Winners unveiled for ifa Excellence Awards 2024

Members of the financial services industry gathered tonight (Thursday, 5 December 2024) for the 11th annual ifa Excellence Awards ceremony at The Fullerton Hotel in Sydney, hosted with support from principal partner Padua.

A total of 36 winners were honoured for excellence tonight out of over 300 finalists who competed across 20 individual and 13 group submission-based categories. The highest-scoring individual winner across individual and group categories was also presented with the prestigious Excellence Award.

Click here to see the full list of winners.

Amie Baker of Rekab Advice was the worthy recipient of the coveted Excellence Award - Individual this evening, with Baker also taking home the trophy for Client Outcome of the Year.

The Excellence Award - Company was awarded to Verse Wealth, which also took home Client Servicing Company of the Year and Self-Licensed Firm of the Year awards.

Due to overwhelming interest in the Holistic Adviser of the Year category, the most sought-after award was divided into state-based categories.

Tonight’s state-based winners include Andrew Debono of Peak Wealth Management for NSW, Nicole Gardner of Stellar Wealth for Queensland, Daniel Zaffino of BlueRock for Victoria and Craig Phillips of Phillips Wealth Partners walking away with the combined Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, and Western Australia award.

BlueRock’s Daniel Zaffino was announced as the nationwide Holistic Adviser of the Year.

The ceremony honoured the achievements of the top-performing individuals and practices operating across the country’s independent financial sector, with winners spanning newcomers, paraplanners, risk advisers, and more.

Some of tonight's individual winners include Hugh Robertson of Centaur Financial Services as Investment Adviser of the Year, Liam Shorte of Sonas Wealth as SMSF Adviser of the Year, and Ben Nash of Pivot Wealth as Thought Leader of the Year.

Company winners included Infocus for Dealer Group of the Year, Thriving Wealth for Financial Impact Team of the Year, and Find Group for Holistic Advice Firm of the Year.

Managing editor of Wealth Management, Maja Garaca Djurdjevic, extended her congratulations to all winners.

“A big congratulations to all the winners, and a huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our 11th annual Excellence Awards!” she said.

“It was such a pleasure to celebrate the incredible achievements of advisers from across the country who are driving the industry forward with their hard work, creativity, and passion.

“By coming together and supporting advisers and financial services firms, we’re not just recognising amazing contributions – we’re also inspiring the next wave of talent to step up and make their mark in financial advice.”

Since its inception over a decade ago, the awards program has become the benchmark for excellence among Australia’s leading independent financial advisers and practices.

The awards were open to all businesses operating in Australia supporting the industry, from financial advisers, dealer groups, advice networks, paraplanners, practice principals, industry thought leaders, and more.

The winners were chosen by a well-respected panel of academics, business executives, entrepreneurs and innovators, ensuring a peer-reviewed recognition of the entrants’ capabilities.

Click here to see the full list of winners.

To learn more about the awards program, click here.