Cendana · Participant Accounts
What Participants Say After Attending a Cendana Programme
These are accounts from households who attended our programmes. We have kept them as close to the original words as possible.
Return to Home400+
Households Served
91%
Clarity Rating
4.7
Average Rating (of 5)
7+
Years in Operation
§ I — Participant Reviews
In Their Own Words
Siew Ting Lim
Toa Payoh · HR Manager
I attended the Foundations series in February and came away feeling that I finally understood my own CPF statement. I had read the MyInfo summaries for years without quite grasping what the numbers meant in practical terms. After the second session, it clicked. The facilitator was patient and did not make me feel that my questions were basic.
Foundations Conversation Series · April 2025
Ravi Pillai
Bishan · Senior Engineer
The Considered Investor course was exactly what I needed before my next meeting with my bank's relationship manager. I now understand what he is actually proposing when he recommends a fund, which means I can ask better questions. The section on fees over long time periods was particularly well explained — I had not appreciated how much those percentages compound.
The Considered Investor · March 2025
Margaret Chow
Queenstown · Secondary Teacher
My husband and I went through the Private Household Review together earlier this year. It was a thorough, calm process — the facilitator worked through our documents methodically and produced a written summary that we have since shared with our accountant. The accountant said it was a clearer picture of the household than most of his clients bring in. Worth the time and the fee.
The Private Household Review · February 2025
Wei Kiat Ng
Tampines · Operations Director
I was hesitant before signing up because I worried it might feel like a sales pitch dressed up as education. It was not. Nobody at Cendana tried to sell me anything. The course content on asset allocation was particularly useful given my age — I am fifty-three — and I came away with a clearer sense of the question I needed to put to my financial planner.
The Considered Investor · April 2025
Priya Lakshmi
Serangoon · Financial Controller
I work in finance myself, so I was not sure how much I would gain from the Foundations series. Quite a bit, as it turned out. The focus on household cash flow rather than investment markets was a different lens from the one I use at work, and the CPF session clarified several things I had assumed incorrectly. The group was small enough that a genuine discussion was possible.
Foundations Conversation Series · March 2025
James Teo
Buona Vista · Architect
The Household Review helped my wife and me have a productive conversation about our finances that we had been putting off for several years. Having a structured format and a knowledgeable facilitator made it possible to go through the material without it becoming an argument about priorities. The written summary at the end was a useful document. I would recommend this programme to anyone in a similar situation.
The Private Household Review · January 2025
§ II — Case Studies
Three Household Journeys
These accounts represent the kinds of situations that bring households to Cendana. Names and identifying details have been changed.
Challenge
A couple in their late forties who had never looked at their finances together
Both partners had individual salaries, CPF accounts and insurance policies, but they had never sat down together with all the documents in one place. A vague discomfort had been growing that they were not as prepared as they should be.
Programme
The Private Household Review
The couple enrolled in the four-session bespoke programme. In the first session the facilitator gathered both sets of documents and produced a combined balance sheet. The second and third sessions worked through cash flow and their combined CPF positions. The fourth produced a written summary.
Outcome
Clearer picture, more confident conversations
They left with a written document that they subsequently shared with their lawyer when updating their wills. Both said in their feedback that the programme had been valuable not just for the content but for the structure it gave to a conversation they had not known how to begin.
Challenge
A fifty-two-year-old who received a significant lump sum and did not know where to begin
Following a corporate retrenchment exercise, a participant received a substantial severance package and CPF top-up. He had several bank representatives offering advice. He was not confident he understood what any of them were proposing.
Programme
The Considered Investor
He enrolled in the next available Considered Investor cohort. Over seven weeks the course gave him a framework for understanding what he was being offered: how different fund structures work, what the fee disclosures mean, and how to think about time horizon when allocating between asset classes.
Outcome
Better questions, more considered decisions
He returned to the bank meetings with a clearer set of questions and a better ability to evaluate what was being proposed. He did not abandon professional advisers — but he engaged with them more effectively. He wrote to us six months later to say he felt the programme had been worth considerably more than its cost.
Challenge
A woman in her early fifties whose husband had handled all the family finances
Following the unexpected death of her husband, a participant found herself managing a household's finances for the first time. She understood that she needed help but was wary of engaging a financial adviser before she had any framework for evaluating what she was being told.
Programme
Foundations, then Household Review
She attended the Foundations series first to build a basic framework. Three months later she enrolled in the Private Household Review, this time bringing her late husband's documents alongside her own. The facilitator worked carefully and at a pace she found manageable.
Outcome
Confidence to work with professional advisers
The written household summary gave her a structured starting point for her first meetings with a financial planner and an estate lawyer. She said in her feedback that the most valuable outcome was simply feeling that she understood enough to ask sensible questions — and to recognise when an answer was evasive.
§ III — Contact
Reach Us Directly
Telephone
+65 6285 0473Address
85 South Bridge Road
#06-21, S 058711
Office Hours
Mon–Fri: 9am–5:30pm
Sat: 9am–12:30pm
§ IV — Professional Standing
Our Credentials and Commitments
CPD-Recognised Programme
The Considered Investor course has been accepted for continuing professional development credit by several professional bodies in Singapore since 2022.
PDPA Compliant
Our data handling is reviewed annually for compliance with Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act. Participants may access or request deletion of their records at any time.
No Commercial Affiliations
Cendana has not accepted sponsorship from any financial product provider since its founding in 2018. Programme fees are the sole source of income.
§ V — Enquire
Would You Like to Know More Before Deciding?
We are happy to answer questions by telephone or email before you commit to a programme. There is no obligation in making an enquiry.
Get in Touch