AFA and ANZ Wealth search for Tenth Rising Star

Brad Fox

Nominations are now open for the tenth Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) Rising Star of the Year Award (the Award), proudly supported by ANZ.

AFA CEO, Brad Fox, a former adviser and the AFA’s 2008 Rising Star, said the Award is crucial in the development and encouragement of up-and-coming financial advisers who are committed to delivering outstanding advice

“The advisers recognised in the AFA Rising Star Award will become the leaders of our profession,” he said. “We created this award with the support of ANZ nine years ago to inspire new advisers under the banner of our GenXt program to achieve their best and to act as a catalyst to attract people to a career as a financial adviser. The strategy has worked better than we could have imagined with multiple proof points having been achieved such as the number of young leaders we have uncovered, the quality of new entrants to the profession, the interaction with universities, work placement programs and mentoring.”

Mr Fox said the AFA is very pleased to be celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Award this year, along with Award partner, ANZ Wealth. “The diversity of nominated advisers, finalists and winners from previous years suggests we will again attract the very best new talent from across Australia.  From the experience of previous nominees, they have all benefited from the judging process by bringing greater focus to what it takes to perform at their very best. I would recommend to newer advisers to get nominated and benchmark your progress against your peers,” he said.

ANZ Wealth’s General Manager Aligned and Open Market Channels, Neil Younger, said: “We’re proud to have been supporting this award for 10 years now, and have seen the important impact this program has had on recognising and supporting future leaders in our industry.

“There is significant change taking place in the advice sector in Australia at the moment, especially in terms of how advice is delivered and received. More than ever it’s important for the industry to continue acknowledging the outstanding contribution many advisers make towards their clients, their profession and their community and we’re looking forward to discovering more remarkable individuals this year,” Mr Younger said.

To be considered a Rising Star, advisers must:

• Demonstrate high levels of advisory skills and knowledge
• Have been working as an adviser for three years or less
• Be based in a practice, either as an employee or as a principal
• Provide a great quality advice experience
• Have made contributions to the advice or wider community
• Be able to demonstrate how they have improved financial literacy of their clients and/or the community
• Have an appropriate educational background, qualifications and commitment to professional development

Nominations for the Award, which close on 8 August, can be made online at www.afarisingstar.com.au.The winner will be announced at the AFA National Conference in October 2014.