— OUR COMPANY
Founded on the Belief That Financial Clarity Is Worth the Time It Takes
Tembusu is an independent financial education practice in Singapore. We work with adults who prefer to understand their options before making any decisions.
← Return to HomeI. OUR STORY
How Tembusu Came to Be
Tembusu was set up in 2019 by a small group of financial educators, former bankers, and a retired family law solicitor who had each spent years watching clients make consequential decisions without a solid grasp of the numbers involved. The recurring pattern — intelligent, capable people acting on assumptions rather than knowledge — struck the founders as something worth addressing directly.
The name is taken from the Tembusu tree, a large, slow-growing species native to Singapore that appears on the five-dollar note. Like the tree, the practice is rooted in a single location and is not in any hurry. The analogy felt apt: financial understanding, like the tree, grows with patience and does not rush to impress.
The practice does not hold a capital markets services licence and does not give regulated financial advice. It does not sell any financial product or earn any commission from financial institutions. Fees are paid by participants and come from nowhere else. This arrangement keeps the content of the programmes free from commercial influence.
Since the first cohort in early 2020, Tembusu has worked with individuals and couples across a range of professional backgrounds — engineers, doctors, civil servants, business owners, and teachers among them. What they share is a desire to understand their own financial position clearly, without being sold anything along the way.
The programmes have been shaped by participant feedback over several years and by the changing landscape of CPF policy, estate law, and the investment environment in Singapore. Content is updated before each new cohort to reflect any material changes in the local regulatory context.
Our office is at Tanjong Pagar, a few minutes' walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT, and sessions are also held at occasional partner venues in the Central Business District. The office is open Monday to Friday, and the programme team can be reached by telephone or email during business hours.
II. MISSION & VALUES
What We Stand For
Independence
We earn no commission, hold no distribution arrangement, and are not affiliated with any financial institution. Our only interest is the accuracy of the education we provide.
Patience
Financial understanding develops over time. Our programmes are structured for adults who want to think carefully rather than act quickly. There is no hurry, and we do not create any.
Rigour
Every session is reviewed by at least one subject-matter professional before delivery. Figures and regulatory references are updated each time a new cohort begins.
III. THE TEAM
The People Behind the Programmes
Lim Kwok Wai
Founder & Lead Educator
Formerly a senior wealth adviser at a local bank for eighteen years, Kwok Wai now devotes his time to education. He leads the Income Years Curriculum and oversees the design of all core materials.
Sujatha Nair
Estate Planning Facilitator
A retired family law solicitor with extensive experience in wills and lasting powers of attorney in Singapore. Sujatha leads the Legacy and Loved-Ones Curriculum and consults on all estate-related content.
Tan Cheng Hui
Curriculum Coordinator
An adult education specialist who spent a decade at a polytechnic before joining Tembusu. Cheng Hui manages cohort scheduling, participant communications, and the ongoing revision of course materials.
IV. STANDARDS
How We Maintain Quality
Content Review Process
All written materials are reviewed by a subject-matter professional — either a former financial planner, a solicitor, or a tax practitioner — before each new cohort starts.
Regular Content Updates
CPF policy, tax rates, and estate law in Singapore change from time to time. We update all affected materials before each cohort so participants receive current information.
Participant Privacy
Personal information is held in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act 2012. We do not share participant data with any third party, including financial institutions.
Group Size Control
We cap group sizes at twelve and fifteen respectively. Once a cohort is full, new enquiries are placed on a waiting list for the next available session.
Participant Feedback
A written feedback form is distributed at the end of each programme. Responses are reviewed by the full team and inform the next revision cycle of the curriculum.
No Commercial Influence
We accept no sponsorship from financial institutions and allow no external parties to present to our cohorts. The curriculum is shaped solely by what participants find useful, not by any commercial interest.
V. OUR APPROACH
Financial Education That Respects the Reader's Intelligence
Adults in their forties and fifties in Singapore face a distinct set of financial questions. The CPF system enters a new phase at fifty-five. The balance between accumulation and the careful use of savings becomes more pressing as the end of regular employment comes into view. Family obligations often run in two directions simultaneously — children still in education and parents who may need support. Estate planning, which many defer, starts to feel more immediate.
These are not questions that a general finance book answers satisfactorily, and they are not questions that a product adviser has an incentive to address in full. Tembusu occupies a different position: a place where an adult can sit with the numbers, ask questions without obligation, and leave with a clearer picture of where they stand.
The teaching approach draws on adult education principles developed over decades of practice. Reading materials are issued in advance so that session time is spent on discussion rather than passive listening. Worked examples use Singapore figures — CPF contribution rates, current medisave ceilings, prevailing interest rates on CPF Ordinary Account and Special Account — so the content connects with participants' actual circumstances.
We believe that financial clarity is not a luxury. It is a reasonable expectation for anyone who has spent thirty years working and saving. Tembusu exists to make that clarity available without the usual commercial pressure attached to it.
— NEXT STEP
We Are Happy to Answer Questions First
If you would like to understand which programme might suit you before registering, write to us or call. We do not follow up with unsolicited contact.
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