Blue Chip Issue 90

BLUE CHIP FPI |

BLUE CHIP FPI | Financial Planner of the Year THE ULTIMATE ACCOLADE The FPI Financial Planner of the Year competition is renowned for its rigorous evaluation process that showcases the exceptional skills and abilities of the finalists. Lara Warburton, CFP®, stood out among a group of finalists including Thomas Brukman, CFP®, and Noel de Kock, CFP®, to secure the coveted title. Congratulations on your achievement, Lara! What does winning the award mean to you? The gala awards dinner is such a special occasion. The FPI pulls out all the stops to make it special, and many industry stalwarts and previous winners attend each year. It is a celebration of all that is good in our profession – young achievers excelling in their studies, meaningful contributors to our profession, practices that excel and of course, the FPI Financial Planner of the Year, which is the final award of the evening. Integral Wealth, the business I manage founded in 2016, was a finalist in the Professional Practice Award category, so I felt like a winner already, but nothing could have prepared me for when my name was announced as the winner. I felt so elated and excited. I was overwhelmed by all the people who came to personally congratulate me and the fuss everyone made about me, especially by many of the previous award winners who were there. Since then, I have been inundated with flowers, emails, calls and WhatsApps, I have received hundreds of LinkedIn contact requests and I can see that many of my clients see me in a different light. It has been quite overwhelming and incredibly exciting. I underestimated the warmth and recognition I have received from financial planners, as well as from industry players like the product and service providers we work with. Our profession is kind and gracious. What was your motivation for entering the award? When I entered the competition, I knew that winning the award would be the ultimate accolade for me as a financial planner. I have always strived to keep informed on changes in our profession and with best practices in all we do, and being a finalist or winning would bring a great deal of personal satisfaction. Winning the award would be an endorsement of excellence and the highest achievement possible. I know how highly regarded this award is in our profession, and I know many of the previous winners whom I respect tremendously. Winning the award also brings professional recognition – recognition from one’s peers is high praise indeed as they truly understand all the challenges we face. What has been the highlight of your career (besides winning the award)? There have been many highlights in my career regarding clients’ lives that have changed, and the gratitude I have experienced Lara Warburton, CFP®, Managing Director, Integral Wealth Management 30 www.bluechipdigital.co.za

FPI | Financial Planner of the Year BLUE CHIP Lelané Bezuidenhout with Noel de Kock, Lara Warburton and Thomas Brukman. I knew that winning the award would be the ultimate accolade for me as a financial planner. from them. My career started with me working for two unit trust companies, first at Investec and then at RMB. I was made a director of RMB Unit Trusts when I was 29 years old, and that was a career highlight for me at a young age. I always planned on being a corporate employee and entrepreneurship was not part of my plan. Almost eight years ago, circumstances forced me into starting my own business with some colleagues, and I am immensely proud of the business we have built, the procedures I have put in place and our business’ successes as we grow. No-one can prepare you for the challenges starting a business brings! What do you consider the most important trait of an accomplished financial advisor? It is hard to identify just one character trait as the most important, so I’ll start with a few. Listening well and hearing what we are being told is one of the most important. Each client has a different interpretation of their life events, and we cannot cloud our need to be objective with our own biases. Wanting to learn more and being able to admit when we are not experts and need additional resources is also important – to know what we do not know. I think humility speaks to both traits – our work is about our clients and not about us, and we need to remember their importance and not our own through the service we provide. What changes would you like to see in the profession? Our profession is constantly changing and evolving, and it has come such a long way. The FPI has a long proud history of driving and recognising professionalism along international standards, and there are other professional bodies also driving best practices. It is pleasing to see young people joining the profession who want to achieve the CFP® designation and recognise the importance of high standards in our profession. I have been concerned about some of the products that are aggressively marketed, especially complicated products with hidden costs and exit penalties. It is good to note that the new Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) Bill is placing the onus on product providers to take more responsibility in this regard. As this year’s FPI ambassador, how will you use the platform to motivate change? The financial services industry in South Africa is world-class, and we rank highly in many areas as confirmed by the World Economic Forum global competitiveness reports. My biggest concern is that these services are not the experience of many under-served members of our communities. Poor financial education at school and low levels of literacy preclude many people from experiencing www.bluechipdigital.co.za 31