FPA award honours 'first lady of financial planning'

 The award honours the memory of the late “first lady of financial planning”, Gwen Fletcher, and supports the “vital role” of education and its central importance in the development of a financial planning profession, according to the FPA.

The FPA chief executive Mark Rantall said the award both “honours and perpetuates Gwen’s service to the profession and, by extension, the financial wellbeing of all Australians”.

“Gwen’s relentless effort to build a highly qualified financial planning profession along with an awareness of the role of financial planning has helped shape the industry into a growing profession,” he said.

“Given she was responsible for bringing the CFP designation to Australia back in 1990, it is appropriate that we acknowledge our top students in her name,” he added.

The first Gwen Fletcher Memorial Award will be announced on 20 June 2014, with each award valued at $1,000 and funded by the FPA.