PlanPlus announces winners for the 2015 Global Financial Planning Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA, July 15, 2015 – PlanPlus announced the winners of the Global Financial Planning Awards for 2015. PlanPlus introduced this annual award three years ago in recognition of the increasingly important role financial planning is playing in wealth management, as well as in the financial services industry in general. The awards give recognition to top financial planners from three regions worldwide – the Americas, Asia and Europe. The planners must submit a written financial plan, developed and presented to an actual client, that demonstrates how they provided outstanding financial advice focusing on their client’s best interests. Entrants also do a live presentation to a judging panel of top planning experts from around the globe.
“We were thrilled with the number of entries received for this year’s competition, and were amazed at the sheer quality of the plans submitted from so many different countries” said Awards Chair, John Page. “The overall quality and depth of planning shown in the plans and the finalist presentations were first class and will be hard to top in 2016.”
Jason M. Pereira, MBA, CFA, CFP®, FCSI, CIWM, PFP, FMA, a Senior Financial Consultant for Woodgate Financial, IPC Investment Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, was chosen as the Americas region first place winner. Ngoc Day, CFP®, CIM, R.F.P., TEP, from Macdonald, Shymko & Company Ltd., Vancouver, BC is first runner-up.
“Winning the PlanPlus Global Financial Planning Award has been an overwhelming experience for myself” said Jason Pereira, Americas first place winner. “One can commit themselves to improving their abilities and working to be the best at what they do, but the occasions to validate the years of commitment and education are few and far between. Even more rare is the ability to compete at a global level let alone win such a challenge. I am both humbled and honoured to be named this years winner. This honour reinforces and confirms my beliefs that I, my firm and my partners are providing world class advice and service to the clients who have granted us the opportunity to service them and further reinforces my commitment to building further on our accomplishments.”
Ann Marie Regal, CFP® of Globaleye International Wealth Solutions in Singapore is the Asia region first place winner while Chetan Kumar Pandya, FRM, CFPCM from TrustPlutus Family Office & Investment Advisers in Mumbai, India, placed as the region’s first runner-up.
Asia winner, Ann Marie Regal said, “It is an honor to be recognized by PlanPlus and I want to thank everyone involved for making this a challenging and rewarding experience. I am passionate about helping clients analyze and organize their financial lives, define and manage their path forward, and assisting them to reach their financial goals. As an American with the US CFP designation living in Asia, my focus is on American expats, cross-border financial planning and pre-US immigration planning. My fee based planning model is transparent and one that ensures my compensation is aligned with my client’s best interests. Trust is gained, vision is clear, and the processes efficient. This model fosters a long term relationship with clients, and coincides directly with the long term nature of the financial planning process.”
Natalia Smirnova, MS Finance, Owner and CEO at Personal Advisor ltd. in Moscow, Russia is the first place winner for the Europe region which also includes Oceana. Chris Smith, CFP®, VISIS Private Wealth, from Brisbane, Australia was announced as the first runner-up.
“Being in Russia, I have always found it extremely difficult to work in the financial planning industry and have no local experts to learn from” said Europe winner Natalia Smirnova. “The only solution was to study foreign expertise, communicate with foreign planners, join an international association (FPA-US), and try to apply all of this into my company’s practice. I considered the Global Financial Planning Awards an exam to see whether I have succeed in my goal to reach top international standards of financial planning. Now I know I have, which means my clients get the best.”
Jason, Ann Marie and Natalia will receive an all-expense paid trip to the FPA Annual Conference: BE Boston 2015 Sept. 26-28 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The conference is hosted by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and is the largest gathering of CFP® professionals each year with more than 2,000 financial planners representing dozens of countries.
“We have always believed that a financial planner acting with a fiduciary or client’s best interest strandard is the pinnacle of professionalism in the financial services sector,” said Shawn Brayman, PlanPlus President & CEO. “Being able to showcase these ourstanding individuals is intended to help both consumers and other financial advisors better appreciate the unique value a professional financial planner can deliver to improve the lives of the people they help.”
“I am thrilled with the reaction and commitment to the Awards from advisors, the judges and the industry at large in 2015,” said Brayman. “John Page and the PlanPlus Global Financial Planning Awards team are already at work to take the competition to a new level in 2016 including some country specific programs. We are forecasting a very challenging race next year.”
For more information on the PlanPlus Global Financial Planning Awards visit gfpa.planplus.com
About PlanPlus Inc.
PlanPlus Inc. has developed software tools and training for the past 25 years for use by financial institutions, professional advisors and the consuming public to perform personal financial and investment planning. PlanPlus has become a world-recognized firm with its groundbreaking software PlanPlus Planit and industry-leading training and service offerings in over 30 countries and in multiple languages. For more information, visit: www.planplus.com.
PlanPlus Press Contact:
Elaine Hartjes, Marketing Manager
Email: elaine.hartjes@planplus.com
Phone: 705-324-8001 x 307