Stand and be recognised

The award, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year, recognises client service, quality leadership and innovation in the financial planning industry.

As the first female to win this accolade, Olivia Maragna from Queensland-based Aspire Retire Financial Services, represents the new guard of financial planners and the professional that best exemplifies the evolving industry sector.

“We’ve always been committed to making a real difference to our clients and that’s borne out of our high percentage of word-of-mouth referrals. When you make a difference to someone’s life, they just end up talking about you to their friends and family,” she said.

Ms Maragna attributed her success to her unwavering focus on “delivering more than just financial planning”.

She was one of six finalists in the running for the award, which involved a rigorous judging process of client surveys, plus benchmarking against other advisers in the industry.

The winner was announced at the AFA’s Annual Conference at RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast on 30 October.