Jordan Hawke

The state winners of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) 2014 Excellence in Education Award (the Award), supported by Asteron Life, were announced at the AFA July National Roadshow.

Head of Campus AFA, Nick Hakes, said the calibre of the state winners reflects the growing recognition that higher education is one of the keys to delivering great advice to more Australian’s and positively changing consumers perceptions of financial advisers. “The state winners for this year’s Award have worked extremely hard to not only commit to ongoing education, but also to excel at it,” he said.

The Award recognises advisers who are continually investing in themselves, their staff and their businesses, to raise professional standards through education.

Mr Hakes said all of this year’s nominations were outstanding. “We are very proud of the talent that the Award has recognised to date and we are delighted to continue to partner with Asteron Life to showcase the outstanding attitudes, behaviours, standards and commitment to lifelong learning demonstrated by advisers like these state winners.”

Asteron Life Executive General Manager, Adviser Distribution, Jordan Hawke, said education was a key foundation to the continued future success of the industry.

“Investing in professional education is good for the individual adviser, good for the industry and importantly, helps build consumer confidence in the advice industry.  I am continually blown away by the level of professionalism and talent in our industry,” Mr Hawke said.

Mr Hakes said, “The AFA believes other advisers will be inspired by these state winners, to invest in their own education, above and beyond that which is required in terms of compliance, in order to ensure that they are giving their clients the best possible experience, while also raising professional standards within the financial advice profession.”

The 2014 Finalists for the AFA Excellence in Education Award are:

• TAS – Charles Badenach, Main Street Financial Solutions
• SA – Shaun Hunt, Hunt Wealth
• WA – Geoff Ivanac, Everblue Consulting
  • Highly Commended – Chris Cornish, Avant Financial Services
• VIC – Vijay Ghelani, Hanmoore Financial
  • Highly Commended – Tricia Hill, Life Solutions Financial Advisers
• NSW – Jonathan Wu, SWU Financial Planning
• QLD – Peter O’Callaghan, MSI Taylor Wealth Management

State winners of the Award were chosen for their commitment to professional development through continuing education and making a difference within the marketplace and their local community through the practical application of their knowledge and expertise.

Candidates were judged on the quality of their written nomination. Judges then conducted phone interviews with shortlisted candidates. Candidates were also given a weighting across four award criteria, including:

• 50% on formal education
• 30% on practical application of education
• 10% on contribution to one’s industry
• 10% on contribution to one’s community

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Anne Graham, 2013 AFA Excellence in Education Award recipient.

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) is calling for nominations for the seventh AFA Excellence in Education Award (the Award), to be presented in October at the AFA National Conference in Cairns.

Through this Award, the AFA along with partner Asteron Life, recognise advisers who are continually investing in themselves, their staff and their business, to raise professional standards through education and make a positive impact upon Australian’s perceptions of professional financial advisers.

Head of Campus AFA, Nick Hakes, said investment in education is the key to encouraging more Australians to seek quality financial advice.

“As a profession we need to embrace professional development as a way to demonstrate our credibility and expertise to a wider audience,” he said. “We are seeking great success stories of how advisers practically apply their technical skills and knowledge to making a positive contribution to people’s lives.”

Mr Hakes said as professionals, advisers should be continually investing over and above what is required of a standard compliance regime. “We need to move toward professional development solutions that demonstrate our credibility and enhance the client experience. This Award recognises those who are on the front foot with implementing this vision within their own practices,” he said.

The Award plays an important role in encapsulating the essence of professionalism: education + attitude + behaviours + standards and a commitment to lifelong learning, Mr Hakes said. “This is such a unique Award and we are delighted with the ongoing partnership with Asteron Life, which has made it possible for us to continue to showcase such great talent.”

Investment in professional development, Mr Hakes said, is directly linked with a growing, profitable and sustainable advice profession. “We need professional development to be not only academically robust, but also relevant and practical for advisers. Even more, education should be, interesting, challenging, enjoyable and even exciting. The Award showcases the different education pathways taken by advisers to enhance credibility whilst also driving business performance,” he said.

“Asteron Life is proud to sponsor the AFA’s Excellence in Education Award for the seventh year running. We’re passionate about excellence in education, because we believe in the need to drive continued improvement in consumer perception of the professionalism of the advice industry”, Asteron Life Executive General Manager, Distribution, Jordan Hawke said.

“Through the Award we aim to advocate the incredible job advisers do to improve our social fabric and help Australians make better decisions for their financial future through quality advice.

“Our industry needs to build a sustainable future – and this Award embodies that philosophy by celebrating advisers who invest in their business to lead their people, develop quality advice for consumers, and build an asset that carries on in value”.

The winner will be announced at the AFA Conference in Cairns from 11-14 October 2014. Nominations for the Award close on 30 May 2014. Click here to nominate.

Key Dates in AFA’s 2014 Excellence in Education Award Program:

• Nominations open: 28 April 2014
• Nominations close: 30 May 2014
• First round interviews: June 2014
• State winners announced at the AFA Roadshow: 22-31 July 2014
• A panel interview with state winners: September 2014 (TBC)
• The AFA Excellence in Education Award winner announced at the AFA Conference: 11-14 October 2014

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Anne Graham

Anne Graham from McPhail HLG Financial Planning in Victoria is the winner of the 2013 Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) Excellence in Education Award (the Award).

The Award, now in its sixth year, is partnered with Asteron Life and recognises outstanding advisers who are committed to professionalism and lifelong learning.

Head of Campus AFA Nick Hakes said, “The AFA Excellence in Education award captures the essential elements of professionalism: a combination of education, attitude, behavior and standards. We know consumers value highly educated advisers and this award demonstrates the direct link between investment in education and professional credibility.”

Mr Hakes said Ms Graham is a very deserving winner of this year’s Award.

“Anne has demonstrated her ability to take what she has learned, both through theory and practice, and transfer this knowledge into practical solutions for her business, her clients and also herself. This was a real standout,” he said. “We admire Anne’s belief that ongoing education not only allows advisers to improve the technical advice they provide to clients but it also contributes to raising the
professional standards within the advice community.”

AFA CEO Brad Fox said, “The Award is testament to the AFA’s ongoing commitment to building the standard of education for all financial advisers and the large number of nominations received this year demonstrates that advisers are now very focused on their professional development.”

Asteron Life Executive General Manager Adviser Distribution, Jordan Hawke, said Asteron Life is honoured to sponsor the AFA Excellence in Education Award for the sixth year running.

“This year’s entrants, particularly Anne, have shown a remarkable level of professionalism and commitment to investing in themselves, adding value to their industry and community and building successful practices that provide Australians with quality advice and customer experience,” he said. “Having more advisers of this calibre puts the industry in a strong position toshow the public that the financial advice industry is maturing and evolving into a profession of experts in advice.”

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The Award, now in its fifth year, is sponsored by Asteron Life and recognises the best and brightest financial advice professionals entering the industry. AFA CEO Richard Klipin said the Award demonstrates the AFA’s ongoing commitment to education.

“The AFA believes that education is a journey, not a destination,” Mr Klipin said. “Our members are always on the road to further education and this award is about recognising those  advisers who have shown outstanding commitment to their studies and to continuing their ongoing education.

“Dean has demonstrated that commitment in spades.”

Asteron Life Executive General Manager Adviser Distribution, Jordan Hawke, said Asteron Life is extremely proud to sponsor the AFA Excellence in Education Award for the fifth year running.    

“The Award recognises advisers’ commitment and excellence in advice by participating in further education during their career,” Mr Hawke  said. “We champion the continual raising of the bar of the advice profession by recognising and rewarding excellence in adviser education.”

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The Award is dedicated to supporting and rewarding independent financial advisers who undertake the challenge of acquiring knowledge – and applying this knowledge to their business, their clients, their industry and their community.

AFA National Vice President and Education Chair, Adam Smith, said the Award recognises the outstanding performance and achievements of financial advice students.  “It allows us to shine the light across Australia to identify and recognise some of our country’s best and brightest advisers.”

Mr Smith said the AFA believes ongoing education enables AFA members to deliver better advice outcomes to Australian consumers.

“Commitment to education and lifelong learning are a fundamental part of the AFA’s ethos, so I am very pleased that this year’s national winner of the Excellence in Education Award is Finn Kelly.”

In his former career, Finn spent seven years as an Army Officer in the Australian Defence Force. His military training and experiences were fundamental in helping him develop a broad range of skills. His background taught him the essence of seizing key opportunities, while managing risk to optimise performance and maximise success.

Finn is committed to ongoing education and professional development. His formal qualifications include a Bachelor of Science majoring in Maths and Physics, a Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning), a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary), a Diploma of Government, and a Diploma of Management. He is currently undertaking the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Program. He is also a strong believer that education is the key to success in any aspect of life.

“We continue to see outstanding talent amongst our award candidates and Finn Kelly is testament to this,” Mr Smith said. “Finn is committed to his profession and his clients and is making a major contribution to enhancing the reputation of the profession as a whole.”

Asteron Executive General Manager Jordan Hawke said Asteron is extremely proud to sponsor the Excellence in Education Award for the fourth year running.

“At Asteron, we have a passion for our industry and ensuring its future success. We believe that the provision of quality advice can be better achieved by continuing to lift the education standard of advice professionals in Australia,” Mr Hawke said.

“Each year, the standard of the nominees makes it extremely difficult to choose just one winner, and this year was no exception, with the closest results we have ever had.

“Finn Kelly stood out throughout the judging process.  The real point of difference was his remarkable ability to translate his past and continuing education into real life application, ensuring that his business processes run to military precision.

“His commitment to also making a difference in the community will make him an outstanding ambassador for education.”

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