Winners of AFA Great Advice Awards Named

Five advisers have been named as the winners of the AFA’s Great Advice Awards with each region having a winner and a finalist.

Speaking at the AFA’s recent EVOLVE Conference, AFA National President, Michael Nowak said that due to pandemic restrictions and being unable to host a face-to-face conference, the AFA’s traditional adviser awards program was postponed, however the AFA still wanted to celebrate its belief in great advice.

He said the Great Advice Awards, supported by Sunsuper, were about acknowledging great stories from financial advisers about the successful outcomes they have delivered to clients.

“Advisers share stories that demonstrate the financial, behavioural and emotional value that their advice has provided,” he said.

The winners were:

• VIC: Adrienne Rush from iCare Financial Advisory in Melbourne. Finalist – John Cachia
• QLD: Gayle McKew from Prosperity Planning Partners on the Gold Coast. Finalists –Tim Hall and Simon Green
• WA: Dawn Thomas from Integro Private Wealth in Perth. Finalist – Donna Lee Powell
• SA/NT: Simon Capp from Treehouse Financial Planning in Adelaide. Finalists – Nikola Radoicic and Paul Katranis
• NSW/ACT: Terry Johnson from Keyman Financial Services in Parramatta. Finalist – Craig Phillips

Nowak said that NSW winner Terry Johnson had many claim stories of which to be proud. “Not only has he administered pro bono claims, but he always shows the utmost care to his clients when they need it the most.”

He said Victorian winner Adrienne Rush is an impressive adviser and has been recognised as a finalist in the AFA’s Female Excellence in Advice Award twice. “Adrienne’s great advice story demonstrates both the financial and psychological benefits of advice.”

Gayle McKew’s story highlighted “…many interconnecting elements of holistic client and family financial care. This included inter-generational wealth advice, estate planning and wealth transfer advice, portfolio management and retirement planning,” Nowak said.

He noted too that South Australian Simon Capp won the award for a story which demonstrated the great care he exhibited in helping a client in distress after a family loss and empowering the client to continue a journey towards achieving their goals.

The Western Australian winner, AFA Inspire National Chair, Dawn Thomas’ great advice story “…demonstrated her ability to build trust with a client who had previously received poor advice. She restructured the client’s financial affairs and provided guidance to help the client achieve independence and work/life balance,” Nowak says.

Sunsuper’s Head of Advice and Retirement, Anne Fuchs said the firm was proud to support the AFA awards in 2021 and congratulated the winners and finalists, saying that Sunsuper has 1.4 million members and close to 4,000 registered advisers, “…therefore we understand and deeply value the role financial advisers play in helping Australians achieve their retirement dreams.”