Awards spur advisers to keep innovating, says winner

Speaking to ifa ahead of the 2022 ifa Excellence Awards — which is now accepting submissions — Mr Nash said winning the Innovator of the Year award last year reassured him and his team that they were on the right path.

“For me, it was some validation of our work around innovation in advice,” the financial adviser said.

“As a business owner and entrepreneur, my team and I are constantly working on different initiatives that we think are important and valuable. But it was great to get that validation from an external pair of eyes.

“It gave us the motivation to keep pushing forward on this path we'd set out on, because oftentimes there's no immediate return on innovation and it does consume resources.”

The 2022 ifa Excellence Awards black-tie gala ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 16 November 2022 at Montage in Sydney.

Nominations and submissions are now open, with ifa accepting entries until Thursday, 8 September, with finalists announced on Thursday, 29 September.

Mr Nash won the Innovator of the Year – Individual award last year for demonstrating that he had developed and capitalised on his innovations around advice delivery, client engagement, and service.

In his submission for the award last year, Mr Nash outlined his innovations specific to the types of advice he and his team provide and how they yielded better results for clients.

His innovation centred around modifying the practice's financial advice process to increase the chances of meeting the clients' goals and objectives.

“We found that sometimes, clients would have great financial plans, but they didn't translate into great outcomes,” Mr Nash explained.

To solve this issue, Pivot Wealth ran a fine-tooth comb over its process and focused on elements that could increase the clients' chances of success. As a result, there was a “significant” uplift in the measured progress of the clients, and higher levels of client satisfaction, he added.

“I think as financial planners, we sometimes get caught up in financial planning but ultimately, the clients come to us because they want outcomes and dollars in their bank account,” Mr Nash said.

“So, we've done a lot of innovative work to help people do that better and faster.”

As for what advice he would offer to this year's award entrants, Mr Nash urged everyone in the financial advice industry to throw their hat in the ring because compiling the submission provides an opportunity to reflect on their processes and achievements.

“Even just thinking about what you're doing and applying that critical thinking to your work really forces you to ask bigger questions,” he said.

“Then, you can think about where the value of your work is and what you are doing differently, and perhaps how you could build on and improve your approach to advice.

“I've been getting involved in these awards for a number of years and it's constantly giving us ideas on how we could add value and build on what we're already doing to take things to the next level, which I think is always a worthwhile process to go through.”

Nominations and submissions for the 2022 ifa Excellence Awards close on Thursday, 8 September.

To enter the awards, register your account through our secure awards platform and fill in the details of your submissions. When you're happy with your submission, press save and lodge it.

Click here to submit an entry or nominate a worthy colleague and be rewarded for your tireless efforts and dedication to propelling the advice industry forward.

To read about the judging process, click here.

For more information about the awards program, including categories, click here.

Click here to view the 2021 finalists and winners.