Ricardo van Doormalen

Ricardo van Doormalen, of BLM Accountants and Adviseurs, the Netherlands, was selected as the overall winner of the PlanPlus 2017 Global Financial Planning Awards for the Europe/Australia region. Ricardo is a first-time competitor and will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the Financial Planning Association’s (FPA) annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Ricardo said, “I am thankful that PlanPlus made it possible for me to participate in a competition for such a prestigious award. Competing with the best of the best worldwide has been an honor for me. It is a confirmation that the decisions we made in our way of practicing financial planning were good ones.”

“When I first attended the FPA conference in Boston in 2008, I noticed that the financial planning industry in several other countries was well ahead of what we were doing in The Netherlands at the time”, said Ricardo. “I think the financial planning industry in The Netherlands has matured very quickly since then. Being the first Dutch participant to win the Global Financial Planning Awards underlines this. Once again: thank you PlanPlus for your contribution with this award to the financial planning profession worldwide. I recommend that every Financial Planner participate in this competition!”

John Page, Awards Chair said “This competition just keeps getting better and better. The improvement in the quality and depth of the plans we receive each year is amazing. We are honored by the very high standard of the work submitted by our winners and by their complete dedication to their clients. This is what financial planning is all about”.

Sarah Broady of The Retirement Advice Centre, NSW, Australia is also a first-time competitor, and was chosen as the first runner-up.

“Entering the PlanPlus Global Financial Planning Awards competition has provided another opportunity for The Retirement Advice Centre to share our clients’ retirement experience”, said Sarah. “To yet again be recognized as providing world class planning services, reaffirms that the advice solutions we provide to our clients have been benchmarked as world-class, and confirms that they have better retirements thanks to engaging our services”.

“I see my role as more than a Retirement Adviser, acting as the trusted confidant for our clients’ retirement journeys. The financial plan I submitted for the competition documented the experience of a couple over the past 2.5 years who went from having never engaged a Financial Adviser and wondering whether they could afford to retire, to now retiring and starting to live out their retirement aspirations. As their trusted Advisers, we were central to guiding othem through their financial and emotional decision-making on their retirement journey”.

James Kenny of DolFinwise, QLD, Australia was named as second runner up. James was the Asia Region award winner in 2013. James said “I believe that the PlanPlus Global Financial Planning Awards are crucially important to help demonstrate and reinforce the value that professional advisers can deliver to their clients and the wider community. As the financial planning industry continues to develop into a globally recognised profession, promoting the value of advice will help to break down misconceptions and strengthen public trust”.

“I encourage all Financial Planners that provide high quality, professional advice to their clients to enter the PlanPlus Global Financial Planning Awards competition next year to demonstrate the value that can be achieved by obtaining professional financial advice, and to enhance the reputation of our profession”.

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James Kenny

The search for Australia’s top financial planners has kicked off again with submissions to the prestigious 2014 Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) Awards now open.

Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA, says that the awards are timely given recent events in the industry, “As a profession, we have been under intense scrutiny in the last 12 months, and now more than ever we need to be celebrating the best of the industry and those who not only comply with the FPA Code, but really make a difference in their client’s lives.”

The FPA Code of Professional Practice holds members to a high standard of ethics, practice standards and professional conduct. The FPA Awards recognise financial planners who adhere to this Code and provide superior results for their clients.

“We often hear stories of planners going above and beyond for their clients, and the FPA Awards are a great way to recognise their hard work and acknowledge the positive impact that financial advice can have,” Mr Rantall said.

“Winners of the FPA Awards will be those planners who have complied with the Code, delivered great results, and contributed to the profession through community involvement, mentoring and support to their local FPA member base.”

The FPA Awards, previously known as the Best Practice Awards, have become a recognised and coveted symbol of trust and reassurance to Australian consumers looking for advice from a financial planner. Previous winners of these awards have experienced benefits from both a personal and business perspective.

James Kenny, winner of the 2013 CFP® Professional FPA Award “Winning the ‘2013 FPA Certified Financial Planner® Professional Best Practice Award’ has helped to promote, differentiate and add greater credibility to my service offering as a professional Financial Planner. In an evolving profession, the FPA awards provide an invaluable opportunity to promote our profession and the value of great advice for consumers. Although the prize that I received as a category winner was noteworthy, it really paled in comparison to the significant boost in business that I’ve experienced, largely due to the publicity and media opportunities that followed. I would encourage all Financial Planners that provide high quality, professional advice to their clients to enter the 2014 Awards and benchmark their advice against Australia’s best Financial Planners.”

All members of the FPA are eligible to enter the awards. As with previous years, the FPA Awards will be divided into three categories:

• FPA CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® Professional of the Year Award
• FPA Financial Planner AFP® of the Year Award
• Future2 Community Service Award

Winners will be identified for each region and from these winners, a national award will be presented.

The deadline for submissions for the FPA Awards is Friday 12 September and winners will be announced and profiled in October in the lead up to the 2014 FPA Professionals Congress on 19-21 November, where they will be presented with their awards.

The three national winners receive free entry to the Professionals Congress and $5,000 towards either a client event or professional development.

For more information and details on how to enter the awards, please visit www.fpa.asn.au/awards

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FPA Best Practice Awards announced.

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has recognised some of the profession’s top financial planners in Australia through their Best Practice Awards.

The annual Awards recognise Australia’s best financial planners who deliver exceptional qualified and trusted financial advice using the highest standard of ethics, practice standards and professional conduct in the country.

CEO of the FPA, Mark Rantall, said that the Best Practice Awards also serve as an important symbol of excellence for consumers seeking qualified financial advice.

“These awards recognise the best of the best. FPA members comply with some of the highest financial planning standards on a global stage. These Award winners have not only complied with the FPA Code, but in so doing have offered a considerable contribution to the profession through community involvement, mentoring and support to their local FPA Chapter.

“Our profession has been through a period of tremendous change in recent years and has made significant strides in advancing the global standing of the profession. These planners have, in spite of any interruption to business, persisted for their clients’ best interests. The three winners, selected from a short list, truly embody the values of our professional community in their everyday work with clients and are exemplars of the financial planning profession,” said Rantall.

The 2013 winners of the FPA’s Best Practice Awards are:

• James Kenny, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® has been awarded both the Queensland as well as the National FPA CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® Professional Best Practice Award. James is a mentor to undergraduate students and young financial planners, helping to ensure the future of financial advice in Australia and fostering professionalism in the next generation of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® professionals.
• Mark Milner, Financial Planner AFP^®, has been awarded both the Queensland and the National FPA Financial Planner AFP^® Best Practice Award.  Mark’s dedication to providing the highest calibre of advice to his clients is manifest in his ongoing studies toward becoming a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^®, which he is set to achieve in 2014.
• Jeremy Gillman-Wells, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^®, has been awarded both the Australian Capital Territory and National Future2 Community Service Best Practice Award.  Jeremy volunteers his time as a pro bono CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® and his work with the NSW Cancer Council speaks to the transformational power of quality financial advice.

Mr. Rantall said, “I offer my personal congratulations to James, Mark and Jeremy on their significant achievements in financial planning and commend their work. I would also like to thank them for the extraordinary service they give not only their clients but our professional community as well. Through the quality advice they provide, James, Mark and Jeremy are making a difference in the lives of many, many Australians and in the future of the financial planning profession.”

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