Johannesburg: The nominations for the prestigious Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI) Awards 2023 have officially opened. The FPI will be hosting the awards ceremony in November 2023, where excellence in the financial planning profession will be recognised. This event acknowledges extraordinary CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP) professionals from across South Africa and Professional Practices that demonstrate innovation, professionalism, and commitment to both their clients and the financial planning profession.

The general public and members of the FPI are invited to enter or nominate people in the following categories:

Financial Planner of the Year Award

Launched in 2000, this award is the most prestigious in the financial planning industry. It recognises the country’s top CFP® professional – an extraordinary professional who exhibits groundbreaking ideas, consummate skill and unimpeachable ethics when dealing with clients.

“I encourage CFP® professionals to enter the competition because, if anything, it gives you the opportunity to revisit your financial planning process and assess it against the benchmark set by the FPI.  We can attest to how incorporating these learnings into our processes, reporting and documentation has further elevated the standard of our work. More than anything, it has given our practice the confidence to continue on our growth journey with the assurance that our value proposition and approach to financial planning are sound”, says 2022 winner Palesa Dube, CFP®.  

Entries for the Financial Planner of the Year Award close on 23 May 2023

Professional Practice of the Year Award

The award launched in 2020 and honours and celebrates FPI-approved Professional Practices. It also seeks to highlight to the public and the broader financial planning profession what these practices are all about. This presents an opportunity to the practices to demonstrate innovation, professionalism, and commitment to their clients and the financial planning profession. 

Entries for the Professional Practice of the Year Award close on 23 May 2023

Diversity and Inclusion Award

Engendering a community that fosters the value of financial planning and advances in the profession is the primary aim as the FPI. This strategy includes actively encouraging those who dedicate their efforts to advancing the financial planning process. The award recognises an individual whose commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence has impacted South Africa’s many ethnic groups, races and cultures in a positive way.

Entries to the Diversity and Inclusion Award close on 22 September 2023 

Harry Brews Award

Formerly the Chairman’s Award, the Harry Brews Award was introduced in 2010. The FPI renamed it in 2013 in honour of Harry Brews, who transformed South Africa’s life assurance industry. The award recognises an individual who has made an outstanding lifelong contribution to the FPI by promoting the Institute and its marks and the financial planning profession in society, academia, training, government, media or any other professional sphere. The winner also has to exemplify the FPI’s ethics principles of client first, integrity, objectivity, fairness, professionalism, competence, confidentiality and diligence.

Nominations for the Harry Brews Award close on 22 September 2023

It Starts with me Award

Launched in 2015 in conjunction with the FPI It Starts with Me programme, the award recognises the CFP® professional who contributes tirelessly to promoting the CFP® certification. This person entrenches the CFP® mark in their work-life, invests in their personal brand by letting others know they are a CFP® professional, and also volunteers where required.

Nominations for the It Starts with me Award close on 22 September 2023 

The Top Candidate Award

This award goes to the candidate whose performance surpassed all the others’ in the FPI’s CFP® Professional Competency Examination. The election process for the competition will be undertaken throughout the year, with the eventual winner – the candidate with the highest mark – to be awarded the accolade on the evening of the awards.

You are invited to nominate your colleagues and apply for the various awards. This way, deserving financial professionals can be recognised for their hard work and dedication to the profession. 

The awards ceremony is widely covered by the media and well-attended by key stakeholders, including regulators, education providers and other important industry role players.

By the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa

For more information on this please contact the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa on marketing@fpi.co.za or call +27 11 470 600