Nominees for the awards, a joint venture between the AFA and Zurich, were created to recognise “qualities of leadership, innovation, customer focus and professional excellence” within the financial advice industry.
Three finalists have been announced for each of the two categories, with the Adviser of the Year finalists being judged on their contribution to the improvement of financial literacy among their community, and Practice of the Year finalists on their contribution to innovation and the betterment of the industry.
“Every finalist has invested in themselves and their business, and to reach this stage of the judging process is an achievement in itself,” said AFA chief executive Phil Kewin.
“Not to mention all of those who are striving to be the best, who did not make this year’s finalist. They should be all very proud, and I congratulate them all for their commitment. When looking at those representing our profession, we certainly have a lot to be proud of.”
The finalists for the Adviser of the Year award are:
- Charles Fraser of Shadforth Financial Group
- Glen James of Fortify Financial
- Julia Schortinghuis of Lighthouse Capital
The finalists for the Practice of the Year award are:
- Australian Financial Risk Management
- MEDIQ
- PFG Financial Services
The winners of both categories will be announced at a gala dinner on 13 October.
Congratulations on winning the “”Restricted” Advisers of the year award. You look at some of these winners and there is a single common connection. Hey AFA, when are you going to dump your association with the Most Trusted Adviser Network. A group that charges independent financial advisers $4,000 to survey clients and yet it is heavily subsidized and sometimes offered at no cost at all for advisers that belong to large dealer groups like NAB.AMP. Not a level playing field is it. Yet another reason why non-restricted privately owned advisers should unite and walk away from the likes of the FPA and AFA. Why are we now subsidizing the marketing & advertising costs of these restricted advisers via the support of such awards?