AFA Australian Adviser of the Year

West Australian financial planner, Troy MacMillan, has taken out the top gong at the Association of Financial advisers (AFA) annual conference and named adviser of the Year for 2011.

The award, sponsored by Zurich Financial Services Australia, was announced at the closing Gala Awards Dinner in front around 650 delegates.

AFA chief executive, Richard Klipin, said MacMillan was chosen due to his superior client service, strong community involvement and streamlined systems and processes.

MacMillan was chosen due to his superior client service, strong community involvement and streamlined systems and processes

“…Troy’s strong all-round practice and absolute commitment to excellence ultimately set him apart from his peers.”

MacMillan, from The Wealth Designers, said his firm of four advisers specifically focuses on clients across a broad spectrum of fees with its advisers providing on average 12 “value add” items for a client each year.

“We have operated in a full fee-for-service model for two years now and we have one fee that we give clients. No entry fees, no management fees, nothing like that.”

“It is very transparent and easy for the client to understand.”

“We have been doing opt-in for a couple of years now and we have had no trouble re-engaging the client, if anything, it allows us to lift the fees once we have demonstrated significant value to the client.

Wealth Designers also already operates under an annual opt-in arrangement with a yearly re-engagement meeting with all clients.

“Being a value-based financial planning practice, we engage a client for 12 months. At the end of that 12 months, we re-engage them again and discuss their strategy, how the year progressed and plans for the next 12 months,”

said MacMillan.

There were five finalists in this year’s event besides MacMillan, including Craig Ball, The Carter Group (QLD), Anne Graham, McPhail HLG Financial Planning (VIC), Mark Rando, Rando & Associates (WA), Nicholas Sinclair, Wealthfarm ( QLD) and Brian Woods, Nexus Wealth Management (WA).

“It’s fair to say that all of this year’s finalists excelled in the four key areas - giving advice, business acumen, community service and industry service,”

Klipin said. Chris Rutherford, Life Risk chief operating officer of award sponsor Zurich, said since the group first supported the award in 2003, the standard of adviser nominations has increased at a phenomenal rate.

“At a time of enormous change in our industry, the best advisers once again have shown themselves to be leaders and visionaries, who embrace change for the benefit of their clients and themselves.”