AFA commits to education, professionalism

Charles Badenach of Main Street Financial Solutions was named the winner of the 2015 AFA Excellence in Education Award, which was jointly presented by the AFA and Asteron Life.

The award, now in its eighth year, recognises advisers who continually invest in themselves, their staff, their businesses and their communities, through professional development and higher education and by making positive changes to the perception of financial advisers.

AFA general manager, member services, partnerships and Campus AFA, Nick Hakes, said Mr Badenach exemplified the essential characteristics and values of a professional financial adviser through his commitment to excellence in knowledge, behaviour, attitude and accountability.

"We know that increasing both the technical and practical education of advisers is vital to improving consumer confidence in our profession," he said.

"Charles has demonstrated his ability to apply technical expertise to real-world practice and has a passion to share his knowledge and know-how with other advisers. Charles is a great ambassador for the value of investing in higher education."

Nominees for the award were Harvest Wealth's Lyn Heaysman; Wealthwise's Joseph Hoe; Powe Financial Advice's Karen Walmsley; and Tilea Wealth's Tim Hall.

At the same time, Mr Hakes presented the graduates of Campus AFA and spoke about the importance of education.

"The challenge is to actually use education as a way to increase the number of Australians that get financial advice," he said.