Prue Willsford

The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (the Institute) and ICNZ are pleased to announce the opening of submissions for the 2014 ICNZ & ANZIIF Scholarship.

The Scholarship, which involves the submission of a 2,500 word essay on a prescribed topic, aims to recognise a New Zealand insurance professional with outstanding business and leadership skills. It offers a prize of NZD$10,000 to attend an international industry or leadership conference or seminar program.

“We are thrilled to offer this once in a lifetime opportunity to a member of the New Zealand insurance community. This Scholarship will not only enhance the winner’s understanding of the industry in a global context but will help them to develop their leadership skills and allow them to represent New Zealand among their international counterparts,” said Tim Grafton, ICNZ Chief Executive.

Prue Willsford, CEO of the Institute, emphasised the role of the Scholarship in supporting up and coming industry professionals.

“Insurance is global business where engagement with developments internationally and excellent leadership skills are indispensable. The ICNZ Scholarship aims to ensure that we foster the next generation of insurance leaders and give them the support they need to develop their skills, knowledge and passion for the industry,” she said.

Applications for the ICNZ & ANZIIF Scholarship close at 5.00pm Auckland time on Friday 7 November 2014. For more information visit the ANZIIF website.

To be eligible, applicants must be:

• a direct employee of a member of the ICNZ
• citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand
• under the age of 35 years.

The winner will be announced at the 2015 Celebrating Success Awards Dinner in New Zealand.

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Fund Executives Association Ltd (FEAL) and global asset manager T. Rowe Price have launched a National Resilience Program to foster sustainable leadership within the funds management industry.

FEAL CEO Joanna Davison said the initiative, proposed and sponsored by T. Rowe Price, aims to empower members with skills and insights to operate as resilient leaders in a challenging industry.

“The increasing incidence of stress in our lives affects our ability to perform on a sustainable basis,” Ms Davison said.

“Executives in super funds have had an unprecedented level of change thrust upon them in recent years including regulatory change, fee pressures and volatile market conditions; the list goes on and it’s not slowing down.

“At FEAL we don’t just focus on professional development, we also want to help members lead healthier, happier and more resilient lives, so together with T. Rowe Price, we’ve sought a way to address these very important issues and support at a personal, organisational and industry level.”

The Program will comprise keynotes at FEAL events, workshops, online materials and a Resilience Scholarship awarded to the fund that has shown most commitment to learning and personal growth within its organisation. The leadership team of the winning fund will receive a full day workshop on resilient leadership led by internationally acclaimed mental resilience expert and author Kamal Sarma, also CEO of strategic leadership development firm Rezilium, the Program’s facilitator.

Mr Sarma draws on his diverse education, corporate experiences and personal journey to inspire greater resilience and leadership in people. He will work closely with Murray Brewer, T. Rowe Price Head of Relationship Management in Australia and New Zealand, to execute the program.

“The business of investing is long-term with many ups and downs along the way, so we are delighted to share our experiences working with Kamal for the benefit of the industry.

“Investors place enormous trust in their superannuation funds and expect those who are responsible for them to perform resiliently over the long term, so it is vital we embrace the tools and insights that best equip us to stay the course and deliver best possible outcomes and experiences.”

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Platinum and the Neilson Foundation launch new scholarship.

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) today announced that Platinum Asset Management (Platinum), together with the Neilson Foundation will offer a scholarship to undergraduate students majoring in financial planning as part of their degree.

The scholarships will be offered through five Australian universities; Deakin, LaTrobe, Canberra, Western Sydney and Wollongong, and will commence at the beginning of the 2014 academic year. The scholarships offered will be for approximately 20 students annually at $15,000 per student. Platinum will also offer prizes for outstanding academic achievement.

In order to be considered, a student must be studying full time and major in financial planning. The scholarship will therefore typically be awarded to a second and/or third year undergraduate, as this is the time when students are most likely to start a major in financial planning.

Speaking about Platinum’s and The Neilson Foundation’s decision to offer the scholarship, Liz Norman, Director of Communications and Investor Services for Platinum, said that the aim was to incentivise students who are passionate about financial planning and who have aspirations to a long term career in the industry.

“We recognise the vital role that financial planners play not only in our business but the investment management community generally, and we see this scholarship as a way of supporting the efforts of the FPA to raise educational standards and encourage new talent into the industry.

“Full time studying can impose a significant financial burden on students, so we wanted to find a way to lessen the load. Recipients of the scholarship will be able to spend the money they receive in ways that will best help them reach their goal of becoming a financial planner,” she said.

Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA, said that

“Raising the educational and professional standards of financial planners is a very clear focus for the FPA community. That is why we were so pleased to launch the National Accreditation and Curriculum Framework for financial planning degrees in November last year. The framework created a clear relationship between academia and the financial planning profession, and gave universities a clear understanding of the high standards of learning and graduate outcomes expected of financial planners.

“We believe that these scholarships will help cement and uphold those standards by rewarding promising and passionate students who are committed to a career in financial planning,” he said.

Mr Rantall concluded by thanking Platinum for its support of the financial planning profession and highlighted the broader significance of the scholarship.

“Australians have the right to feel confident in the educational qualifications and competence of people who call themselves financial planners; and this scholarship will help encourage talented future financial planners,” he said.

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