Customer Orientation in Pharmaceutical Companies: Differences in Explanatory Approaches to Customers in Finance and Healthcare

This is a sequel to "Major securities firms just want to make money, don't they? ①②③".

Reference links:
①Major securities firms just want to make money, don't they? ~Consultation on retirement money~
②Major securities firms just want to make money, don't they? ~Reasons for going to a securities firm~
③Major securities firms just want to make money, don't they? ~FP and IFA~

Customer Orientation in Pharmaceutical Companies

Based on my experience working at a pharmaceutical company, I believe that sales operations that prioritize the customer are excellent. By customers, I mean patients and their families. While the premise is that healthcare is a job that involves taking care of human lives, everything was decided with a "Patients First" mindset above all else.

Specifically, when evidence shows that the best treatment for a patient is not our own product but a competitor's, we convey that fact without hiding anything.

I imagine many people in society have a negative impression of the relationship between pharmaceutical companies and doctors, such as collusion. In reality, it is actually extremely clear! You might not believe me, though.

When I watch the actions of the elderly politicians who have become like monsters, I am filled with feelings of "they are just violating rules for trivial personal gain." It leaves me speechless.

In the background, I suspect there is a tendency for the media to write articles that sell, and an algorithm for selling that involves criticizing pharmaceutical companies. (This is a super personal opinion.)

In a previous article, "Distinguishing between investment and speculation", I cannot help but feel it is similar to what the Sawakami Fund was requesting of the media.

Differences in Explanatory Approaches to Customers in Finance and Healthcare

Patients generally have little medical information and a low level of knowledge. However, medical staff do not perform treatments without explanation just because the patient does not know. They explain until the patient understands, right? Informed Consent (IC) and Shared Decision Making (SDM) are always practiced.

Why do securities firms not explain things in a way that customers with low financial literacy can understand, and instead sell financial products with high fees? In particular, they use complex products like structured bonds, making them difficult to understand and providing explanations that invite misunderstanding as if they are avoiding risk.

In reality, structured bonds are complex, ridiculous products that force risk onto the customer while the securities firm takes no risk. I simply cannot understand the way they sell them without a second thought.

Where should you buy investment trusts?

The investment boom seems to be driven mainly by the act of buying investment trusts. When you want to buy those investment trusts, where do you buy them?

There are two choices:
Buying at the counter of a securities firm, bank, or post office, or
buying at an online securities firm on the internet.

As investment trusts that can be recommended when starting to invest, there are the eMAXIS series and the eMAXIS Slim series.

The names of the two products are similar, aren't they? The same company sells them as index funds with similar indicators. So, what is the difference? The two major differences are the "fees" and the "sales channels."

The eMAXIS series is:
Bought at major securities firms, and the fees are high.
The eMAXIS Slim series is:
Bought at online securities firms, and the fees are low.

eMAXIS is a 1,000 yen tomato 🍅.
The eMAXIS Slim series is a 100 yen tomato 🍅.

It is the same tomato 🍅. It is the same product.

Don't you have a bias that more expensive things are better?
You buy investment trusts to make a profit, right?
If it is the same thing, it is obvious that a lower purchase price is better!

Even so, I think many people doubt whether it is truly the same thing. I have no intention of stopping those who believe there is meaning in it just being expensive and think they will succeed through the placebo effect, so please feel free to do as you wish.

However, if you are someone who has read this article due to the investment boom and you are not confident in your financial knowledge, please absolutely do not go to a securities firm. You will be sold a 1,000 yen tomato in a paulownia box.

Actions that securities salespeople should take

Based on the example of pharmaceutical companies, securities salespeople should sometimes recommend that customers make purchases through online brokerages. That said, there must be customers who want to buy from a securities salesperson.

Based on that trust, since major securities firms have information and products that online brokerages do not, I think it is important to prioritize the customer rather than being fixated on short-term profits.

Things I am often told by friends

Since starting my second life, I have often been asked for advice on asset management by friends. I have never worked at a financial institution, and I am a self-proclaimed "pseudo-investor."

I am someone who has spent my whole career in business at a pharmaceutical company. I am just an ordinary person who has steadily saved money, and I have only dabbled in investing as a hobby.

I do have an FP (Financial Planner) qualification, but you can pass it with a few days of study. Friends tell me, "It's because you're strong with financial information, Mako-san," but both of my college-aged sons have passed the FP exam. They took it with the ulterior motive of it being advantageous for job hunting or because I offered to pay the exam fees. What I want to say is that even college students with absolutely no financial knowledge can pass it.

As for things I am often told by friends, after I provide information on asset management, they have started saying, "Mako-san, you could charge money for this advice! Why don't you do a side job in household budget consultation or asset building for your second life?"

I see there is a 'work request' tag on note.
Huh, so this is how a side job works—you can monetize your areas of expertise—I felt the beginning of a business.

Work requests for financial consultation

To everyone reading this: Thank you for always reading. I will not accept work and receive money for it, haha 😅. I am merely venting my thoughts (complaints) as a self-proclaimed "pseudo-investor" on note...

But, if it's free, maybe that's fine