Malaysia’s top financial planning minds converge at annual symposium

PETALING JAYA: The Financial Planning Association of Malaysia (FPAM) held its Annual Signature Financial Planning Symposium 2026, themed “Bridging the Gap: From Blueprint to Reality” on Wednesday.
The full-day event brought together leading voices in financial planning, fintech, wealth management, and behavioural finance.
The symposium was officially opened by FPAM president Alvin Tan, followed by a keynote address by Securities Commission Malaysia market development director, Shahrul Amry Abd Malek.
Reflecting on the successful gathering and the insights shared throughout the day, Tan said: “As a profession, we have built strong frameworks, developed rigorous qualifications, and refined the art of crafting comprehensive financial plans.
“But the harder question is whether those plans are truly being translated into outcomes that make a real difference in people’s lives.
“That gap – between what we plan and what we actually deliver – is where I believe our profession must direct its focus and its energy.”
The programme featured five substantive sessions covering the most critical and forward-looking topics shaping the profession.
The first session explored the complexities of private wealth planning for future generations.
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Malaysia chairperson Farah Deba examined the unknown variables that challenge even the most carefully crafted financial blueprints.
This was followed by sessions on the rapidly evolving digital landscape. VeriBridge Sdn Bhd co-founder and technology expert, Anthony Leung provided advisors with a foundational understanding of asset tokenisation, Real World Assets (RWA), and decentralised finance (DeFi) within the Malaysian regulatory framework.
Fintech Association of Malaysia (FAOM) president Anil Singh Gill, then addressed the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial planning while emphasising the importance of preserving the integrity of the client-planner relationship.
The afternoon session on the psychology of money, presented by Nadhirah Ibrahim, senior research analyst at the Institute for Capital Market Research Malaysia (ICMR), delved into the behavioural forces that drive financial decision-making and offered practical tools for advisors.
The symposium concluded with a high-level panel discussion moderated by Dr Selina Dang. The distinguished panellists were Kenanga Investors Bhd CEO and executive director, Datuk Wira Ismitz Matthew De Alwis; Whitman Independent Advisors vice-president Teh Jiansheng; IPP Wealth Managers investment strategist director and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan; and Buffalo Investment Agency founder Terence Ng.
A key theme across the sessions was the growing influence of AI on the financial planning landscape.
The consensus was clear: AI must be harnessed as an enabler – helping advisors navigate complexity while keeping service delivery client-centric, personalised, and anchored in each individual’s financial goals.
“FPAM’s commitment remains what it has always been: to build the conditions in which financial planning professionals can do their best work, and through them, to see more Malaysians achieve genuine and lasting financial security,” Tan said
“Bridging the gap from blueprint to reality is not a slogan. It is the work we are all here to do.”
The FPAM Annual Signature Financial Planning Symposium 2026 reflected the association’s enduring commitment to professional development and its role in building a financial planning profession that is equipped, ethical, and responsive to the evolving needs of Malaysians.