Mr Bineham was chosen from more than 1257 financial advisers in PIS’ Australian network at the 2011 Annual Conference. The qualifications are judged by the PIS executive and management team and based on a combination of factors that include production, professional standards, ongoing activity, business growth, and advocacy of the Group.

Marc Bineham said the award was a great honour and very unexpected. “Noall & Co. is delighted to be acknowledged for all its hard work,” he said. “It is the appreciation from our clients and the dedication of our staff that really make us feel proud about what we do.”

Today Noall & Co. is a well-known firm with 12 staff including 5 advisers, working in a business which services the financial and insurance needs of more than 2000 clients. Noall & Co. offers a comprehensive service to its clients including corporate superannuation, financial planning, mortgage broking and risk insurance.

PIS’ Founder – CEO Strategy and Development, Robbie Bennetts, said, “Marc deserved all the accolades he received as he and his team have built a large practice where their expertise, professional ethics and client management skills are excellent.”

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To mark the opening of nominations for the 2011 AFA Adviser of the Year award, Zurich Life & Investments Australia (Zurich) has launched its Zurich Life TV channel on YouTube. The channel is designed to make it easier for advisers to access video content across more devices.

To celebrate the launch, Zurich has released a series of short videos featuring the finalists from the 2010 AFA Adviser of the Year award.

Across the ‘Tips from the Top” series, last year’s finalists share insights into the key drivers of their success, with individual videos covering marketing, networking, technology and client care.

“Whilst the fundamental drivers of adviser success have remained the same for decades, the nature of those drivers is clearly evolving” said Mr Colin Morgan, Chief Executive of award sponsor Zurich Life & Investments.

“Technology and marketing are just two areas where advisers are increasingly able to differentiate themselves and the evolving social media landscape really brings these two areas together.
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“That’s why we thought YouTube was the perfect medium to share the wisdom and insights of our industry’s most elite advisers,” said Mr Morgan.
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A Zurich survey of 700 advisers earlier this year found that 10 per cent of advisers owned iPads with a further 40 per cent planning to buy an iPad or other tablet device during 2011.
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“Online content is increasingly being accessed through apps rather than traditional browsers and the launch of our YouTube channel will make our content easier to view across more mobile devices” said Mr Morgan.
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Click to view The Tips from the Top series on YouTube
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Nominations for the 2011 Adviser of the Year Award open June 1st.

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The AFA Member Pack is designed to help all advisers, whether they are members of the AFA or not, to understand:

• FOFA key facts and key dates
• Impacts of FOFA on consumers and advisers
• AFA’s role and policy position

It provides a clear way forward for advisers, so that they can future proof their practices as well as have an impact on the final FOFA outcome.

AFA CEO Richard Klipin said, “The original intent of FOFA was to create a transparent market that acts and operates in the interests of consumers, following Storm, Opes Prime and other key market failures. However, the FOFA rhetoric has not been matched with strategy and consumers’ real needs have fallen on deaf ears.”

Mr Klipin said that to ensure appropriate outcomes for all stakeholders, the AFA had commissioned a number of research papers including Back to Basics and Risking Everything which had provided the Government with clear, concise and articulate insights into the world of consumers and advisers.

“Our consumer research shows that FOFA will drive up the price of advice and increase red tape for consumers, advisers, licensees and product providers, for no discernable consumer benefit,” Mr Klipin said. “FOFA has failed to strike the right balance between improving advice outcomes on the one hand, whilst retaining access and affordability for all consumers on the other.”

Mr Klipin said the debate is still in full force, but has moved from a policy to a political debate.  “We must ensure that our collective voice is heard,” he said.

AFA President, Brad Fox said that AFA members have an expert understanding of consumers and their needs. “This year the AFA celebrates its Diamond Anniversary. This means our members have advised consumers at the coal face for the past 65 years. We therefore have a deep understanding of consumer expectations and the transformative value that quality financial advice provides. These are the interests that we will argue for, so that consumers retain the right to affordable, accessible advice.”

The AFA FOFA in Focus Member Pack was compiled by the AFA in collaboration with members of the AFA leadership team, practitioner members, licensee members, product partners and technical experts from across the market.  Copies are available free to all advisers, whether they are members of the AFA or not. To download a copy, click here

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Two weeks after launching, one hundred and twenty three practices have so far pre-registered as an FPA Professional Practice, and Professional Partner commitments have been received from large principals including most of the dealer groups within the ANZ, Westpac, NAB,  CBA, AMP and AXA groups.

The FPA announced a new three year Strategic Plan at the FPA 2010 National Conference, Your Wavelength. The immediate response at the conference was positive, and this reaction has grown since.

The FPA Board launched the three year strategy alongside a new brand and advertising campaign to position FPA members as trusted professionals. The FPA engaged in lengthy discussions with members ahead of the launch, refining proposals and ensuring the launch would be well received by members.

Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA said:

“Our determination to make the FPA a true professional association has resounded with our members and the new strategy has received the broad support we had hoped for.

“The feedback the FPA received during and since the conference shows that our members believe we are going in the right direction for the profession. We continue to receive support from all involved including individual members; chapters, both small and large principals, other associations, government and regulators.

“We expect the New FPA strategy to result in significant growth of AFP and Future Planner members, and increased CFP enrolments. The initial rapid take up of Professional Practice pre-registration is a good sign, and there is anecdotal evidence of both increased membership growth and increased interest in CFP enrolments since the launch. Last year close to 500 young people joined the FPA as students or Future Planners, and we expect this rapid growth in young people who are the future of the profession to continue due to our increased focus on individual professionalism”.

“We are particularly delighted with the initial rush of support for the FPA Professional Practice concept.  The FPA brand will become the mark of trust and seal of quality for financial planning practices, enabling Australians to be confident in the higher professional standards of FPA members. It is great that there are already 123 top quality local practices around the country that will commence using the new FPA brand from July 2011 onwards.

“We are asking members to continue to provide us with feedback over the coming months, via the consultation paper and member survey, by emailing us, or by attending the roadshows being held around the country in March.  In time for the roadshow, we expect to have the next round of advertising concepts for member feedback.  Ultimately, the new strategy is the members’ decision and we hope that the Extraordinary General Meeting on April 7 2011 will bring a positive result for the entire Financial Planning industry.”

Boutique of Financial Planning Professionals Group (BFPPG) president, Claude Santucci, said:

“The Boutique Financial Planning Principals Group (BFPPG) has long held the view that the FPA should represent financial planners in a professional capacity and should not simply be an industry body. The FPA’s new strategy is a positive step in that direction and is supported by the BFPPG.

“It is essential that financial planning be recognised as a profession by the public and government. Strengthening the profession at the member level is the best way to achieve that recognition and the FPA’s new strategy is directly member focussed. It encompasses many of the changes that the BFPPG has sought over the years and we will work hard with the FPA to ensure that those changes benefit the public and financial planners.

“The BFPPG and the FPA have a long relationship built on mutual respect and we see that relationship strengthening as the benefits of the FPA’s strategy become apparent”.

Rodney Lavin, FPA Chapter Chair in Gippsland and the inaugural CFP Professional Ambassador said:

“It is an exciting milestone that is being signalled by the FPA announcements at the recent annual conference on the Gold Coast. Financial Planning has come of age and it is logical that the FPA now must concentrate on becoming a professional association rather than just an industry group.

“Financial planning has been evolving in Australia for over 20 years and it is time that ALL members of the FPA are viewed as Professionals and our membership should be viewed, and behave, as such. To raise the bar on eligibility of membership is a good thing for our profession and I endorse it whole heartedly. I applaud the FPA board on their strategy and I am confident we are heading in the right direction.”

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