In recognition of the top three scorers for the inaugural Malaysian Financial Planner of the Year Award (MFPYA) 2015, Financial Planning Association of Malaysia (FPAM) held a recognition ceremony to acknowledge their achievements yesterday at the Securities Commission. FPAM is the pioneer to organise a client-centric financial planning award which is adjucated based on international standards by qualified and experienced judges from different countries. This was done in collaboration with Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM) and supported by PlanPlus Malaysia. “This is a bold move as it takes a lot of resilience and perseverance to participate in such a demanding endeavour,” said Sharifatul Hanizah, President of FPAM, in her opening speech.

The moment of truth came when feedback from the panel of judges revealed that there was still plenty of room for improvement in the Malaysian segment. Nevertheless, the participants submitted very comprehensive plans and the top three scorers deserved to be acknowledged for the good work they have put in. The top three scorers are V. Thangavelu, CEO of Blueprint Planning; Catherine Khoo, Licensed Financial Planner from CWA; and Kevin Neoh, Licensed Financial Planner from VKA Wealth Planners.

Sharifatul acknowledged that although the financial planning industry has a lot of potential for growth, the gestation period has been a long one. “FPAM has been established since 1999 and naturally, we are eager to expedite this gestation period. We treat this milestone as a learning curve and confidence booster that we are ready to compete globally.”

Gavin Teoh, CFP, Licensed Financial Planner with Standard FA, then gave a rousing speech on his experience and insights gained when he participated and emerged as PlanPlus Global Financial Planning Award (PPGFPA) 2013’s runner-up and 2014’s winner. He urged his peers to look for ways to remain relevant in the upcoming ‘threat’ of Robo-advisors, a class of financial adviser that provides portfolio management online with minimal human intervention.

The audience was then treated to an enlightening presentation by Shawn Brayman, President of PlanPlus, who further elaborated on the topic “Anatomy of a Robo-Advisor – Where does advisor value start and stop?”

In her closing speech, Linnet Lee, CEO FPAM commented that the MFYPA participants are the face of the profession and encouraged more licensed financial planners to participate in MFYPA next year. “I’m delighted to report that Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC) had indicated that they would join next year,” she said adding that the increased awareness and participation in the international competition can only boost the profession further.

Source: http://www.smartinvestor.com.my/malaysian-financial-planner-of-the-year-award-mfpya-2015-recognition-ceremony/