to bear the loss.
John says: “We have to be very sensitive to the risk profile of our clients and always manage our client’s risk exposure conscientiously. Any benefits derived from this job do not outweigh the amount of risks we are taking, especially when commission have been reduced to a meagre 0.5 per cent per trade through us and 0.275 per cent per trade via the Internet.”
It is estimated that an experienced remisier with over 200 clients can earn from S$4,000 to S$10,000 monthly. In a cold market, he may earn from S$500 to S$3,000. In a hot market, certain remisiers with wealthy clients can earn over S$100,000 a month.
Some Strike It Rich
Collin remembers the former remisier king, Peter Lim, who struck it rich. In 2007, his reported nett worth was more than S$2 billion, making him the seventh richest man in Singapore. Then, there is the “A-team”, consisting of two cousins who struck gold by seizing control of the China firms’s initial public offering space. They made about US$1.1 billion. Subsequently, the duo diversified their assets into property over the years. Two of their better known transactions are the purchase of foreign worker dormitories in Jurong for S$60 million and the Kovan condominium site in 2007 for S$290 million.
He says: “There was also news of remisiers who broke the law under the Securities and Futures Act. One remisier was fined S$120,000 on three charges of using the clients’ securities accounts to trade for the benefit of a company’s chief executive officer and a director.”
John says: “I know somebody who became a remisier almost fresh from the varsity. He worked as a financial analyst for awhile and managed to get to know a few big clients along the way. When he became a remisier the few big clients helped him. He made big profits. But he had many sleepless nights when one client lost over S$500,000. He is a smart fellow and he realises his rich earnings cannot go on indefinitely. Finally, he cut off the few big punters thus reducing his risk exposure. He has enough money to buy two properties.”
The credit worthiness of new clients is rated based on their income, the employer they are working for currently, the number of years working in the company, past credit records, as well as face-to-face assessment meetings.
Robert says: “If the new client is introduced by my established client, I’m quite comfortable because my client would know the creditworthiness of that person well. I’ve not taken in any walk-in clients. We can set the limit of trading for a new client. If he is reliable over time, we can increase his trading limit.”
The growth of the Internet has become a platform for offering a wide range of financial services and products to customers. Collin says: “The Internet allows the investors to research and have access to useful information. It cuts across national boundaries thus globalising the market. On the negative side, Internet trading has reduced the remisier’s commission from 1 per cent in the 1980s to a low of 0.25 to 0.28 per cent. For traditional trading representatives who continue in their old ways of doing business, they will find their earnings dropping tremendously.”
He adds: “Although the Internet has brought in new ways of trading and giving the investors a wider choice of investment possibilities, it also means exposing the public to new risks. Besides the introduction of Internet banking, the reforms and liberation of Singapore’s financial sector have created a new group of players in the capital markets who are more educated and who benefit greatly from a wider range of products and investment possibilities that promise competitive returns. Because it is cheaper and easier to trade shares over the Internet, the line between investing prudently and gambling recklessly is a gray one and easy to cross over. Day trading by trained amateurs may seem profitable in a bull market, but when the market falls, the casualties will suffer.”
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