Matthew Lui Yue-chun came a long way before joining the financial industry. A school dropout who got back on the right track to get a university education, he worked as a secondary school teacher before joining AIA. In 2006, he was chosen as one of  Junior Chamber International Hong Kong’s “Ten Outstanding Young Persons”. It was then that he met Samuel Yung Wing-ki, a well-known local figure in financial planning, who invited him to join his team. Lui talks to Wong Yat-hei about his career journey.  

What’s your academic background?
I graduated with first-class honours from Baptist University’s department of religion and philosophy. Later I studied for a master’s degree in divinity, an MBA and a Doctor of Philosophy.

How do you start your day?  
From Monday to Friday, I provide training for my staff from 9am to 10.30am, in product knowledge and inter-personal skills. After lunch, I accompany my staff to meet clients. The time is quite flexible so I spend at least one week a day doing voluntary  work.

What does your job entail?
As business manager, my job is to lead my team. I have quite a lot of management and administration duties. I also do voluntary work such as paying visits to schools to teach students and parents about financial planning.

What are the major challenges you have encountered so far?
The biggest challenge is educating the public about the importance of buying insurance. Some think that they will never get sick or have an accident, but this is not the case.

There are also clients who have lost their faith in insurance after having bad experiences with insurance agents. It is true that some agents switch to a new company quickly, leaving their clients behind unattended. These agents are irresponsible and only care about their benefits.
   
What are your plans?
I hope to develop a large big team of agents, like my mentor and leader Samuel Yung Wing-ki. He had more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, and a team of more than 700 people. I hope to have a 100-strong team in five years to provide job opportunities for those who are interested in the career.

Any advice for those who plan to enter your industry?
One must have a goal. I set a goal every year, such as  learning to speak Putonghua or to lose weight. Set a goal and work out the correct methods to achieve it. No matter what hardships you encounter, ultimately you will be successful if you stay focused.