AFA names finalists for Excellence in Education Award

The finalists, who are also state winners, include Karen Walmsley of Powe Financial Advice in NSW; Jawad Ahmad of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in South Australia; and Charles Badenach of Main Street Financial Solutions in Tasmania.

In addition, Lyn Heaysman of Harvest Wealth in Victoria; Joseph Hoe of Wealthwise in Western Australia; and Tim Hall of Tilea Wealth in Queensland were also named finalists.

The award recognises advisers who continually invest in themselves, their staff and their businesses to raise professional standards through education. The winner will be announced on 26 October at the AFA National Adviser Conference in Cairns.

Nick Hakes, general manager of member services and campus AFA, said the calibre of the state winners reflects the recognition that higher education is one of the keys to delivering great advice to more Australians and positively influencing consumers' perception of financial advisers.

"This is an exciting time for the financial advice profession. More and more advisers are embracing higher education and using it to demonstrate a point of difference," he said.

"Our state winners encapsulate everything that is great about financial advice – technical knowledge which is expertly applied to empowering the lives of others. This year's finalists have demonstrated that the investment in education across a broad range of disciplines has made a positive difference to their clients and to their businesses."

The candidates were judged on the quality of their written nominations. Judges then conducted phone interviews with short-listed candidates.