Ranking among the top 1% of financial advisers worldwide, Kelly Ong is currently Aphoenity's co-founder, and the youngest agency leader in Great Eastern (Singapore) to have ever achieved a Top of the Table (TOT) qualification, the highest level of recognition and membership for Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT)'s top performers, and the epitome of achievement in the industry. Due to her achievements in the financial services industry, Kelly is frequently invited to deliver keynote speeches on big stages to local and international audiences, both in-person or virtually. Success entails not just hard work but also passion. In a highly competitive market, Kelly manages to thrive and manage her team well while spending quality time with her loved ones.
Behind her success story, Kelly has persevered through years of ups and downs and embraced the opportunities presented by her bosses and team. She recalls what her younger days were like, having to work multiple jobs such as being a model, ice cream server, and personal assistant, to support her family's income. There was enough food on the table, but she had to work hard to afford anything else her family wanted. Her turning point came the day she decided to take the leap of faith and join the financial services industry. And the rest, like they say, is history.
As someone who has achieved the TOT qualification (Top 1% of Financial Advisers globally with 6-time MDRT requirement), Kelly shared that it wouldn't have been possible without the trust and support from her great clients. She has eventually forged close bonds and friendships with most of her clients. This explains Kelly's strong passion for her job because she gets to build real friendships while ensuring they get the best possible financial planning.
Many of her great clients are business owners and high net worth individuals who want complete financial planning and protection such as legacy, estate, and will planning. Apart from word of mouth referrals from her own clients, she also receives personal direct messages on her social media accounts such as LinkedIn.
As a successful individual who has been through her fair share of tough adversities, Kelly hopes to inspire everyone on the following lessons she has learnt on her journey:
- Hold yourself to the highest standards. This means always doing your best in any task that you're given, no matter if it's an important project or a minor routine task.
- Learn how to grab opportunities. Confidence helps you embrace the opportunities that show up in your life instead of backing away from them. You can build up your confidence by improving your knowledge and sharpening your skillset.
- Learn to put others before ourselves. Putting the needs of others before our own allows us to think of the greater good, and improves our relationships with others.
A new book that she has written, namely Big Deals, illustrates seven veterans of the financial services industry coming together to share their experience and wisdom on how to deliver value, help people, and close big deals simultaneously. Many people tend to make the mistake of focusing on one-off transactions as essentially going for quantity over quality. In reality, one has to be invested, authentic, transparent, and patient to nurture long-term relationships with their prospects and clients.
Over the years, Kelly has helped many clients as a Financial Adviser and developed great knowledge. As a daughter, wife, and mum who focuses on her child's social development and emotional wellbeing, she takes pride in spending lots of quality time with her daughter without sacrificing personal goals and career aspirations. In her current personal life, Kelly has learned the value of prioritizing what's important and saying "no" to some things. Whether she is at work or with her family, she will always be fully present and do her very best, while being thankful and appreciative to everyone.
Kelly does all of this through her involvement with Aphoenity, one of the fastest-growing insurance agencies in Singapore. As Aphoenity's co-founder, Kelly started out in November 2019 with just 3 Financial Advisers and ended 2020 with an impressive array of achievements - 1 TOT, 1 COT, and 4 MDRT qualifications - in her team.
As of now, she has expanded her team to 21 members, hoping to inspire more people and transform more lives. For that to happen, it was all about the affinity that supports the business relationships between people. Inspired by the Phoenix as a symbol of rebirth, Kelly hopes everyone who joins her on this journey can work towards better financial planning in their lives.
