Peita Diamantidis, 2016 FEIA Award winner.

TAL, Australia’s leading life insurance specialist, and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has announced the finalists for the Female Excellence in Advice (FEIA) Award. The finalists are in the running to receive a $15,000 tailored education package to further their professional development.

A joint initiative by TAL and the AFA, the FEIA Award celebrates women in financial advice who are making a significant contribution to their profession, their community and their clients.

The FEIA Award 2017 finalists are:

• Christina Cabrera, Founder, Wisdom of Wealth for Women
• Lea Schodel, Founder, Wellthy
• Nicole Heales, Principal Adviser & Broker, Nicole Heales Financial
• Sacha Burchgart, Founder/Managing Director, Burcheart
• Tracey Sofra, Principal Financial Planner, Sofcorp Financial Services

TAL General Manager, Retail Distribution, Niall McConville, congratulated the five finalists and applauded their efforts to encourage more women to become financial advisers.

“In addition to being outstanding financial advisers and astute business women, this year’s FEIA finalists are giving back so much to their communities by empowering women to take control of their financial futures and mentoring women who have an interest in the advice profession.

“More women are entering the advice profession in Australia and the industry is only getting better for it,” he said.

AFA CEO, Phil Kewin, said, “The FEIA Award has come a long way since inception and each year it is getting more difficult for the judging panel to narrow down the finalists. We have some exceptional talent in our industry and all nominees should be very proud of their achievements.

“We encourage all nominees who didn’t make the finals to take part again in 2018, and we thank all of those involved in supporting the FEIA Award, which has been promoting positive change in the financial advice profession for the past six years.”

The finalists will present to a judging panel on September 20 about their business achievements, community involvement and views on mentoring, education, gender diversity and future vision.

The winner of the FEIA Award will be announced at the AFA National Adviser Conference on October 11-13.

For more information on the Award, visit: http://www.afafemaleadvice.com/

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2016 FEIA Award winner, Peita Diamantidis

The record number of applications for the Female Excellence in Advice (FEIA) Award indicates that as more women enter the advice industry they are making a greater impact on their customers’ experiences.

A joint initiative by the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and Australia’s leading life insurance specialist, TAL, the FEIA Award celebrates women in financial advice who are making a significant contribution to their profession, their community and their clients.

42 female financial advisers applied for the 2017 FEIA Award, which is a 40% increase on last year. The majority of applicants own and run their own businesses under a dealer group.

Niall McConville, General Manager, Retail Distribution at TAL said the standard of applicants has remained consistently high since the Award was established in 2011.

“As one of the award judges, I’ve really enjoyed seeing the standard of entrants improve over time as female participation in the industry changes. While we still have a long way to go in our journey to reaching equal gender representation in the financial advice industry, it’s encouraging to see more female financial advisers come forward and promote their achievements, which can inspire others to follow their lead.”

The FEIA Award 2017 semi-finalists are:

• Amanda Pond, Financial Adviser/Lifestyle Money Coach, Puddle 2 Pond Financial
• Amie Wild, Director & Financial Adviser, Avanti Advisers
• Christina Cabrera, Founder, Wisdom of Wealth for Women
• Kath Orman, Senior Financial Planner, Goals & Dreams
• Katherine Hann, Financial Adviser & Practice Principal, Financial Wisdom
• Lea Schodel, Founder, Wellthy
• Nicole Heales, Principal Adviser & Broker, Nicole Heales Financial
• Sacha Burchgart, Founder/Managing Director, Burcheart
• Simone Richardson, Director, Tall Poppy Wealth
• Susan Morris, Financial Adviser, Northern Wealth Advisory Group
• Tracey Sofra, Principal Financial Planner, Sofcorp Financial Services

“We congratulate all of this year’s semi-finalists, who had phenomenal submissions. Their entries were clear standouts in terms of the successes they’ve had in running their businesses as well as the contributions they’ve made to the community,” said Mr McConville.

AFA CEO Phil Kewin said the award process is not just about winning; it is also about the tremendous value gained through the process, which is why TAL and the AFA introduced an additional feedback component to give unsuccessful award applicants advice on how they could improve their applications.

“Our aim is to make the overall award process a constructive and rewarding experience for everyone involved. One of the ways we can do this is by offering individual applicants additional feedback from one of the judges if they want it.

“We are excited to progress the semi-finalists to the next round of judging, which consists of in-depth interviews to help us determine the finalists,” he said.

The finalists for the FEIA Award will be announced in September 2017, with the winner announced at the AFA National Adviser Conference on October 11-13.

The Winner of the Award will receive a $15,000 tailored education package, courtesy of TAL. TAL and the AFA will work with the winner to tailor the package to the winner’s requirements in furthering their professional development.

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