Jong Oh • Blue Bell, PA
Professional Insurance & Financial Services • FSC Securities Corporation
My advisory practice has a heavy concentration of Korean-American clients. Many of my clients came to the U.S., as I did, in a wave in the 1970s and 1980s and have worked hard to establish professional careers or start their own businesses. Many are either retired or fast approaching retirement.
Their needs and attitudes are very specific to this market. It starts with language, which is usually not an issue in most things of daily life, but can be challenging for complicated matters such as financial services. This was one reason I was originally recruited many years ago by one of the major life insurance companies, as they tried to reach out to minority communities.
The cultural beliefs of Korean-Americans can have a big impact on the way they view their finances. They are a community that tries to save as much money as possible and wants to pass it on to their children and later generations. They do not believe in taking on debt and want to pay off their homes as soon as possible. There is not a high comfort level with financial institutions for most, and many have basically managed their own money for years, in the safest of investments. They are risk-averse and do not want to see their assets decrease.
For this belief system, active money management and its risk-management practices makes perfect sense. My clients are not looking to take big chances with their assets, their retirement, or their legacies. The focus of active money management on controlling risk and volatility works well for this market, which is why I am increasingly introducing active management to clients.
Disclosure: Jong Oh is a financial advisor with Professional Insurance & Financial Services (PIFS) in Blue Bell, PA, affiliated with FSC Securities Corporation in Atlanta, GA. Securities and advisory services offered through FSC Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC. Insurance services offered through PIFS, which is not affiliated with FSC Securities Corporation. Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal.
Photography by Michael Branscom
